Playing the Water Game

Day 7

Several times in the night I heard elk bugling, such a cool sound! Then around 4 am it lightly rained for a short time; I stayed cozy & dry. While I ate breakfast, I read a Yoga with Adriene email. To energize myself as I packed up, I put on 80s music. It was an enjoyable start to my day.

Paul took off earlier, while I drank coffee, so I had the trail to myself. Near a mud wallow, I startled eight cows and spotted two turkey vultures. Mid-morning I met Paul at our first water source, a “tank” that was really a murky pond. Yesterday he gave me a piece of white mesh (it came in a 2-pack so he had a spare) and I used it to strain the water that I collected with my filter bladder. This prevented cute, tiny shrimp-like critters and dirt from clogging it. The water filtered clear.

Not long after, we met several people readying for a 100 mile bike/ running race that largely followed the AZT between Flagstaff and Tusayan. The sky had grown very dark and soon a light rain fell. Yay, my pack cover justified its spot in my pack! At noon I reached the Grandview TH, which had a tall lookout tower. From the top, I saw a portion of the canyon. Paul and I ate lunch and I dried my tent & pack cover in a light breeze.

Throughout the afternoon, along a mix of dirt roads and single track trail, I stepped off to let mountain bikes pass. We stopped at a wildlife trough for water. I started cold-soaking my peanut noodles and attracted the interest of a squirrel with a large, fluffy white tail.

Having hiked 25 miles, we arrived at Russell “tank”, a shallow, murky lake. The nearby area was a hub of race activity. A lady gave me a tangerine; it tasted delicious! After filtering water and eating dinner, we walked a short distance down trail and set up our tents in the dark.

Day 8

It was a chilly morning so I ate breakfast with my lower body in my sleeping bag, multiple layers up top. I chatted out the door with Paul who stood eating his oatmeal. He took off and I went to use the trailhead pit toilet. Upon my return, I rolled up my heavily condensed tent and got underway. I already had three liters of water for the day’s 19 mile carry.

Mid-morning I encountered a tarantula on trail! For a spider, it was kind of cute and very hairy. It didn’t like me getting up close and I watched it traverse a couple small rocks as it wandered away. Shortly after, I was picking up pieces of a broken glass bottle (damn my LNT training) and a mountain biker went past. He stopped and asked if I’d please collect any orange & silver race markers that he might have missed.

Near noon, I transitioned from the Coconino Rim to the Babbitt Ranch Passage. The trail stayed fairly flat and the scenery was Junipers, low brush, and distant windmills. My prize encounter of the day was a handsome Mountain Horned Lizard, who posed for multiple pictures.

Late afternoon, I hiked the 0.6 access road to the wildlife tank. Paul waved me in and I joined him on a concrete pad. There were two troughs, one full of light green water that filtered well, though it had a slight barnyard taste. I do prefer the wildlife tanks to the cattle ones; the latter have muddy edges which make access tricky. We hiked back to the junction and set up our tents in two sheltered campsites.

Day 9

Once again, I heard elk bugling in the night. With the long day ahead of us, I got up earlier than usual, though Paul still beat me out of camp because I am a slowpoke in the morning.  When I stopped to de-layer, I drank instant cold brew coffee and felt super-charged!

For the first time since the bottom of the Grand Canyon, I broke out my sun umbrella. With a rapidly warming day and zero shade, I much appreciated its protection. I loved winding across the vast, flat desert spread out around me. These days we plan our mileage around water sources; it feels like a sort of game.

Paul and I planned to meet at the day’s first verified water source, a tank 17 miles from our camp. I stopped one mile short to check the Cedar Ranch TH resupply box cache and found Paul waiting. There was a lot of public water so we filled our bottles from it. I enjoyed the shade and ate my lunch.

Since Paul felt the directions to the next source, a wildlife trough, were unclear, we hiked the last 11 miles together. It was a collection of mostly dirt roads. At one point, I spotted a large Mountain Horned Lizard with spectacular head fins. Slowly we gained 1,000 ft. and the junipers gave way to pine trees.

No one had commented on our final water source since 8/31, but we found it full of water, clear except for a multitude of water bugs. I hoped they enjoyed the wave pool effect as I cleared a patch of water to scoop. It filtered decently fast and tasted great. We returned to the trail junction to camp. As I finished setting up my tent, two hunters with bows walked by on the access road. I did a 27 mile day!

Day 10

For a couple miles, Mt. Humphreys, Arizona’s highest peak, was in full view ahead. Then the day was as different from yesterday as could be. The trail wound gently upward through pines that grew ever taller and denser. The shade grew plentiful and a couple squirrels rebuked me for trespassing on their forest. Eventually the trail wound around the western side of Mt. Humphreys; I enjoyed a sweeping vista of golden grass and distant peaks.

Shortly past the turnoff to Snow Bowl Lodge, I turned west to access Alfa Fia Tank, a lovely blue pond. A kind local named Astrid, near the end of a hike with her two dogs, gave me a liter of water. I filtered another from the lake, then sat on a smooth log to eat my lunch.

Over the course of the day, I started and finished an audiobook, A Psalm for the Wild-Built. It fit my contemplative mood and was the perfect counterpart to walking in wilderness.

With excitement, I checked my phone often for a mile, then… the 200 mile point! I formed the number out of pine cones and took a photo (then dispersed it in proper LNT style). I felt proud to have covered that distance in 10 days! Though I also felt worn out for the last few miles. At Schultz Tank, I met Paul and we got funky tasting water that clogged our filters.

There is a camping ban area around Flagstaff. Paul & I went down a forest road until we were clear of the banned zone. Pitching my tent among partially burned trees was not ideal, but they hadn’t fallen in over a year so I hoped they were unlikely too on this wind-less night. The stars were gorgeous!

Day 11

It was only 7.6 miles into Flagstaff! Mid-way, I stopped to dig a cat hole. Afterwards, my stomach cramped; I suspected last night’s water and dumped the rest of it.

From the trail’s Highway 89 crossing, I walked four extra miles because my 2nd resupply box was not at the post office to which I sent it.  However, it resolved my mental debate. Originally I intended to walk the red line route around Flagstaff, but it was low on reliable water plus the views I hoped to see, well I saw them in the last passage. There is an official blue line urban route through Flagstaff and both the central post office and Super 8 were on the way.

To maintain a complete footpath, I hiked into town. Along the way, I stopped at Wendy’s for a vanilla frosty and fries. Randomly, as I was finishing my meal, Paul showed up for a frosty and burger. The day before we decided to split the cost of a hotel room. We walked the last bit to the Super 8 together. The desk clerk asked for our car info and was astounded to hear that we walked into town, lol.

Town chores may sound mundane, but my shower was heavenly! It felt great to be clean and to clean my electrolyte bottle & soaking jar. I even patched a new hole in my pants prior to doing laundry! Oh, and I drank lots of clean water.

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