Speck In The Woods

March 14-17 

-Border of Mexico to Patagonia, AZ

-Miles hiked: 52.5 miles in 3.5 days

-Total miles hiked: 52.5 + 1.8 off trail

Taking a nero and maybe a zero in Patagonia (means only hiking part of the day)

This trail is brutal. I’d dare say the first day of this trail was the hardest 1st day of any trail I’ve done. Right off the bat we had a 6 mile relentless 3,200 ft. climb to 9,090 ft. After  about a week or two that would still be hard, but day 1 it was super duper hard. We made it though and then had a 2 mile straight down which is also difficult on the feet and knees. Our water source was a bath tub with a pipe. As you can see in the pic….not too appealing, but…it filtered well and tasted delicious. 

The second day we hiked 18.6 miles in 88 degree heat. The water sources are few and far between. Most are dried up. We had to carry 3-1/2 liters each ( which weighs 7 lbs.) the last 4-1/2 miles with 2 difficult climbs in those last miles to dry camp. 

We head out every morning about 6:30 and have been hiking 9-10 hours a day. Our pace is painfully slow because of the rocky terrain, the heat, the altitude and the lack of water. 

Day 3 we were up and out by 6:30 and hiked 15.9 miles. We had to take several breaks in the 90 degree heat. Our water source today was a nasty cow trough. 

Today, Day 4, we had 10 miles to hike to Terra Sol Campround where we’ll set up camp. We got in about 11:30 am.  It’s like a hostel with outside kitchen, shower and camp spots. It’s hot, but a lovely place!!

I’m not loving my new tent. I love the weight (1.3 lbs) but it’s a challenge to set up. Guess I’ll get the hang of it eventually. 

I carried too much food. My pack weighs waaaay too much! 🥵 Later, hiker hunger will hit, but now with the heat I’m not too hungry. 

Even though this is tough, the desert is just a different kind of beautiful than I’m use to. I love it out here. 

We’ve met a father and son doing an overnight hike and 2 guys from London planning to go the whole way. Also a mountain biker doing a 6 day loop. That’s about it so far. 

Gotta make a plan for later in the week as temps are supposed to get to 104 degrees. Already at 90, our water is tepid and there’s no way to cool down. We may have to hike in the dark early morning and late evening. We shall see. 

March 12

Not much to share about this travel day. 

Left Atlanta at 10:50 am on Delta flight to Tucson. Long TSA line to get through security, but pretty uneventful getting to and out of Atlanta airport. 

Arrived in Tucson and took the shuttle to the hotel. The 3 hour time difference takes a minute to adjust to. I was ready for dinner at 3 pm Tucson time without having had lunch. 😳😳. Maverick and Assassin arrived about and hour and a half after me. We all relaxed in our rooms until about 4:00 pm (7:00 our time) and then walked next door to have dinner. Enjoyed dinner together and then turned in to our rooms around 6:30. 

March 13

Met downstairs for breakfast at 6 am and made our plan for the day. 

First we walked 3.2 miles to and from Walmart to buy a couple last minute items, including a box for us to mail our duffle bags and clean clothes to Kanab (our end point). 

Second we walked another 3.1 miles to the Post Office to mail our box. Got back and got our backpacks packed up and ready to go. By 2 pm we were twiddling our thumbs. So anxious. Ready to get going. **(Funny how hikers have trouble paying Ubers cause if we’re about to walk 800 miles, surely we can walk 6 or 7 to do our chores…right??? 🙄)

Our shuttler picks us up at 4 am tomorrow for a 2-21/2 hour drive to the trailhead. Then we will hike down the trail 1.8 miles to the start of the trail (which doesn’t count in trail miles 🤦‍♀️) and then officially start our hike. 

It’s H-O-T here. This week is supposedly gonna be a record hot week in Tucson. Yippee!!! 🥵 It’s definitely going to be a different kind of hike for me with the heat and limited water sources, but…..READY TO ROCK AND ROLL!!🤘 

Just jumping on here to answer a few questions I’ve been asked lately. 

•Are you hiking alone?                              

