AZT 2019 Day 13: Hwy 77/Oracle (mile 205.2) to campsite near Antelope Tank (mile 228.4)

23.2 miles

I had arranged with Marney to be shuttled to the trailhead at 5:15 am, so we headed out from the hotel just as the first bit of light was peaking over the horizon.  It was going to be the hottest day of the recent forecast, and I wanted to get some hiking in while the temperature was still comfortable.

As soon as I headed down the trail, I could feel warm drafts already and knew it was going to rough later on in the day. This is what I had been laughing about when I woke up in the snow the other day.

The scenery was stunningly beautiful in the morning light with the light filtering through the mountains and hills, and backlighting the cacti. Right away I started seeing saguaros again.

Morning on the trail.

Backlit cholla

Saguaro in the morning .

The rest of the morning was, for the most part uneventful. I went uphill, downhill, through a wash, and back uphill again. I just kept repeating itself. There were plenty of wildflowers and cacti still blooming along the trail. I kept hearing reports that people had been seeing rattlesnakes in the washes leaving Oracle, so I was extra vigilant for that. I saw no rattlesnakes.

Wildflowers on the trail.

Cactus blooms.

Scenery along the trail.

I also passed several caches of water left by trail angels, mostly Marney and Jim at the Chalet Village Motel. In the morning, I wasn't consuming much water, so I only topped off once at these caches. It was in the afternoon that my water demand significantly increased.

Water cache!

It got HOT. The high was supposed to be upper 80s, but the thermometer I wear on my shoulder was reading over 100 degrees F at times. Part of that was because it was sitting in the sun, but the heat radiates off the trail, and certain aspects of the terrain capture heat. The morning was also fairly windy, something that was lacking in the afternoon.

I decided to get extra water from a water source called Mountain View Tank. I was originally going to skip it because it was a little difficult to access, but now I needed a top off. This was a metal tank with a ladder, so I climb to the top and peered down. The water was just out of my reach. Someone (maybe Sierra) had left a gallon jug with weighted down with rocks to help collect the water. It still had some water in it, so I filtered that water and kept going.

Mountain view tank.

Inside mountain view tank.

Getting to my next water source was tough. The heat made it difficult to move forward and I found myself stopping every half mile or so in the little shade I could find.

Shade break.

I got to my next water source, Cowhead Tank, located off trail and down a wash. It was also a metal tank, but its ladder didn't go all the way up. Unlike the last tank, it had a flowing pipe. Unfortunately, this flowing pipe had bees too.

Cowhead tank.

Pipe and bees

In addition to the ladder being too short, it was also unsecured. When I went to step on it the first time, I pulled it back off the tank. I had to step up on the base of the tank, then step sideways onto the ladder to use it. My legs were exhausted from the heat and I didn't trust my balance standing on the very top rung of the too short, unsecured ladder. Unfortunately, this was the only way to reach the pipe.

I realized that the gallon jug I had finished off at a morning water cache (and was packing out as trash) would give me a little more reach, and I could just get the mouth of the jug under the pipe to collect water. I just couldn't collect much water at a time because the jug would be become too heavy and slip out of my grasp.

So, I made 4 trips up and down the ladder, trying to collect as much water as I could and also trying to not disturb the bees at the pipe. The water wasn't even satisfying since it was hot, but it was water and I needed it.

The hiking after the water break was just as bad as the hiking before the water break. I had to stop frequently, even as the sun was going down. The temperature didn't get reasonable for hiking until the sun was actually down, and even then it was still warm.

The trail at the end of the day.

A lot of people were still on the trail after dark. I got passed by a couple bikers participating in the AZT bike race and crossed paths with a SOBO hiker who was doing most of his hiking at night, something I probably should be doing. He said there were several people ahead of me in the upcoming camping areas.

Exhausted from the heat, all I wanted to do was lay down,  but not in a crowded camping area. I found a patch of mostly flat dirt just barely big enough for my tent and set up there. It was precariously close to 2 prickly pear cactuses, but had a nice breeze. I set up camp and layed down without eating dinner. I realized I should be doing more of my hiking in the dark and not trying to power through the afternoon. We will see if I learn my lesson tomorrow.