Monday, Feb 3rd 2025, 0700-1900
Mm56 to just past Sawtooth guzzler mm82, section 1
26 miles.
As great as the day before was, this one was kind of a dud. I started with a walk along an old railroad bed, which was ok except that there were deep cut-outs where washes came through. Long ago there were bridges, but all had since collapsed. So it was some effort finding a way down and then up through the cuts. Still, it was kind of cool to be following such an old railroad bed.
Along the way, I heard a rooster crowing, so there must have been a ranch nearby. Then there was a lot of dirt road walking, where I went past a boondocking couple with a few dogs. They caught my scent from a long ways off and started barking, prompting me to pick up rocks in case they were feral. But one of them was actually friendly, so I got another petting in.
Later, a small herd of cows began running down the road ahead of me, which always annoys me. Many were mooing, so I started mooing back.. it’s how I entertain myself. Nearby, I could hear a low rumbling, almost like a growl. The noise was behind me and getting closer. Finally I saw what it was: the biggest bull I’d ever seen and he looked pissed! Perhaps it was my mock mooing that made him mad. He was looking straight at me. I picked up my pace and the road turned, thank goodness. The cows had gone straight so I figured he would too. Just to be sure, I stopped and watched but to my horror, he turned and kept coming towards me. Then he started bellowing like they do when declaring their territory to other bulls. I turned and ran down the road as fast as I could and eventually the sound died away. Whew!
I had to go over 10 miles this morning to get to my first water. The last few miles involved more wash and cross country travel, and I was very nearly out of water when I finally arrived at a cow trough, my main water for the day. I got excited that the float switch was working, expecting nice clear water to come out. To my dismay, the water was the most disturbing bright orange and extremely cloudy. So I had to collect the green water from the trough (which was now mixing with the orange water that I dumped out). I used my buff as a sort of pre-filter, but it didn’t do much. I had to filter a couple liters and then spend some time back-flushing, but at least the water filtered clear and tasted okay.
A mile later, I came to another source, this one a guzzler with a cool mural painted on the apron. There was a corrugated metal apron as well. The tank was pretty low and had a frog swimming in it, but the water I pulled was pretty clear. I dumped it back because just before this, 4 guys in side by sides had stopped to talk and gave me lots of water, an orange and a banana. Of course they asked if I was by myself and I told them my (imaginary) buddy was only an hour behind me. They kept looking for him to show but he never did, so they drove off after their lunch break. I promised I would share some of the water with him. Haha, not!
I began a very long haul across a barren valley, headed for the Sawtooth mountains. My god it got hot! I had my umbrella up early this day, since the first trough, but the temps this afternoon were nearly unbearable. Without the umbrella, I couldn’t have kept hiking through the heat of the day. But there was also no place to take a break, as there were almost no shrubs or trees. The umbrella really saved the day. My thermometer got up to 89 degrees…in my self-made shade! That’s ridiculous for the beginning February.
Although it was flat walking, some of the roads were deep sand. I did a lot of walking off to the side of the roads just to avoid it. There wasn’t much to see, other than some fields and houses in the distance. I also spotted a herd of horses…I guess they’re feral. Other then that, it was pretty mundane. After many hours of this, I finally entered the low hills and enjoyed some different scenery. I probably should have stopped there, but I wanted to make it as far as the last guzzler to see of I might be able to get some more water. I had just enough but figured it couldn’t hurt too have a little bit more. But the quality was reported to be pretty bad and I was disappointed to find this was definitely the case. I used some to splash on my face and it smelled terrible. I tried to filter a small amount but it also tasted terrible and I had to dump it out.
I went a little further and set up my barren camp in the dark. I barely had the energy to make dinner and felt really gross from sweating so much. When planning this trip, I thought I might just do a touch and go through Arizona City. Now, I couldn’t imagine not taking at least one overnight to get cleaned up and have a break. I’d earned one, so I booked an Airbnb for the next night. This at least made me feel a lot better… something to look forward to.
