Apr 39 - Flagstaff

Left trail at mile 579.6 to spend an evening at Rob's home in Flagstaff. We met Rob on the trail a ways back. He was out with a friend hiking one 200 mile section and we walked with them for a couple of miles. We enjoyed visiting with him on the trail, and again in Flagstaff very much.

Yesterday to our great delight and surprise we found a gallon of water on the side of the trail with a note from Rob. We gave him a call, and connected for dinner and a nice evening visit. We're lucky we crossed paths.

Today we took a 2 mile RT side trip to Visit Walnut Canyon National Monument. Thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, it's a real treasure. We saw our first Clark's Nutcracker of the trip there.

One or two squalls today while we were under cover at a Walnut Canyon, else glorious weather.

Stayed up way past our bedtime. Happy, healthy, and sleepy.

Apr 28 - unexpected sun

Camped at mile 564.9

A few tiny snow flurries this morning, then mostly sunny, all breezy, and quite cool. Very glad it didn't rain during the day. Just starting to drizzle now at dusk. 

Beautiful trail scenery, good birds, easy walking. Between yesterday and today we've seen 11 new species of birds for the trip. It's fun to be in new habitat!

Since reaching the plateau a few days ago we've frequently seen the most beautiful of all squirrels: Abert's Squirrel.  A tassel eared squirrel with great plumage and cool ears. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abert's_squirrel

Happy, healthy, warm and snug in our comfy little nest. 

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=35.118422,-111.562912(I+Am+Here+Thursday+April+28+2016+07:28+PM)&iwloc=A&z=11

Apr 27 - Pink Floyd

Camped at 541.8, in a not yet open for the season USFS Campground. The campground host is set up and the water system has been turned on, and their summer season will start soon.

Another easy day of walking in P Pine forest. We took a 2 mile R/T side trip to quiet Mormon Lake Resort (whose lake has been mostly dry for the last fifteen years likely due to climate change) to pick up a package, shower, and wash our clothes. The ever-present Joerg was there too, as well as Nicole plus two pairs of thru-hikers we had not previously met. All great fun to socialize at the store and the washing machines. No hot meal though, as their season has not really started yet.

One of the hikers we laundered with, Jessica aka YogaBird, rescued a plastic Pink Flamingo at the Dollar General Store in Superior, and it rides in the back pocket of her pack. He gets out at all the water sources for a photo-op. His name is Pink Floyd. He's extremely good looking and would fit right in at the Metaphor flamingo garden.

We are happy and healthy and enjoying very cool perfect walking weather. Forecast, however, is for snow or cold rain off and on for a few days, and we didn't come to Arizona for Scottish hiking conditions. We'll see what actually comes to pass.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=34.942754,-111.493765(I+Am+Here+Wednesday+April+27+2016+08:05+PM)&iwloc=A&z=11

Apr 26 - Ponderosa Pines

Camped at 517.5

All Ponderosa Pine all the time
Easy walking
Ice in the water bottles this morning
Happy and healthy
Nighty night

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=34.762241,-111.326119(I+Am+Here+Tuesday+April+26+2016+07:48+PM)&iwloc=A&z=11

Apr 25 - on the Plateau

Camped at 493.9 on cool windy evening with snow flurries. Cool and windy all day. The colder weather is a welcome change. The howling wind makes it hard to find birds, sometimes even hard to think. But we found a most unexpected and most beautiful male Red-faced Warbler, and that is a hellofa good looking boy.

Also saw a beauty of a snake , photo may not do it justice

We climbed to the top of the Mogollon Rim and are now on the Colorado Plateau, where we will remain for the duration, excepting the grand crossing of The Big Ditch.

Happy and healthy snuggled in our warm sturdy tent.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=34.566831,-111.224034(I+Am+Here+Monday+April+25+2016+06:25+PM)&iwloc=A&z=11

Apr 24 - 4 other hikers

Camped at 472.7 on top of a saddle with a great view. 

Yesterday evening we heard a new life bird calling from across the canyon : Flammulated Owl!

Great morning in town.  A social day all in all. 

Breakfast at The Early Bird with none other than Joerg who waltzed in shortly after we got our tea. We may see him off and on for the rest of the trip. 

Spent an hour at laundromat with 70 year old chatty Bob, MN farm-raised, lived in Pine for 30 years. Quite the fun fellow to launder clothes with!  Joined at the washing machines by fast-walking New Zealander Steven who is a very friendly and chipper solo thru-hiker.  He will pass us soon so we may get more time to visit with him again. 

