Author: kaulua26

Friday Apr 22nd, 2022, 0830-1800Hwy 60 to Country Club & Chipmunk, EABO mm 304, Segment 5 mm 17.24 miles. There was a wind and dust advisory for this day, plus warnings about extreme fire danger. The Flagstaff fire was raging to the west and the overnight low was forecasted to be 29. So naturally, I left a safe, warm hotel room to set out for a night in the woods. I was definitely dragging my feet to leave town, though. There were 2 access points to this ‘metropolis’ along the route, the 2nd going right past a shopping center in Pinetop. Originally I’d hoped to walk the 7 miles between access points before stopping in town, negating the 3 mile side[…]

Wednesday Apr 20th, 2022, 0550-1900Cottonwood wash to Hwy 60, then Show Low, EABO mm 280.8, Segment 4 mm 71 5. 31 miles. I passed the halfway mark at only 11 days in, setting a blistering pace. I’d earned an overnight town stop, maybe even a zero. I was sure ready for one. Today’s landscape certainly didn’t leave me wanting for more right away. It was another hot, windy, exposed day in even more scorched lands. The morning started off nice, finishing our walk through the wash with tall pines and a lone elk sighting. But soon we were winding through a lot of scrub and some pretty relentless ups and downs through a number of ridges. We began the first of[…]

Tuesday Apr 19th 2022, 0610-1900Lower Black Canyon to Cottonwood wash, EABO mm 250, Segment 4 mm 41. 30 miles. Oh boy, what a day. There was more big hiking, Big Sun and Big Wind. The morning started off so very pleasant and peaceful. I wasn’t too cold overnight for the first time in a week. A few random wind gusts did take out my centerpole stake… nothing like your house crashing down on you in the middle of the night. So I had to get up to re-adjust. We had a chipper start in the morning. I made a comment about not seeing much sign of bears and minutes later, spotted fresh bear tracks in the sand. We came upon a[…]

Monday Apr 18th, 2022, 0610-1900Rim Top to Lower Black Canyon, EABO mm 220, Segment 4 mm 11. 22 miles. There was another town stop this day, except it wasn’t much of a town. We dropped off food resupply packages at a general store a few weeks ago, as we were passing by in the car. The store wasn’t even yet open for the season, but we were lucky to run into the manager. The Rim Resort sits right along the main highway and our route, so it was very convenient to leave food there, lessening how much we had to carry from Pine. It was another 75-80 miles to the next trail town, Show Low. We had 11 more miles to[…]

Sunday Apr 17th 2022, 0600-1900La Cianega to Rim Top, EABO mm 198, Segment 3 mm 59. 31 miles. There wasn’t too much to say about this day, other than it was more iconic Rim travel. I hiked the rest of the Highline Trail, then ascended Military Sinkhole trail for the final few miles to make it to the top of the Rim just in time for sunset. The day started off a little iffy for me in that I wasn’t feeling great. I felt a little congested, like I was getting a mild cold, and my back was hurting. I quickly snapped out of it, feeling much better after an hour of walking. A beautiful morning, with nothing but 360 views[…]

Thursday Apr 14th 2022, 0600-1800Fivemile Pass Tank #2 to Corduroy Wash, EABO mm 126.5, Segment 2 mm 76.5. 25 miles. It was another diverse day in terms of temperature and terrain. I recorded a low of 26 inside my tent, waking to sparkling ice crystals lining my walls. I slept cold towards dawn but considering that my quilt is only rated to 22 degrees, I think I did good. I could have still put on my puffy, which I instead had stuffed in my footbox to keep things warm. The morning took us through a maze of jeep track. Some intersections were marked, most not. It would be very hard to do this route without GPS. We stopped to check out[…]

Wednesday Apr 13th 2022, 0600-1900Chaves trail to Fivemile Pass Tank #2, EABO mm 101.5, Segment 2 mm 51.6. 26.6 miles. It was a cold one overnight. It got to 36 degrees inside my tent but outside, the temperature plummeted to 27 as we started walking. It’s amazing how much heat a tent can trap…even one as well ventilated as mine. I stayed just warm enough and didn’t even have to break a chemical handwarmer (which I picked up in Sedona for extra peace of mind). We followed the Chaves trail for several miles, finding it very distinct in some spots and barely discernible in others…typical of many other trails so far. The intermittent cairns were mostly all that helped to guide[…]

Tuesday Apr 12th 2022, 0620-1820Oak Creek to Chaves trail, EABO mm 75, Segment 2 mm 25. 22 miles The forecast called for rain in the morning and sun by the afternoon, so I wasn’t too concerned about getting wet. Even if it poured, I’d dry by the end of the day. I started up a trail to the top of the rim once again, and I could feel it getting colder as I went. But there was a peaceful calm produced by the overcast skies. It was as if the desert was holding its breath in anticipation. Wildflowers sprang up alongside the trail as it switch-backed the steep canyon walls. This was a finely constructed elevator of good grade. All hell[…]