March 2, 2022

• Start: Sunnyside Canyon (Mile 13.2)
• End: Canelo Pass (34)
• Miles hiked: 20.8 miles

I’d characterize my first night sleeping on the Arizona Trail less than optimal. It was super chilly overnight. But I’d expected that. I was camping in a canyon with tall rock walls and trees that barely let in any sunlight. Plus, I was still above 6,700’ elevation.

No, the real culprit behind my poor sleep was my throbbing headache and persistent itching.

I’m not sure whether my headache was caused by the altitude or dehydration (or both) – so I made myself to drink 1.5 liters of electrolytes last night. Unfortunately, the discomfort of this forced hydration resulted in shoddy sleep, compelling me to get up in the middle of the night to urgently pee.

But I was also uncomfortable from the red swelling and itching on my right shin. Whatever bit me as I was hiking up Miller Peak yesterday was causing some sort of allergic reaction. The bite mark was now an inch in diameter. And it took tremendous restraint not to continue scratching it all night long. 

So once the other hikers started moving around at 6:30 am, I decided might as well join them.

As I made some hot coffee, the guy who’d been cowboy camping near me last night came over. Then he inexplicably announced that the urine in his pee bottle looked the color of maple syrup. Then he tried to show it to me.

I grimaced in return. Yuck! I definitely didn’t need that visual image this morning.

LET’S DO THIS

I was on trail and hiking by 7:45 am, and as I walked though the remainder of Sunnyside Canyon this morning I saw pools of water everywhere. They were just one more reminder that I shouldn’t have been so eager to carry four liters of water out of Bathtub Spring yesterday. Water was definitely more plentiful out here than I’d been led to believe.

I’m starting to realize that my pre-trail concerns over the AZT’s long water carries might have been overhyped a bit by other hikers’ fears. I’m certain there will be dry stretches on this trail. But, it’s not like I’m going to be aimlessly wandering the Sahara. 

There will be cattle ponds. And surely some seasonal streams. Heck, they may even be the occasional cache here or there. I need to stop fretting about water I told myself.

It took a solid 20 minutes of hiking before my hands and feet finally warmed up enough that they didn’t hurt from the frosty air. I’m glad I slept with my water filter inside my quilt last night because it might have frozen. Even now, I still had it wrapped inside some layers inside my pack to protect it from the cold. 

Before the day’s first hour of hiking elapsed, I passed by the concrete trough that I’d hoped get to last night. The campsites nearby weren’t as nice as where I’d actually slept. And the trough was completely bone dry. So it wasn’t much of a loss to cut my first day a bit short.

This here, the trail tread here was now lousy with rocks. Mike (the trail angel I’d stayed with) described the rocks on the southern half of the AZT as “baby doll heads.”  They ranged in size, but the majority of them were just about the same size as the hard, plastic head of a child’s baby doll.

WILDLIFE

Before too long, I got to Forest Road 204 and saw my first metal AZT gate near the trailhead. The AZT turned right (instead of actually going through the gate and to the parking), but I still felt compelled to walk over it and take a photo. I’d seen pictures of these iconic gates forever, and now I was finally seeing my first one in real life!

Near the gate, I also spotted a large trailhead sign with a map. At the bottom, the sign informed hikers about the native fauna in the area, including at least four wildcat species – mountain lion, bobcat, jaguar, and ocelot. 

I’m not sure how I’d react if I actually saw one on these rare beasts on the trail. I had a mountain lion encounter once while hiking in northern Arizona, near the town of Williams. At the time, I thought someone let their golden retriever off the leash and it was walking down the trail away from me. The animal was a solid 150 or 200 yards ahead, and wasn’t until the cat made a 90-degree turn to leave the trail that I saw it in profile. Only then did I realize I was actually following a mountain lion!

In that moment, I abruptly made an about face and walked in the opposite direction back toward the trailhead. The was NO way I was continuing down the trail. No way, Jose!

PARKER LAKE

Once I made it out of the narrow confines of Sunnyside Canyon, my surroundings transitioned from shaded cliffs to open grassy fields. The rocks were still there, embedded in the trail, but they were no longer my number one environmental concern. Instead, my attention was on the blazing sun overhead.

I was back down at 5,500’ once again, and the sun was high above me, I knew immediately that it was warming up to be another hot day. As soon as I got a chance, I changed back into shorts. Then I tried to stick to whatever meager shade the junipers lining the trail could provide.

By 10:45 am, I could see the sapphire blue outline of Parker Lake in the distance. The AZT passes by this 130-acre lake, but it doesn’t actually go down to the water unless hikers choose to take a deliberate 1.5-mile detour to the marina. 

I still remembered how my frolic up to the summit of Miller Peak hindered me from making good miles yesterday. So, I was going to bypass a side trip to Parker Lake and just press on.

My current goal is to try to get to Patagonia by tomorrow evening. But that means I need to hike 37 miles over the next two days. That’s a totally reasonable mileage goal, but I need to stay focused and not goof off down at the lake. The water views from the trail would have to suffice.

SUNBURN

After I lost sight of the lake, I made my way down to a nice flowing creek in Parker Canyon. It was around noon now, so I found myself a secluded spot in the shade where I could eat lunch and filter water. 

It was even hot in the shade though. So I before I left the creek, I poured some extra water over my sun hoody to cool me down. I hoped the slight wind blowing past me would hit my wet shirt and create some makeshift air conditioning as I set off.

As I climbed higher and higher between dry yellow grasses on the exposed trail, the mid-day sun felt like it was sweltering. The water I poured over my hoody quickly evaporated, so I pulled out my sun umbrella and used it to provide some shade as I continued to hike.

Using my sun umbrella was a game changer. I immediately felt 10 degrees cooler under the protection of it. The silvery metallic material felt like it was almost repelling the heat.  