On our way out of town we passed inbound Canadian Alex, a very cheerful solo thru-hiker who we met at our campsite last night. 

Back on the trail Nicole caught up to us and we spent the rest of the day hiking north with her, now camped together. Upbeat, interesting, social, Milwaukee native, veterinarian living in Tucson. Excellent company. 

Which is a long way of saying there are quite a few thru-hikers in our neighborhood and it's fun to cross paths. 

Happy and healthy.  Sleeping just below the Mogollon Rim which we will ascend tomorrow with great delight. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mogollon_Rim

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=34.412333,-111.353516(I+Am+Here+Sunday+April+24+2016+08:16+PM)&iwloc=A&z=11

Apr 23 - cool weather, easy hiking

Camped at 459.7
Nice little grassy meadow next to a spring.

Tomorrow, Sunday morning, we reach Pine. We'll have breakfast, buy groceries, eat lunch at That Brewery, pick up our package, and carry on down the trail.

After we recharge the phone in Pine I'll write more.

Happy and healthy.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=34.350084,-111.472669(I+Am+Here+Saturday+April+23+2016+07:06+PM)&iwloc=A&z=11

Apr 22 - Gnatchatter

Camped at 440.1 next to East Verde River

Gnatcatchers are very common so far. Every day. They engage in enthusiastic colorful bird song. We call it Gnatchatter. It makes us happy.

First view of San Francisco Peaks. Woo hoo!

All healthy and happy.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=34.230045,-111.513165(I+Am+Here+Friday+April+22+2016+07:38+PM)&iwloc=A&z=11

Apr 21 - burn zone

Camped at beautiful open-view site at 419.6 mile marker. One of the nicest sites this trip. Not drop-dead beautiful like the southern Sierra or southern Utah, but the nicest place in recent days.

All day in Mazatzal Wilderness. Angle of repose like Big Sur range. Fire in 2012 killed almost all the conifers. Dry. Not as many birds as down in the Sonoran desert, but we're happy to be up at 6000' at 75 instead of the forecast high of 95 down at 2000'

I had a tired day. Jim is, as always, a bundle of energy.

Happy and healthy and looking forward to a brew and a burger in Pine on Sunday.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=34.084197,-111.491978(I+Am+Here+Thursday+April+21+2016+05:47+PM)&iwloc=A&z=11

Apr 20 - half way

Camped at mile marker 400.4. Half way!! In a little patch of pines with a few spruce trees. Reminiscent of Ventana wilderness in terms of vegetation structure and fire history/ecology.

Sharing camp with two gents.

Joerg is a thru-hiker we've been leapfrogging, haven't seen him since Superior. He walks more miles per day, but he stops in towns for a half or full day each, whereas we plod steadily forward.

Also at this camp is Doug, the trail steward for this segment. He's here for a couple days cutting brush off trail. Heroic. Retired from the NW to Phoenix area a year ago and this is his retirement passion.

Happy and healthy after a very nice day on the trail.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=33.968903,-111.507972(I+Am+Here+Wednesday+April+20+2016+07:30+PM)&iwloc=A&z=11

Apr 19 - lots of Poorwills

Camped at 382.1, next to a mostly dry stream bed with a couple pools of water and many frogs.

Poorwills calling now. We have heard lots of Poorwills on this walk, nearly every night. Nice birds. Not enough Roadrunners though, a grave disappointment.

Very nice day. Conserving battery, so won't write more now.

Happy and healthy.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=33.827543,-111.403151(I+Am+Here+Tuesday+April+19+2016+08:02+PM)&iwloc=A&z=11

Apr 18 - bye-bye low elevation

Camped at 360.7, on a saddle top of ridge with big vistas. 5600 feet!

The marina where we got our package was at 2100 feet. I don't think we drop below 3500' again until bottom of Grand Canyon. Hurray. I'm happy to be at elevations with some Manzanitas and other non-thorny plants that generate shade to boot. Got tired of being unable to find a non-thorny place to sit in shade. Time for a change.

