Formerly Susanne's PCT Journal. This is a simple trail journal of my long distance thru-hiking adventures/misadventures. Family, friends, and total strangers are welcome to come along for the journey!
-Susanne aka "Snapper"
AZT 2019 Day 20: Vineyard Trailhead (mile 348.3) to campsite near Forest Road 422 (mile 369.1)
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20.8 miles
It was another pre-dawn start. Especially after my exhaustion from yesterday, I would have loved to have slept in or at least gotten up after dawn. However, I had to climb from about 2,200 ft to almost 6,000 ft today. I needed to get out of those lower elevations as early in the day as possible. I am looking forward to the day that I do not have to hike around the weather.
Besides avoiding the worst of the heat, there are advantages to getting up early. I got to see the dawn light up the lake while the surroundings were still dark. Then, I got to see the sunrise.
Roosevelt Lake at dawn.
Sunrise.
Early on in the hike I had great views of the Salt River, upstream of Roosevelt Dam. The area I was hiking was dominated by grasses, dotted with cacti. After my initial ascent from the road, I rolled through these grassy hills before reaching the next set of mountains.
Salt River.
The grasses at golden hour.
Saguaros at golden hour.
I could see the line of green where the grasses ended and the shrubs started. At least the shrubs would cast a little shade. The trail rose steeply through the shrubs, and I stopped briefly at Buckhorn Creek to fill up on water. The weight of the water, combined with the weight of 6 days of food made the rest of the uphill very slow.
Heading up.
Buckhorn Creek.
I spent the rest of the day hiking Four Peaks Wilderness. I realized why it was called Four Peaks Wilderness when I rounded a corner and saw four mountain peaks right next to each other.
Four Peaks Wilderness.
The trail in this area was pretty grueling. It was a single track etched into the side of the mountain. It sometimes rose and fell rather steeply, with plenty of loose rocks on the trail. Occasionally, there were large rocks to scramble over. All that extra exertion made thise sections of the trail feel especially hot.
I saw two rattlesnakes along the way, numbers 6 and 7 of the hike. The first couple rattlesnakes I saw seemed to be the same species, but now I have been seeing a variety of species. I wish I had taken the time to learn them before the trail.
Rattlesnake #6.
Rattlesnake #7.
Just before Shake Creek the trail became a little less challenging. I assume I picked up the pace, but it was hard to tell because I was pretty tired. I filled up for a heavy water carry, then passed Pigeon Spring and joined a series of forest roads.
Shake Creek.
The sun was setting and I got a last glimpse back at Roosevelt Lake, which I had been seeing all day. My feet were sore, so I picked the first appropriate campsite next to the road to set up my tent.
Roosevelt Lake sunset.
It was an exhausting day, but at least I was back to having “normal” days on the AZT, a relief after yesterday's drama.
26.6 FT miles I had meant to get up really early this morning. There were only two places in the St Marks National Wildlife Refuge where you could camp, and there was one that was supposedly one of the best, if not the best, campsite on the trail. However, it was over 26 miles away. Some of those miles were going to be road walks, so those parts would go quickly. On the other hand, if we encountered swampy areas, it might be a very long day. A little before dawn I yelled over at Sugar Rush to see if she was awake, which she was. We packed up in the dark and, just like last night, went crashing through the brush trying to stay on trail. There were some parts that were clear and other parts that were not so clear. When the sun came up, things didn't necessarily get better. We started to realize why we were having so much trouble last night. Even with daylight we couldn't always track the path on the ground and had to search as a team for hidden blazes. The river made
20.3 miles Just like the past few mornings, it was difficult to get up again. Unlike the past few mornings, I could actually see snow on top of my tent. It was supposed to rain or snow on and off the majority of the day again. That was not a motivating thought to get me out of my sleeping bag. I had also finally used the hand warmers that I had purchased back in Flagstaff, and they were still warm inside my bag. Somehow, I emerged from that bag and packed everything up one last time. I was only about 20 miles from the Utah border and on schedule to finish the trail today. Most of the items I had on me were damp or wet. It didn’t bother me packing them up as I knew I would be warm and dry tonight. What did bother me was having to put on my wet, cold, dirty shoes. After I did that, I had wet, cold, dirty socks as well. In Flagstaff I had also picked up toe warmers, so I stuck those inside my shoes and hoped that they would help. The view looking out of my tent. My camps
22.4 FT miles Soon after I started hiking this morning, I passed Holton Spring. It was what made Holton Creek, which gave the name to the campground I stayed at last night. It is not a very big creek. The spring formed a circular pond that emptied out of one side to form the creek. The creek then dumped out into the Suwannee River after only a short distance. Holton Spring in the early morning. Around the area of Holton Spring you could really see the karst (formed by limestone) landscapes. It was fairly bumpy and dominated by large holes formed by water cutting through the soft limestone. After about 5 miles, I hit Gibson Park for breakfast. It appears to be a campground, but is available for day use. I used the picnic table out front, then used the bathroom and refilled my water supply. The bathhouse had “Way down upon the Suwannee River” painted on it, which are the lyrics to the song by Stephen Foster. It seems like everything in the areas uses it for advertisement
Happy you had a normal day on the AZT......keep on.......(-;
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