With this tool in use, I was able to pick up the pace and soon passed two different hikers. One of the guys had a shemagh (middle eastern checkered cloth) wrapped over his head. But based on how slow he was moving, it didn’t look like it was doing half as good of a job in keeping him cool as my umbrella was doing for me.

At the saddle of the next climb, I stopped to rest in the shade of some alligator juniper trees and discovered something awful. My umbrella might be keeping my head and upper body protected, but it wasn’t doing anything for my legs. 

The sun had been directly behind me in the sky as I hiked up from Parker Canyon, and my exposed calves were now bright red and sunburned! Ah man.

I pulled out my spray sunscreen to coat them with a layer, but the damage was already done. Nothing I had on hand was going to ameliorate the sunburn. From now on, I’d have to reconsider wearing shorts on this trail. I rather be hot than sear my precious skin.

MIDDLE CANYON TANK

On the north side of the saddle, the trail transitioned yet again. I could see a ton more trees. And off in the distance, I spotted a 20-mile long range of low rolling hills lined up to my north. These were the Canelo Hills where I hoped to spend the night tonight.

But first I needed water. 

The only reliable water source between me and the Canelo Hills trailhead this afternoon was Middle Canyon Tank. But this wasn’t a metal water tank like the name implied. Out here, a “tank” is just a fancy name for a pond bulldozed into the ground for the benefit of the nearby grazing cows.

There were two reasons AZT hikers dislike getting water from these tanks. 

First off, these water sources tend to be really muddy – both on the edges where you might stand to gather you water AND in the water itself. Cattle tanks are notorious for crummy water that clogs up your water filter with debris.

The second reason hikers dislike the tanks is because of the cows we’re sharing the water with. The cows will stand in the ponds to drink. They will urinate and defecate near (or in) the water tanks. And honestly, you don’t even want to think about the bacteria and diseases floating water because of these filthy bovines.

But, this afternoon, I didn’t have any choices. I was down to just over a liter of water left from Parker Canyon. And I knew I’d need more water than that to dry camp tonight. So my only choice was to filter it from Middle Canyon Tank.

The brownish water in this particular tank was just as unappetizing as you’d expect. But at least I’d found a spot at the water’s edge to scoop from that didn’t contain a bunch of floating debris.

But my attention was now focused on a bigger problem. My 2L water bladder holding the dirty water somehow developed a small pinhole in the side of it. As I squeezed the water through the filter and into my clean water bottle, a small stream was simultaneously spraying out the side of the water bladder.

Ah man! You have to be kidding me right now! It’s only day 2 of my thru-hike and I already have a hole in my water bag?!?   

There was nothing I could do to resolve the problem though. I’d just have to keep an eye on it. Maybe I could order a new water bladder once I got to Patagonia tomorrow. But getting it delivered to a post office somewhere up the trail would take several days, if not weeks.

CANELO HILLS

I only had another four miles to go after the tank before I planned to set up camp. The miles went quick and before I knew it, I was at the Canelo Hills Trailhead searching for a flat spot to set up my tent. 

It felt like heaven to drop my full pack near a bear box at the trailhead, and then I went over to talk to two guys who already had their tents set up nearby. One of the guys was named Mad Max, and I learned he got his trail name while hiking the PCT. Unfortunately, I could see there wasn’t much room by him and the guy he was camped beside, so I decided to keep looking around.

Over on the opposite side of the trailhead parking area, I saw a female hiker setting up her tent by herself. There was a good flat spot not too far from her, so I asked if she minded if I set up there. 

It’s weird being out here and not really knowing anyone yet. I don’t want to infringe on another hiker’s wilderness experience if they want to camp alone. But, then again, there’s only so many flat, rock-free spots where you can actually put your tent too. 

Upon hearing my request, she waved me over and said it was no problem. But then she warned me she was planning to pack up to hit the trail super early tomorrow morning. She needed to get into Patagonia tomorrow before the post office closed – so she planned to be hiking before sunrise.

As I set up my tent, I learned her name was Prov (short for “Provider,” since she had a habit of trying to offload the extra food from her resupply boxes onto other hikers). She hiked the AT in 2018, one year before I thru-hiked it. Prov seemed friendly enough, but it was getting dark and cold, I was too tired to be social for long.

As I made myself dinner and cleaned up for the evening, I did a quick check of the insect bite on my shin. It still itched like crazy, but it didn’t look any bigger than it had when I woke up this morning. So my leg is probably fine. It won’t need to be amputated… at least not yet 🙂

As I prepared to fall asleep, I reviewed my progress today. I was impressed with myself. Yesterday had been a difficult and slow day. Today was much easier by comparison. I’d hiked close to 21 miles today, which isn’t bad for day 2 of my thru-hike.

Even more exciting – was the discovery that I only had 16 more miles until I made it to Patagonia – my first trail town on the AZT. I should have have no problem making it to town before the post office closes at 4pm tomorrow! Plus, I can’t wait to eat some town food. And maybe even find some aloe vera for my sunburned legs!

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Highlights:

• Today’s hiking experience was monumentally easier than yesterday. I hiked nearly 21 miles through the rocky desert landscape. Not too shabby for the second day of my hike.
• The views of Parker Lake’s sapphire blue water were stunning.
• Although I hiked alone all day, I met some really cool people at camp this evening – including Mad Max and Prov.

Challenges:

• Discovering that I have a small hole in my water bladder. It wasn’t leaking horribly, but I wonder how much longer it will last before I can no longer use it.
• I definitely need to protect my skin better from the sun. It’s only day 2 and my calves are already bright red!
• This rocky terrain did a job on my poor feet. They are super sore, I’m developing a blister on the ball of my right foot too.