AZT 2019 Day 21: Campsite near Forest Road 422 (mile 369.1) to campsite near wash (mile 391.5)

22.4 miles

For the first time in a while, I did not do any predawn hiking. There didn't seem to be any reason to. I wasn't climbing up in elevation,  I was already there. I also didn't have a specific amount of miles I wanted to get done today that could have benefited from an extra hour or two of hiking. That being said,  I still woke up way before dawn anyway, because my body had become used to it. However, today I had the luxury to lounge in my tent until first light.

While lounging around, I decided to check on my gear. I had failed to close my water bladder all the way yesterday, and a lot of my gear got wet. I layed all the still damp gear out in my tent and most had dried out overnight. I had been using my phone a lot last night, so I took out my external battery to see what kind of charge it had. It had no charge, it was dead.

I had kept it in a “waterproof” bag. The items in this bag weren't exactly soaked, but the battery had some surface moisture that I didn't think was a big deal. Apparently, it was a big deal. This was a problem.

I had been using a solar charger that someone had abandoned in a hiker box for supplemental power. It was finicky and only worked at certain times, most of which were in the morning. It was a great supplement because when it charged, it charged fast. As primary power source, it would be a nightmare, considering it didn't always work.

I started hiking as soon as it was light enough to do so without a headlamp. I was going to spend the first approximately 10 miles of the day hiking along forest roads. After how strenuous the trail was yesterday, I was OK with pumping out some “easy” miles along the road for a while.

I was, again, getting great views of Roosevelt Lake during sunrise. Yesterday, I thought I had seen the last of the lake, but it keeps showing up. I also got great views on the other side of the road of the surrounding mountains.

Sunrise over Lake Roosevelt. 

Walking the roads.

Eatly on I took a bathroom break. I set up my solar charger while I went off trail. When I came back, I decided to sit and let the phone charge, since it was charging well, and I was now dependent on an unreliable charger.

While I was sitting, two other hikers came by, named Kool-Aid and Early Bird, and we chatted for a while. Annoyed by my charging situation, I told them about it, as well as my experience at Roosevelt Lake. They had gotten to the store yesterday morning, and apparently it was open again. Their mistake was deciding to push on and do the climb out of Roosevelt Lake around noon, which they said was a miserable experience.

Kool-Aid then eyed my KT tape-panty hose-rubber band contraption surrounding my camera lens and asked if I lost my lens cap. They had found my missing one on the way into Roosevelt Lake, but since no one there is keeping a hiker box, had to dispose of it. At least it is no longer littering the trail.

I got sick of watching my phone charge during the good, early morning hiking temperatures, so I put the charger away and hiked down the road for a couple more miles. I eventually stopped at a small stream at Little Pine Flat to refill on water, and continued charging my phone. After filtering, I plugged my external battery in to see if it was possible that it had just drained somehow. It was still dead.

Then, miraculously, I saw lights come on and it sprung to life, complete with 3 out of the four charge indicators lit up. I connected it to my phone, and it started charging my phone. Words cant describe how relieved I was and my day got instantly better.

Soon I left the forest road, with a bit of jump in my step, and followed the trail down into the canyon. I had read reports that there was storm damage and the trail was difficult to navigate. To my happy surprise, I found that the trail gently sloped and easy to follow. It also crossed a creek several times that had a nice flow of water.

Heading down into the canyon.

I stopped at one of these creek crossings for lunch. It may have been my best lunch spot so far on the trail. There was shade under a tree where I was able to lay out my sleeping pad. The rocks underneath were uncomfortable at first, but I adjusted my position and found a way for them to comfortably cradle me. I was also right next to a part of the creek that funneled over a rocks, creating a lovely trickle sound. To cap it all off the water was softy reflecting light onto the tree across the way. I spent way too much time on my lunch break.

My lunch spot.

I finished hiking the canyon, and entered the valley of rolling hills. The temperature was admittedly hot, but not as overly oppressive as it had been recently.  I crossed under highway 87, my goal now being to get as close to the steep climb up the next set of mountains as possible.

Entering the valley.

Crossing Sycamore Creek. 

Highway 87.

I moved through the hills for several miles. At one point, I passed three horses that I originally mistook for cows. Let's face it, it is almost always cows.

Moving through the hills.

Not cows.

At the end of the day, I stopped at an area labeled as a “wash” on the Arizona Trail app, but which looked more like a tree lined creek to me. There was a flat camping area nearby, so I set up there, with easy access to the water. I was able to set my camp up without the use of a headlamp, so I'd say it qualified as a good day.

Camping spot.