No. I will not be hiking alone. I was invited to do this trail with Maverick (a friend I met hiking in CO several years back) and Assassin (a friend of Maverick’s that I haven’t met yet).

•Are you carrying a gun?                        

No. I do not carry a weapon. It’s really just added weight and I think unnecessary. Yes, it might come in handy, but the chances of needing it are highly unlikely.

•How many miles a day are you hiking?

Mileage each day will mostly depend on water source locations. As of now, the plan is to hike anywhere from 15-20 miles a day (maybe a few shorter and maybe a few longer.)

•How do you get your food?                    

We will be resupplying in small trail towns along the way. They are Patagonia, Colossal Cave, Oracle, Roosevelt Lake, Flagstaff, and Grand Canyon Village. I’m sending boxes ahead to most places to be picked up so I don’t have to grocery shop when I get to town. 

•How long will it take you?                      

The trail is right at 800 miles. We will meet in Tucson on Thursday, March 12 and hit trail on Saturday, March 14. We have 3 “zero” days planned (no hiking). We may add one or two more depending on weather and fatigue. We estimate being finished by May 6, but will not make flight plans until the last week or so of hiking. 

•Will you have cell service?                          

I will be carrying a Garmin In Reach which is a satellite device. I can usually receive texts even though they may be delayed at times. I would need to add you as a contact to my Garmin so just let me know if you might be reaching out and I will do that.  I will not have phone service most of the time but can check for messages and will be posting updates when I get to towns for resupplies. Would love to hear from any and everyone occasionally through Garmin, phone or this site. 

•Are you afraid?                                              

I wouldn’t say afraid. I’m nervous, but mostly excited!! The nerves are usually about whether I can physically do it. I love backpacking and getting to see sites that can only be seen by trekking on foot. I’ll definitely have challenges, but I’m not afraid. 

The countdown begins. T minus 6 weeks. I need to be training but I’ll be in flatland Florida for the next 4 weeks, so…. it will be what it will be. 😳

Planning resupplies is quite a chore. Imagine having to plan 40-50 breakfasts, 40-50 lunches, 40-50 dinners and hundreds of snacks 6 -7 weeks ahead of time. Ugh…..arduous!! But, it must be done. 

This time I dehydrated all of my dinners. Hopefully I will look forward to a “home cooked” meal each evening that will taste good. This was quite a chore but I think it will help with keeping weight on and energy up. It’s a struggle to find store bought food light enough and nutritious that you enjoy and don’t have to choke down.  

I’ve started and am almost done packing 6 boxes of food to be mailed to trail towns ahead of myself. Here is an example of a typical resupply box contents. This will last me 7 days. 

For the box I’ll send to Pine, AZ (a little more than halfway), I will include a new pair of shoes, a fresh pair of socks, a new water filter and maybe one or two other fresh clothing items. The old ones will be trashed (because after 400 miles in the same clothes everyday no amount of laundry detergent can get rid of the stench)! 🤷‍♀️

The 6 boxes will supply me for about 600 miles. For the final 200 miles I’ll buy groceries in town instead of sending a box. Flaggstaff and the Grand Canyon South Rim should have some decent items to choose from. 

I will finalize this process and mail the first box about 5 days before I leave. It should be waiting for me at Terra Sol campground in Patagonia, AZ by the time I arrive there which I estimate to be about the 17th of March. The other boxes will be mailed a day or two before I leave home since it will be a little later before I get to those destinations on the trail. 

I prefer sending my own items ahead for a couple of reasons. One is that when you arrive in town you don’t have to spend precious time grocery shopping and repackaging things to save weight and space—-it’s already done. I’d much rather use that time to shower and maybe get laundry done if there’s time and a place. Another is the selection in most small trails is very limited. Some only have gas stations or Dollar Stores for resupplies so I usually end up with a ton of junk food, which is good, but not very nutritious. 

I always look forward to getting to towns for a resupply, shower and a hot town meal. I think the only drawback I can think of about going to town for a resupply is that you’ve lightened your load having eaten most all of your food by the time you get there so leaving town with a full pack again is heavy and cumbersome and “most” trail towns are in valleys so there’s usually a climb staring you in the face as you head back out on trail with a full pack. 