We are happy and healthy. Conserving battery, so no photos.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=33.667539,-111.288288(I+Am+Here+Monday+April+18+2016+07:45+PM)&iwloc=A&z=11

Apr 16 - The Mule Guys

Camped next to dry creek, mile 321.7, Superstition Wilderness. Saturday, pleasant weather, lots of Phoenoids out for day hikes and overnight trips. One young man was packing heat on his hip; perhaps he needed the weapon to protect himself from ISIS terrorists hiding in the Superstitions or maybe from carnivorous squirrels.

Award for most enthusiastic people we've met this trip goes to John and Kelli. They are traveling the whole AZ Trail in sections on mules. They are half done and preparing for the next leg. They deliver 55 gallon drums of water to their camps for the four mules they travel with, and we met them on a USFS road with a truckload of water. They love their mules and they're having a blast. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit with them.

We are happy, healthy, tired.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=33.440989,-111.186920(I+Am+Here+Saturday+April+16+2016+05:21+PM)&iwloc=A&z=11

Apr 17 - cool weather is the best

Camped in a lush spring fed cottonwood creek. Mile 341.2

We're a mountain range away from greater Tucson and greater Phoenix and may not have cell service again until we reach Pine AZ, April 24 or 25. Don't worry if there are no updates to blog.

Nice cool weather, probably <75 all day, good scenery, wilderness without cow damage. Tomorrow morning we pick up package at Roosevelt Marina, and then carry on north, 120 miles to Pine, primarily in Wilderness Area.

Jim twisted his back a bit today, otherwise happy and healthy.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=33.618326,-111.124364(I+Am+Here+Sunday+April+17+2016+06:42+PM)&iwloc=A&z=11

Apr 15 - perfect town stop

Camped in a wash near the first Sycamore of the trip. Mile 302.9

Great day. Cooler, maybe 80, and breezy.

Met hikers Salty Sue and Rob, our vintage. Nice chatting for an hour about cows, Sagebrush Rebellion, Edward Abby, John Wesley Powell, birds, flowers, canyon hiking destinations, and other things old backpackers like to talk about.

Arrived at PicketPost Trailhead hoping to hitch to Superior for town stuff just in time to catch a lift from a pair of brothers from Iowa and their wives. All retired, one from USFS based in Hood River. They took us to best burger bar in town and we dined with them. All nice people, as I expect of Iowans.

Next door to buy groceries and then over to the motel to use their coin-op laundry. 1940s motel, never remodeled, classic run-down western mining town place. Rob and Salty Sue arrived at the motel as we did, together with Joerg, a Swiss/Cincinnati hiker with whom we've been playing leapfrog for since we left Lee in Tucson. They got rooms, and we all chatted over the washing machines. Enjoyed hot showers in Joerg's 1940 shower.

Clean clothes, clean bodies, hours of good company, and still time to hitch back to the trailhead so we can sleep in a quiet dry wash.

Nice young couple drove us all the way to the trailhead, where we met a young man who we came to learn is Kurt Refsneider! That won't mean anything to most people, but it's a little like meeting pre-disgraced Lance Armstrong. Since biking the GDMBR in 2007 we've followed the TourDivide race, and Kurt regularly finishes in the top three in that race, the AZ Trail bike race, and the Colorado Trail bike race. All are unsupported multi day, no-fee, no-prize races ---- honest multi-day racing without the hype of the Tour de France. The leading riders in these races are some of the toughest athletes in the world. Meeting him was a hoot.

We are clean, cool, well fed, happy, healthy, and tickled pink that we got to visit with so many nice people.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=33.280934,-111.184726(I+Am+Here+Friday+April+15+2016+07:33+PM)&iwloc=A&z=11

Apr 14 - Death by Cholla

Camped at mile 287.0
Calm clear night. Cooled off at sunset to be comfortable.

Think we were at our lowest altitude today, 1646 feet when we left the Gila River. Lunch at river's edge with David and Jordan, the Warrior Adventure pair. Nice people.

Temp was mid 80's and all sun, but afternoon walking was a seven mile climb up southwest exposure, and that's too hot. Makes us both pooped. Too tired to write more.

The photo is a squirrel caught up on a bundle of cholla pods. Death by Cholla is a miserable way to go.

We are happy, healthy, and glad the sun set.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=33.159250,-111.146522(I+Am+Here+Thursday+April+14+2016+05:25+PM)&iwloc=A&z=11

Apr 13 - pizza & 5 thru-hikers

Camped at mile 267.2. One half mile beyond the one-third mark. 200 vertical feet above the Gila River, a real river with flowing water and cottonwoods and a bridge. 

