The Arizona Trail: Part 23

Sunday, April 14th, 2019

It was surprisingly warm overnight even though we were at higher altitude, so getting up in the morning wasn’t so painful. Klaus was already up and out of there bright and early per usual. Jump was still in her tent as we continued along the trail.

We were probably only about 3 miles in when we saw our first view of the San Francisco peaks in the distance. It has been 6 years since we’ve seen them while on our road trip across the country, and decided it was a good place for second breakfast.

The rest of the morning we were just bumping along, seeing a couple Mule deer, a small snake, and a few weekenders as we made our way to Chilson Spring for a lunch and water break.

Two section hikers and their anxious dog joined us briefly as we cameled up. The girl offered us some sour patch kids and we both quickly held out our palms in acceptance. As we were eating, we saw Jump walk by below us. Frisbee also noticed Legend hike by, a hiker we met earlier on while on his practice run, who is currently shooting for a FKT (Fastest Known Time) of the Arizona Trail.

We made our way down the hill to get back on trail and shortly caught up with Jump who we chatted with for a minute before passing her. We’d also end up catching up with Legend who was trying to navigate through a poorly marked section of trail.

The rest of the afternoon was spent mingling and hiking behind him. We told him we’d back off if we were a bother, but he told us it was nice talking to people for a change. I’d imagine being stuck in your head, constantly on your feet with limited sleep would get to you after a while. We’ve been hiking for 23 of the 25 days we’ve been out here. He was on day 7!

We poked fun at trail vloggers, and talked about our travel and hiking experiences. We told him to join us for a week or two for the “fire cooker” kickoff at the Appalachian Trail to confuse the newbies. Frisbee wants to carry a plastic cheese ball container as a bear canister. I debated bringing a swan pool float as a sleep pad. Legend suggested taking a granny driving a power chair to help carry his gear. We planned a ridiculous gear list photo which included unnecessary items such as three drones, a kettle, luggage on wheels, a skillet, and an air mattress.

Between it all, we breaked briefly for water and took in some scenery. We’d catch back up with Klaus right before slipping and sliding down a rocky hill. Fun times.

Then we’d say goodbye and good luck to Legend at the next water source. We had planned on eating dinner at the next campsite at mile 431.9, then hiking til dark, but it was a nice site.