Arizona Trail: Mountain snow, desert heat, and a Yard Sale?

Yo! This is my first on trail post of the season. I am currently waiting outside of Summit Hut in Tucson for the shop to open so I can buy some new trail runners. My Altra Olympus 5’s have been HORRIBLE for my feet, and are already falling apart. I mean, the logo even came off of them. Makes you wonder…

Besides the shoes I apparently bought off of Temu, the trails been pretty awesome so far. 

Day 1 sent me up to Miller Peak, hiking through snow and slush most of the way down. Before I could even tag the monument, I had at least 2 other hikers ask how old I was. (Just let me hike dude!) Climbing back down, and just around mile 13, I made camp with a group of around 8. I helped a guy pitch his brand new Durston X mid that he’d pitched only a few times, and he commented on my backpack, claiming I was part of the “Palante posse” 

Day 2 was a smooth sailing, 22 miles and filtered some extra green cow water for St Patrick’s day. It killed my Platypus filter, and I have since been gifted a microsqueeze by a local trail angel! To be fair, that Platypus had been in use for close to a year, so it lasted me a good while. Definitely better quality than the aliexpress shoes I apparently bought. 

Day 3, I hiked into Patagonia, picked up my resupply box, and enjoyed one of the best burritos I’ve ever had. When I asked the girl if the Guac was extra, she looked at me like I was insane. After, I met a new hiker friend, quickly nicknamed “Desert Rat” for her ability to only carry 1L of water for a 10 mile stretch. I don’t know how she does it, but she claims her pee is good. 
 

Day 4, DR and I hiked the ‘old AZT’ section to link up back with the new trail, through an empty forest road that was very beautiful. We’ve gotten to know each other very fast out here, and it’s nice to have people similar in age around me. Definitely a PMA boost! We met up with two new faces, Gouillitine and Smokey, who I immediately bonded with over being members of said “Palante posse” Currently we’re in the process of converting DR to join the movement, so we can all have little matching backpacks. Smokey camped with us that night, and we messed around attempting to route set a boulder problem we eyed on a rock face. 

Day 5, we quickly convinced Smokey to quit his job in order to take a weekend off trail to go to a rock climbing festival and a high line festival, both I’m super stoked to get to experience next weekend! We move pretty fast, and cowboy camped (DR’s first time ever!) under a Juniper tree. Oh yeah, and we siesta’s at Kentucky Camp, charged our devices, and washed our hair in a little spigot out back. Shoutout to whoever left the Dr Bronners!

Day 6 we set out hoping to achieve a marathon, but a 13 mile water carry through the desert heat had us changing our minds quickly. We took a nice break at a cow field, and decided to hitch into Vail to enjoy some McDonald’s and resupply. Also hit mile 100!

MY EBT WORKED!! I’m so glad, because this will be a great way to save money on trail. Shoutout Calfresh. Ended up cowboy camping behind a post office, 8/10 considering…

Everyone loves a Yard Sale!

Ive quickly been given the trail name “yard sale” for my habit of dumping all my things on the ground every time I need to find something. I’ve had a few scares, but still have yet to lose anything besides my sanity. Super stoked for what the rest of the trail will bring!

Btw, keep posted! Coming soon: 

ditching our tents and rain jackets, BeanFest, SAG, and much more.

-Yardsale