We had a hell-of-a nice day with many noteworthy events. 

Our alarm (the call of the Black Oystercatcher) awakens us five minutes before nautical dawn and we are walking before sunrise. That gave us time to walk some miles before the weather got uncomfortably warm. 

At about noon we'd already walked ~13 miles, and we made the obvious decision to walk another 4 miles and hitch to the Kearny pizzeria rather than sit in the sun to eat our nuts, crackers, cheese, tuna, tang and chocolate. Brilliant choice. 

Huge salad, great pizza, cold beer for James and ice tea without a proper ice tea spoon for Amy. Across the street was a great IGA (unusually good  grocery store for a town of 1000 people) where we bought things we crave -- Ben and Jerry's ice cream, oranges, apples, bananas, yoghurt, juice. The ice cream we ate in the air conditioned pizzeria. The rest we'll eat for breakfast. 

Lorraine and Gary run the pizzaria. Lorraine was there and could not have been a better host. Great company, nice person, comfortable establishment which clearly serves as the community hub. She offered to shuttle us around - to the laundromat, back to the trail, whatever we needed. 

I broke my hiking pole an hour before town, but the ACE Hardware next to the pizzeria had PVC tubing and a small workshop Jim used to build a repair sleeve.  So lucky this tiny town had a hardware store, and within 100 feet of both the pizzeria and the grocery store!  Simple delights like that cause great pleasure. 

Just before we left the trail we passed out first thru-hikers. Five people in three parties, clustered under a makeshift shade structure at a trailhead. In the spring all hikers are northbound and move forward like a great centipede. There are perhaps 30-50 of us out here, most start sometime during the month of March, but we don't see others unless we overtake or are overtaken. 

Two Iraq/Afghanistan vets hiking to work out their demons, part of the Warriors Adventures program. http://www.outdoors.org/publications/outdoors/2016/features/bridging-the-gap-how-warrior-hike-helps-vets-walk-off-the-war.cfm

A quiet man and woman from the UK ("having trouble getting used to the heat"). 

A solo Tucson native woman about my age.  

We chatted for a bit, and expect to see them tomorrow since none of them went to town. 

After our town visit we hitched back to the trail and walked in the not-so-hot hour before sunset. James  the Master Campsite Finder pulled a rabbit out of the hat and found a terrific little perch on an otherwise steep trail corridor. 

We are healthy, happy, well fed, and enjoying all the nice people we met today. 

The photo is a large mural at the pizzeria where we added our names!

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=33.106091,-110.988717(I+Am+Here+Wednesday+April+13+2016+07:38+PM)&iwloc=A&z=11

Apr 12 - so many birdies

Camped 1/4 mile west of 247.6
In a wash near some old ranch ruins.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=32.958475,-110.978517(I+Am+Here+Tuesday+April+12+2016+06:25+PM)&iwloc=A&z=11

Walked steadily all day to cover a lot of ground because the weather was still cool. Partly cloudy, a few drizzles, and only a couple hours late afternoon warm enough to seek shade, and even then not sweaty warm. We could still see Mt Lemmon this morning and the top ~1000 feet still had snow from the Sunday storm. Forecast is for 10 degrees warmer the next couple days. We are in a 3-4 day stretch of ~4000' desert landscape with limited shade and limited water, and we are over-the-top lucky to have 55-70 degree weather for this chunk.

Easy walking all day in low gentle hills. Same habitat as past couple days. Horned Toads and one more (quiet) rattlesnake.

We saw a pair of Harris's Hawks late today. A very beautiful bird with restricted range that we have only seen a few times previously. Yippee.

Birds are abundant and chirpy chattery all day long.

We met one easy-bound thru-hiker on the Grand Enchantment Trail, a route that is concurrent with ours for a couple dozen miles. It's not an official trail like the AZT, and he said it's been tough and trashy in many parts. AZT is a National Scenic a Trail.

This is an inhospitable landscape. Water is very scarce, nearly all plants are thorny, and the rocks tend to be sharp. The three best seats in the past 48 hours were (other than fences and roads and one power line) the only man-made structures we've seen -- the gas pipeline platform yesterday lunch; the concrete base to a water tank yesterday dinner, and the animal-proof cache box at a trailhead today lunch. That cache of water, provided by a the local hiking club, was the only water in this 30 mile stretch. Great water and a terrific seat for lunch.