If you haven’t read waaaay back in this blog, my friend Karen named my pack “Olfrie”, short for Old Friend.  I have a love/hate relationship with Olfrie. She safely holds “EVERYTHING” I need to live on trail, but she’s fat, heavy, bulky, hot and weighs me down. I couldn’t do it without her though, so she must come along and I must accept her presence. 🤩 If only she could talk. 😂😂😂

Gearing up to hit the Arizona Trail, also known as the AZT, in March, 2026.

The AZT is approximately 800 miles with the southern terminus at the Mexico/Arizona border and the northern terminus at the Arizona/Utah border. I will be hiking from south to north, so NOBO in trail terms. The plan is to take 8ish weeks to complete the hike. I’ll be hiking through the Grand Canyon again on this trail from South Rim to North Rim.

I’m excited to have it scheduled. Now to get in shape and prepare all my gear and food.

I’ll be purchasing a new tent since my old one is basically worn out after the Colorado Trail last year. It was a good one, but I’ve simply worn it out. I have a few new items to get so I hope to do a “shakedown” hike maybe sometime in December to test everything.

The elevation map is interesting considering this hike is mostly desert.

I’ll share more once the start date approaches.

Most everyone knows that Colorado is my favorite state (so far) on the planet. So, it’s no surprise that I’d want to hike the Colorado Trail. This trail spans about 500 miles from Denver to Durango. I usually do hikes NOBO, or northbound, but I did this one SOBO, or southbound.

I did the Colorado trail in 2 sections. The first in 2023 from Denver to Monarch Pass. The second in 2024 from Monarch pass to Durango.

This trail holds second place for me in beauty so far. The JMT is my favorite. The views are never ending and it’s literally hard to hike because you just want to stop and take it all in all the time.

The weather on the CT is crazy. You’re at such a high elevation most of the time so it’s very unpredictable. The trail starts at a little over 5,000 feet and ascends to over 13,000 ft. You’re above treeline much of the time. You might be hiking during the day in sunny, 90 degree weather and wake up with frost on your tent in the morning. You could be hiking with no sign of clouds and within 10 mins the skies turn dark and you get pelted with “grapple” (pea-sized hail). Lightening is the worst. You might be the tallest thing on the mountain when you’re above treeline so it’s not very smart to head up the mountain if you know a storm is coming. Because it’s so unpredictable, you try to position yourself where you can get up and over the high point and back down below treeline by noon. Doesn’t always work out though. There are a few days that you’re literally above treeline all day and night.

There are 2 routes you can take from Twin Lakes: Collegiate East or Collegiate West. They both loop back into the common trail but Collegiate East is a tad shorter and is not as difficult and not quite as exposed. Collegiate West is a bit longer, more challenging because of the exposure, but has the better views and scenery. Most people wait until they get to the fork off point to decide the route based on the weather predictions. I chose Collegiate West and the scenery did not disappoint!!!

The small trail towns where I resupplied were delightful. This trail is one I’d do again after bagging some of the ones I haven’t done yet.

Yep. You read that right! If you know, you know! This refers to hiking the Grand Canyon from one rim to the other and back again. It is 24 miles one way. You descend 6,000 feet from the south rim via the South Kaibab trail to the bottom of the canyon where you reach the Colorado River and ascend 4,500 feet to the north rim via North Kaibab trail. Then, to return you descend the 4,500 feet down North Kaibab and can either ascend back up South Kaibab or the Bright Angel Trail which is longer in distance but not quite as steep up. This is what we did to get a different view on the return.

**Just a side note: a mile is 5,280 feet. So for perspective if you look over the edge, the 6,000 feet to the river is over a mile down. That’s waaaay down there. 😳

Danny and I were invited to join our friends Ron and Mitch from TX who have been hiking the Grand Canyon for many years. We had joined them the year before to hike down to Phantom Ranch (a lodge at the bottom of the canyon), spend the night and hike on to the north rim the next day. It was an amazing hike so we decided to do it again. But….this time we would basically double the miles in one day and then turn around and do it again the next day, hence Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim.

