March 17

We were happy to find a very flat campsite and with amazing views. We were exposed, but the skies were clear when we headed to bed. After the winds of last night, we again put all of our stakes in just in case we experience more wind tonight. Good thing that we did as the sky darkened, along came wind and rains. We wondered about the AZT hiker Postman who was shelterless. We awakened by 5 and started hiking about 6. We were greeted by dense fog that totally blocked out any views.

The fog would lift some and then return.

Fog added to the intrigue of the landscape.

Eventually the blue skies won out and we had blue skies for the rest of the day.

We weren’t the only ones that were happy to see the blue skies. This bird was filling the air with its song.

The black throated sparrow was a new bird for us.

Along the trail are a lot of spider webs with a funnel leading into a hole where the spider lives.

Todays hike will take us deep into the Four Peaks Wilderness area. We continue our ascent from Roosevelt Lake. This is one of the steeper climbs on the trail. Fortunately the trail is in good condition and has some switchbacks.

We will soon be saying goodby to the Saguaros and heading into the land of pines.

We will also be saying goodby to the last views of Roosevelt Lake.

There is a trailhead near here called Mills Ridge. We are hoping that there still might be some public water stashed here. Not only is there several gallons, but we also see Postman. He spent the night wrapped up in a survival blanket and is waiting for the sun to dry his sleeping bag out. He was under the impression that rain doesn’t happen here. He is definitely hiking his own hike not sure what he will do when he starts running into snow. We are glad to be carrying a tent and not complaining about the weight. We use some of the water for our breakfast and continue on.

After climbing up and rounding a hill the Four Peaks come into view. There isn’t much water on the south side of the peaks, but there is still plenty of snow on the north side so water is abundant.

We carried micro spikes for this section. The past several weeks hikers have posted that they would be helpful. We figured that it was better to carry them and not need them than to need them and not have them. We ran into very little snow that was easy to cross.

Don has sore knees today so our pace is slower.

The north side of the four peaks is still covered in snow.

A post on Far Out commented that this section was like hiking in the Pacific Northwest with an endless supply of water.

It is always nice not to have to think about water! We find a site near a stream and decide to call it good for the night. Just as we were finishing cooking a couple with a dog show up. As usual we share stories and learn that they have just sold their house and are now living in a van. Sounds a little familiar. This is the first time that we have camped with someone this close on this trip. The women had a bad cough which is always a bit scary when we are trying to avoid individuals that appear sick.

Soon everyone is asleep and except for the coughing thru out the night we manage to get some sleep.

Mileage hiked 15.3

March 18

We were up and gone before our camping neighbors stirred. Hope her cough improves. It is never fun to be sick on the trail. We pass Shake Spring which is flowing well and meet a man who is completing the AZT in sections. It will take him several years, but he is determined to get it done. The trail is a contrast from yesterdays elevation gain. Until we reach a road the trail is mostly flat or gentle down hill. We pass by Pigeon Spring which has a bucket near by to scoop water. It is a murky blue color which seems to be a common color of the named springs. The trail takes us out to a road which in the beginning is quite smooth and our thought is that we are going to have an easy hike today.

Then the road becomes very rocky, rutted and steep. There are some vehicle tracks and also signs of vehicles being quite stuck. We will not be making miles today as we carefully work our way down the road, We have about 8 miles of this road before getting back on a trail. More than once we referred to Far Out as many of the junctions weren’t signed. When we started out this morning there was thick ice on some of the puddles, but the sun has melted them and the temperature is quite nice for hiking.

We stop for lunch at a stream and make tentative plans of what our options are going to be when we get to the road by Sunflower.

We get back to hiking and are again amazed at the thick vegetation growth along the trail.

We meet three hikers who are from Arizona doing a section . They tell us that they have hiked in this area before and have never seen so much water. They warn us of Sycamore Creek which is generally a rock hop is now a knee to thigh wade. We will be crossing it before we get to the road.

The trail continues mostly down hill and we pick up our pace thinking that maybe we can get to the road and either hitch to Payson or Phoenix. Other options are finding a place to camp and try hitching in the morning. As usual once we get to the river it takes us longer to cross and we realize that camping tonight is going to be our best option. After the creek to our dismay we go up and around rather than down and camping options are nil. We pass behind the Sunflower towing company and the guard dogs are alerted. Pitching a tent anywhere in their sight will have them barking all night. we keep going until we see the road and the underpass which will takes us under the road to the other side. There is quite the stream of water running thru it so we decide to camp right by the underpass on a piece of land that is just big enough for the tent. We are out of sight and the running water drowns out the vehicle noise. Perfect!

As we are talking over options for tomorrow, we decide to give our friends in Phoenix a call. They are our neighbors in Alaska and like us spend winters elsewhere. We give them a call and see if they have any plans for tomorrow and if they would like to pick up some smelly hikers. We tell them where we are located and they know the place as many years ago they had taken their son hiking here. No problem! They will be there by 9. With that knowledge we head to bed and look forward to getting clean tomorrow.

Miles hiked 21

March 19

We sleep in till 7 and then have cereal in the tent. It is quite the leisurely morning. We head up the embankment and make our way on a very busy road to the Sunflower towing turn off. The cars are zooming by us, it makes sense that this is not an easy place to hitch. Dan and Pricilla arrive at 8:45 bringing us fresh blueberry muffins. Today is starting out great! When we arrived to their house, we are given robes and begin the process of showers and laundry. One item that needs to be washed out by hand several times before putting in the laundry is our socks. Not surprising they are filithy.

After the laundry goes in, our bodies get 10 days worth of dust and dirt removed. Nothing like feeling clean again!

Thanks Dan and Pricilla for picking us up!

When are clothes are finished, and our bodies cleaned it is time to go and eat. Today is my 72nd birthday and it is time to celebrate! We head to a restaurant called Pitch and partake of a delicious meal topped up with a free birthday desert which I can share with my friends!

The afternoon consists of helping with a puzzle and just relaxing, Our good fortune with logistics continues. Tracy, our friend who hiked with us when we first started has a meeting in Phoenix today. She will pick us up when it is over and take us back to her house where our van has been parked. When she puts in our location she discovers it is only 15 minutes from her location. She arrives by 6 and with clean clothes and bodies the 2 1/2 hour drive is quite pleasant. Before leaving Phoenix, we decide to eat once again and have another delicious meal at Season 52. Arriving back to our van, we are more than ready to crawl into our bed and call it a day of amazing logistics. It is another day of celebrating a year around the sun!

Miles Hiked 1/4 mile!!!!!

March 20-22

When we get back to Tracy’s, we catch up on some emails which includes information about making plane reservations to McNeil where we will see the bears this summer. Some of the flights are totally booked, but eventually we were able to make flight arrangements. Tracy proposed to go see the movie Everything, Everywhere, all at once. It was a movie that topped the awards for one of the best movies of the year. The theater only had about 5 people in attendance which maybe should have given us a warning. Anyway the movie was entertaining, but not sure exactly sure what it was all about. There is a storm moving in, bringing wind and even snow to the AZT on the 22. We decide to move our starting day to March 23, to begin the hike from the border to Tiger Mine which has a much better weather forecast. Now we just need to figure out how to get there. Problem solved when our friends(who live in Tuscon) from our working days at NOLS offer to take us to the border on the 23. They will pick us up at the NOLS Southwest Branch where we will be leaving our van. Complicated logistics made easy! A highlight of the 22nd was checking out Bario Bread that had come highly reccomended by our friend Jim.