Tomorrow we will reach the Gila River. We may hitch to Kearny for a hot meal, or we may have pizza delivered to the a Trailhead! Bravo for the Kearny pizzeria for delivering pizza to hikers.

We are healthy, happy, and have very tired feet. Funny how we don't get sore muscles, but a full day of walking gives us foot-aches. History says they'll feel fine in the morning.

Apr 11 - desert and cool weather

Camped next to a spring fed water water tank at mile 225.6. First day with nobody else on the trail.

Pleasant weather with temps under 70. Easy, low hills, no surface water. Gallon jugs of water available in a big metal animal-proof box at road crossing, thanks to local hiking club. Next reliable water is 30 miles from here. Ouch.

Saguaro, ocotillo, barrel cactus, prickly pear, mesquite. And the ground is made of sharp rocks. But we scored a great place to sit and sprawl and eat our lunch - on a platform servicing a gas pipeline!

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=32.802416,-110.787004(I+Am+Here+Monday+April+11+2016+08:19+PM)&iwloc=A&z=11

Apr 10 -rain

Camped at 204.6. A bit off trail next to a dry wash, Oracle State Park.

Cool all day. 40's up at Summerhaven at sunrise, then up in the 50s as we descended to ~4000'. Rain and thunderstorms off and on starting at lunch. We descended off Mount Lemmon before the thunderstorms started, which was good since it looked wet and socked-in up there.

Great temp for walking. Rain is a drag, but not end of the world. WAY better than 85 and sunny.

It's nice to have good gear. Especially love our old style REI QuarterDome, a tent they no longer make. Sitting in here all comfy with pitter-patter on the roof.

Started hiking March 30. On April 2 and 6 we took half days off. Look at consistency of our step count on the other days! We definitely have a routine.

We are happy and healthy and glad it's not blinking hot.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=32.619527,-110.713441(I+Am+Here+Sunday+April+10+2016+05:47+PM)&iwloc=A&z=11

Apr 9 - big push to Mt Lemmon

Last night in the campground was a big mistake. After dark the occupants returned to the tent close to us, and the man was abusive and mean. For an hour we heard him call his girlfriend a fuckin bitch and that was the basic gist of his vocabulary and opinion about everything. They went to sleep a 9 or so but restarted at midnight for another round. I hated it.

Today was beautiful. Great weather, scenery, trail, and dinner. We made a big push (20 miles and perhaps 7000 feet gain) to get to the Mt Lemmon General Store to pick up our package and shop. Then a big dinner. And now set up camp (mile 186.7) on the concrete patio behind the community center. Good campsite, with bathrooms and an outlet for recharging phone!!

Happy, healthy, tired, well fed.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=32.445291,-110.760758(I+Am+Here+Saturday+April+9+2016+08:46+PM)&iwloc=A&z=11

Apr 8 - thunderstorms

Camped at Gordon Hirabayashi USFS campground. Mile 166.8. We don't usually stay at car campgrounds, but this was here when the day ended, mostly empty, and mighty convenient. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Hirabayashi

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=32.239573,-110.538426(I+Am+Here+Friday+April+8+2016+07:44+PM)&iwloc=A&z=11 

Two 30-minute thunderstorms today, hail and downpour and the works. The second started just as we arrived at the campground, and we each climbed inside a bear box and stayed dry! Very handy. 

We watched a WW 2 vintage B-17 fly over, with a Swainson's Hawk circling below it. 

Steady walking, nice scenery, nothing out of the ordinary.  Happy and healthy. 

Apr 7 - cool, uphill, scenic

Camped at mile 146.9 at 6385 elevation

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=32.239573,-110.538426(I+Am+Here+Thursday+April+7+2016+06:55+PM)&iwloc=A&z=11

Started day at 3100' and crossed Mica Mountain at 8666'. There were some descents mixed in so total gain was higher. 6000' of gain is a good solid day. Fortunately it was cooler and cloudy. A big day like this would not be viable in heat.

Saw two big honking Gila Monsters today. (Note: the second picture is not of a Gila Monster.) And yesterday a rattlesnake told us in no uncertain terms that he didn't want us to sit down in his patch of shade. If you've heard an unexpected rattler at close range you know what it does to your adrenaline. If you haven't had the pleasure, trust me that the response is innate, immediate, and intense.

