AZT 2019 Day 23: Bear Spring Junction (mile 411.6) to campsite near Brush Springs (mile 432.0)

20.4 miles

I got another predawn start to the day. I was getting tired of having to hike around the weather. It has been messing with my sleep schedule and making me exhausted. Typically I have been hiking around the heat, but today I was going to try to hike around the rain/thunderstorms.

The forecast for the local town showed the rain starting around midday, getting strongest in the early afternoon and right around sunset. There were plenty of lightning symbols on those forecasts as well.

Additionally, there were complaints in the comments section of the Arizona Trail app for this upcoming stretch of trail. They were cryptic sentances about hating/battling rocks, having to rely heavily on cairns, and even a comment recommending skipping this section. These comments, combined with the forecast were responsible for my early start.

This was not a particularly easy section to night hike. It was a footpath etched into the side of the mountain. It could use some maintenance as well since the tread was sloped as the mountain tried to take its shape back. It was slow hiking, but any distance I could put in before the storms was a good thing.

I was happy when the sun came up. It was still dark the sky was overcast. Every once in a while the sun would poke through and give the surroundings a bit of color.

Morning views.

The trail.

Storm in the distance. 

I took a breakfast break a Chilsom Spring. The springbox looked a bit stagnant, although I thought it looked clearer than Bear Spring did yesterday. Luckily, I found the spring flowing clearly just uphill of the box and got my water from there.

The spring was a little uphill from the trail and had a great view. While I was enjoying it I heard several men yelling to each other about where to get water. One of them was at the spring junction. I waved at him and he came up. He took one look at the springbox and declared, “ I guess I dont need water.” I pointed out where the water was clear and flowing and he still declined.

Chilsom Spring.

I passed the men (who all looked pretty miserable) and kept hiking. I finally got to a rocky ridge that was reported to have great sunsets. I could see why. There were uninterrupted views of the mountains to the west. I was getting uninterrupted views of the storefronts headed my way.

Views and storms.

After eating lunch on the ridge, I kept heading northbound on the trail. I could see the afternoon stormfront, and its rain, headed my direction.

The trail turned away from the ridge and started going up and down through a series of hills. When the rain hit, it was very light at first. Later, it got heavier, but still manageable. No downpours or lightning.

Rain in the distance. 

Hiking through the rain.

Towards the end of the day, it even got sunny while I was refilling water at a seep. I walked a couple miles in sunlight. At the top of a ridge, I could see a dark band of clouds on the horizon, heading my way again.

Sunshine at the seep.

Luckily, I was less than two miles to where I had planned to camp. At this point, Hayley passed me. We were headed to the same spot to camp again.

Camping near Brush Spring.