Also joining us was Jessica and her friend (friends of Ron), Mogul (a fellow AT hiker) and Lisa (Tex) a mule wrangler that works at the Grand Canyon. Tex was also a fellow AT hiker. She was kind enough to share a lot of history and point out things we would have just walked right by without noticing.

To say this was a challenge would be an understatement. The temperature at the top of the rim was cold and at the bottom it was 100 degrees. It can vary 20-25 degrees between the top and bottom because of the elevation difference. The heat made it tough. Luckily, souzing down in the Colorado River for a while helped to cool us down a bit where we could continue on and make the climb out.

We started in the dark with headlamps around 4:30 am and popped out on the north rim around 6pm. We had spent a little time in the river and having snacks at Phantom Ranch. After arriving at the North Rim, we hitched a ride in the back of a truck to the North Rim Lodge where we got to have a delicious dinner. We were all starving. **Sad to say that the lodge burned down this year when lightning started the Dragon Bravo fire that burned over 145,000 acres. I’m so happy I got to see and enjoy the lodge before its demise.

After dinner we all went to our cabin and we had people sleeping all over the place. In beds and on the floor. We packed everyone in.

You could sign up at the lodge the night before for a shuttle to take you back to the trailhead the next morning but there were limited spots each hour. There were two 4:30 am spots so Tex and I took those and the others came about an hour behind us. We hiked down and relaxed in the river and waited for them there. We arrived back at the south rim around 7:15 that evening. We had done approximately 48 miles down and up and back down and up again in 2 days.

We had camped the night before we began the trek at the south rim campground (Mather Campground) and had left our tents set up so we returned to the campsite for the night, spent the night and headed back to the airport the next morning. Danny and I had visited Sedona for the day before the hike and I wish we had made more time for sightseeing that area. We’ll have to return to do that.

I would do Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim again and again!! I loved it!! The Grand Canyon is one of those places you really must see and even better, hike if you can! It really is GRAND!!

So in 2021, Caitlin (Thumbsucker) and I went back to the Long Trail and started where we left off and finished that dang trail. While we enjoyed hiking together, neither of us really enjoyed this trail. But….we had to finish it!

Starting back at the Hike Inn, we headed out and encountered the same as before—gnarly roots, rocks, slick and sticky mud and straight ups and downs without switchbacks. There were still no views and the trail was not well maintained. We slogged through it though and actually made it to the Canadian border—-the northern terminus—-FINALLY!! It’s done!

I would never do it again, nor would I ever recommend it to anyone to do. Glad it’s done, but now way, no how again! 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

This journey began in 2017 as a “Ride Across Florida” for me and a couple friends from a gym I used to go to. We agreed we’d invite other people along. I invited my cousin, Julie and my daughter-in-law, Jodi. Jim invited his daughter’s mother and father in law, Matt and Vicki, who ride a tandem bike. Jodi couldn’t commit to the whole ride so she joined us for the last day.

We rode from St. Augustine, FL to St. George, Island, FL. The trip was 306 miles and we completed it in 4 days. We had such a great time, we decided we would just continue the ride the following year and make our way to San Diego.

We carried everything we needed on our bikes when we started, but when we picked up in St. George in 2018, we decided to have a SAG carry our gear and equipment.

The group changed. Julie, Jim and I rode every mile from Florida to San Diego, but we had other friends jump in and out for sections. It is hard to take the time away required to ride the distance. We also had 3 different support drivers. Jim’s brother, John, drove the majority of the trip. Vicki and Matt’s daughter drove a small section and Bobby, a friend of Jim’s drove a small section.

Those who joined when they could included John’s son, Ryan; Julie’s friend, Lisa; also Julie’s friend, Lynn; and another tandem couple, friends of Matt and Vicki.

We completed the ride in 2020. We rode through 8 states: Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. The trek was 2,845 miles. We averaged 70 miles/day. We had 40.65 riding days.

It was a fantastic adventure!! There were struggles and mishaps along the way, some of which were flat tires, heat, accidents, etc. However, the beautiful scenery, fun with friends, and the sweet taste of accomplishment made it all worth it.

Just a small photo dump.