We spent the whole day in Saguaro NP. Excellent trail, scenery, and diversity. Nice chats with three rangers on backcountry patrol, and also with a trail crew.

Cool and a bit drizzly as I type. We're happy, healthy, and ready for sleep

Apr 6 - Lee, heat, lost items

Nice morning walk with Lee through Tucson Mountain Park Saguaros. Big breakfast. Back to trailhead, and an afternoon of hot weather hiking on easy trail through beautiful blooming Sonoran desert. Too damn hot, so we stopped early at shady cool water Rincon Creek and called it a day. 

Mile 128.8

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=32.127113,-110.642288(I+Am+Here+Wednesday+April+6+2016+07:06+PM)&iwloc=A&z=11

I believe this will prove to be the hottest day of this trip. Forecast high for Tucson was 96. Should be 10 degrees cooler tomorrow and continuing to fall. And tomorrow we leave the 3000-3500 foot plain and go back to higher cooler altitude. 

Lost one warm hat, can't remember when we last had it. It had been Jim's favorite hat for years. He's very sad. And we just noticed that we're missing one of our 3/4 liter bottles, again can't recall when we had it. But we were thinking of tossing it anyway, so no worries on that one excepting the problem that we didn't used to lose things while hiking, and it's really quite important to have a system in place to keep track of everything. 

And a small story from yesterday... Maintenance man (aka MM) gave us a lift from trailhead to the Colossal Cave store. MM went inside to get our package and returned just as I noticed a big interpretive sign about the CCC.  

Caught off-guard by the sign, I exclaimed to no one in particular: The CCC built all of this too?  They did so much great work all over the country. 

MM stepped toward me, leaned over so I wouldn't miss the importance of his comment, and said It was FDR who did the great work, giving all those men jobs. 

Both the CCC and FDR make me think of my parents. So happy I was raised by FDR Democrats. 

We are healthy and almost happy, excepting a lost hat. 

Apr 5 - dinner with Lee

Easy hiking on nice path. First cottonwood riparian area with no cows. First saguaros. And first dinner with Lee in Tucson! Lee is an old buddy who is migratory, like a warbler - AK, MT, CA, and AZ primarily, with other outings mixed in. He happens to be in Tucson this week.

He met us at mile 119.6 and took us to Whitney's favorite Tucson restaurant - Mariscos Chihuahuan. Good food, good company, and hands down the best 3D murals ever!!!

Spending the night in Lee's trailer, returning to the trail tomorrow. Happy and healthy.

Apr 4 - first hot day

Uneventful walking in low hills. first hot day. I don't like hot. Forecast shows 3 hot days then should get better.

In 2007 we bicycled the GDMBR from Banff, Canada to Antelope Wells, New Mexico and then rode to Tucson to get a rental car. Today we crossed the USFS dirt road we used on that trip, and walked by the place we camped the night before we arrived in Tucson . That was kind of a kick.

We saw our third hiking party today. No other thru-hikers yet.

Camped at mile 100.3. Somebody made a little stone sign at mile 100!

The AZ Trail iPhone app is pretty great. Very well done. I'll write more about it some other time.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=31.904929,-110.690545(I+Am+Here+Monday+April+4+2016+07:20+PM)&iwloc=A&z=11

Apr 3 - nice day

Camped at mile 81.0. Nice spot with big vistas. 

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=31.757383,-110.763496(I+Am+Here+Sunday+April+3+2016+08:04+PM)&iwloc=A&z=11 

Nice walking all day. About 6 miles on path, rest on USFS roads, but only one vehicle. 

Followed the route of the 1906 hydraulic gold mining water supply system, and visited Kentucky Camp. Fun. People did crazy stuff to seek gold. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentucky_Camp,_Arizona

Nice looking horned toad. 

Happy and healthy. 

Apr 2 - birds in Patagonia

Camped at mile 62.8, mesquite grasslands next to a drainage with intermittent pools.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=31.638678,-110.798942(I+Am+Here+Saturday+April+2+2016+07:21+PM)&iwloc=A&z=11

We went to the Audubon's Paton House this morning for an over the top dose of birds. 20 hummingbird feeders, dozens of seed feeders, brush piles for the sparrows, and chairs for the birdwatchers. A very famous birding destination. Mr. and Mrs. Paton moved there in 1977, put up feeders, and welcomed visitors to the yard. We were last there in 1985, and it is still great. We identified five species of hummers: Broad-billed, Violet-crowned, Black-chinned, Rufous, and Anna's. Many dozens of individual hummers. Very fun.

