AZT 2019 Day 32: Campsite north of Marshall Lake (mile 558.9) to the Flagstaff Urban Trail Connector (mile 565.0)

Approx. 12.1 miles total (6.1 AZT miles)

I was teased by the possibility of rain all day yesterday. It finally hit at 2:45 AM. It was still raining when I woke up with the light around 5 AM.

I had enough signal to check the current forecast. It was constantly changing yesterday and this morning was no different. Part of the reason I was taking the first exit into town today was because the worst of the thunderstorms were predicted for midday/afternoon. As of this morning, that prediction changed to tomorrow. I couldn't really change my plans since I had feasted on the last of my food bag the night before.

I packed up my belongings, including my very wet tent, and headed down the trail. I didn't get very far before I encountered a problem.

Yep. This is a problem. 

The trail in this section was covered in very fine dirt, which was now damp. It instantly stuck to my shoes and wouldn't come off. Every step would build more dirt and become heavier. Eventually, it would become so built up that it would come off in a clump. When this happened, my foot would awkwardly shoot forward, thinking it had to drag more weight. Then, I would have one foot that was lighter than the other until the process repeated itself. I kept thinking that if the entire trail was like this, it would be a long morning.

Luckily, the trail descended into pine forest and the dirt was both more compact and covered with pine needles. However, it was still cool, damp, and soggy.

Soggy morning in the forest.

Eventually, I dropped into Sandy Canyon, a nice, tree lined canyon with the occasional dramatic cliff exposed. I took this to the junction with the Flagstaff Urban Trail, a 4.5 mile side trail into town.

Sandy Canyon.

Cool looking cliffs.

At least I thought I was taking the Urban Trail. It seemed like more of a connector. I was still walking muddy footpaths and forest roads. Overhead was a thunderstorm and I got nailed with hail. Luckily it didn't last too long, just long enough to get me damp.

Thunderstorms. 

Hail.

About a mile from the exit, it turned into a paved bike path. I emerged wet, muddy, and smelly to an area with restaurants, cross walks, and people dressed up for the day and going about their normal lives. I felt really out of place. Not only was I dressed for the wilderness (carrying a large backpack), but I had a satellite locator beacon on my shoulder and was still carrying around filtered stock tank water.

I-40 underpass.

I reached Route 66, where I was going to catch a bus into downtown. Then, I saw a sign that indicated downtown was only 1.2 miles away. I would have had to walk about 0.2 miles and waited about 20 minutes for the bus, so I just decided to walk.

Right across from the Amtrak station was a burrito place that other hikers had raved about. I walked in with my backpack, dirty clothes, and hiker stink. I assumed they regularly got hikers in the restaurant, but when I entered people (including the wait staff) still stared. Part of me was self conscious and embarrassed. Part of me wasn't. I wanted my burrito.

Mmm, burrito. 

After lunch I went to find the hotel I had booked last night, Highland Country Inn. It was about 0.4 miles from the heart of downtown, where the restaurant and Amtrak station were. I got there around 12:30 PM and they had a room available for check in.

Downtown Flagstaff. 

I took all the wet gear out of my pack to start drying. I then immediately took a shower, followed by laundry. After a wet walk to Safeway, where I spent way too much money on resupply, dinner, and snacks, I headed back to the hotel for shower number 2.

I ended the day by watching TV. At some point I realized this will most likely be the last night I am both warm and dry until Utah.