Then hitched to Patagonia Lake State Park to look for rare Black-capped Gnatcatcher, which we sadly missed. We did find Rufous-winged Sparrow at a feeder there, which is a long sought lifer for us. Hitch back to town, lunch, and back on trail.

Patagonia and vicinity is one of the top 20 US destinations for birders, but we're a few weeks early, so town is not yet hopping.

Back on the trail, I (Amy) was a bit disappointed that the 10 miles we walked was all on road, first graded and then high quality jeep track. Since it's Saturday we saw quite a few folks out recreating their SUVs. And cows, always cows degrading the riparian areas. Tomorrow we have four miles in another wilderness area which will be free of cows.

Weather was much warmer. Not yet hot, but warm enough to seek shade instead of sun.

Best parts -- dry feet, really great birds, nice people who pick up stinky hitchhikers and drive out of their way to deliver them to destination, walking all day, hanging out with James.

Happy and healthy.

Apr 1 - arrive Patagonia

Ice on the water bottles this morning. Warmed up but still pleasantly cool all day. Should be getting warm/hot soon.

Arrived Patagonia, mile 52.8. Picked up our resupply box (shipped it to ourselves) at the hotel. Grocery shopping and dinner. Met a nice old duffer in town who does trail work on AZ Trail, nice chat. He suggested a good place to pitch our tent. Camped in Nature Conservancy preserve at edge of town.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=31.535423,-110.760024(I+Am+Here+Friday+April+1+2016+08:30+PM)&iwloc=A&z=11

All day walking in USFS convoluted hills grazed by cattle. Met a stellar old guy with ginormous pipe wrenches working on the water system at one of the cattle troughs. Pinyon, juniper, oaks, ocotillo, cow pies.

Happy and healthy.

Mar 31 - trail crew

Camped in creek bed at mile 32.4.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=31.487433,-110.528321(I+Am+Here+Thursday+March+31+2016+06:47+PM)&iwloc=A&z=11

I forgot to mention that the first day was primarily in the Miller Peak Wilderness Area. We don't have many of those on the trip. Advantage of wilderness is no cows.

Today was easy walking through hilly USFS juniper/oak with some manzanitas and a bunch of woody plants I can't identify. And cows, and cow pies.

Still cool today. A few snow flurries in the morning and again in the afternoon. Great walking weather. Forecast shows temp increase of 20 degrees F soon.

Saw another regional specialty today. Buff-breasted Flycatcher. Hurray. We've seen it only once before, in 1995.

We have met only one party since leaving the border patrol post at mile 1.8. Four old duffers in trucks. They are the volunteers trail crew for a segment. A hiker had reported blow-downs, so they were out scouting. We had a very nice visit.

Happy and healthy and in the groove.

Mar 30 - first day on AZ Trail

Thanks a ton to JimS for driving us to the trailhead and spending a couple hours hiking with us. 

2 sightings of cool Coatis!  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-nosed_coati

Good birds with limited ranges:

Zone tailed hawk

Yellow-eyed juncos

Painted Redstart

Mexican Jay

Whispered screech owl

Montezuma Quail (new species for us)

Good hard first day. Gained about 5000', most of day between 8000 and 9000 feet. I (Amy) have not been exercising enough, and my little heart was going a thumpa thumpa on the climbs. 

Started at about 5700 feet at border post between US and Mexico, mile 0.0. (We ultimately finish at mile 800.2 at the Utah border.)

It was cold and breezy all day. For about eight miles we had fantastic display of ice like I've never seen. Mountains were foggy and windy last night. That created an accretion of ice on the downslope (because wind blows up the slope) windward side of every branch.  Generally 1 cm thick, but up tool 3 cm in places. It never got warm enough to melt, so we had it for hours through the middle of the day. I've seen plenty of ice storms in Midwest, but those storms deposit clear solid ice.  This ice was a unique and delicate structure that's hard to describe. Fantastic stuff, best surprise of the day. 

We're camped in oak/pine woods at 6800'. Cold outside. Warm and snug in the tent. Healthy and happy. 

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=31.426225,-110.365613(I+Am+Here+Wednesday+March+30+2016+07:22+PM)&iwloc=A&z=11