March 23, 2022
- Start: Highway 87/Sunflower (Mile 378.7)
- End: Sheep Creek Trail (Mile 390)
- Distance: 11.2 miles
Last night, I spent the night in a Best Western hotel in Payson, feeling like I was in the lap of luxury. The sheets were clean, the bed was soft, and there was a toilet, a shower, and running water. Mad Max and Volt were staying at the hotel, too, and I went to bed feeling the warm buzz of margaritas and friendship.
As comfortable as I was tucked into the hotel bed, I couldn’t will myself to sleep in late. My body was conditioned to be up early. This was how I found myself wide awake at 5:50 am, thinking about everything I needed to do before returning to the trail later today.
I held off texting the guys about breakfast until 6:45 am rolled around. By then, they were awake and famished just like me. The hiker hunger was real, and so was the free breakfast buffet at the Best Western.
PAYSON
Our communal breakfast feast was one of the last few things we’d all do together. Mad Max was getting off trail for three to four days to head to Prescott to see some local friends, so Volt and I intended to hike north through the Matzatals without him.
If all turned out well, Mad Max would skip that 70-mile section and meet up with us in the town of Pine in a few days’ time. And then we’d all continue toward the Utah border.
But neither Volt nor I were in a huge rush to get back to the trail early. We still needed to head to the local Safeway grocery store to resupply for the next stretch of trail. And we both wanted to stop at Rim Runners, which was described as a trail local outfitter.
If I’m being honest, I would never describe Rim Runner in those terms. The lady working there was super nice, but this establishment was essentially a trail running store. They didn’t carry backpacking gear, fuel canisters, water filters, or any of the essentials an AZT hiker might need.
However, Rim Runners did carry Altra trail shoes, which Volt desperately wanted to transition into because his feet had become too wide for his boots. He’d been eyeballing the Altras every time a hiker passed by wearing them, and he felt like he was ready to make the jump. So at least Rim Runners filled that need.
They also had a lightweight women’s running jacket in my size too. It cost more money than I wanted to spend, and it wasn’t in the cheery shade of hot pink that I loved. But that’s the penalty I’d have to pay for failing to replace my rain jacket before heading out on the AZT.
RUTH TO THE RESCUE
Volt and I finished our town chores before 11 am, which was just in time to check out from the hotel before stopping for an early lunch at Five Guys. And then it was time to make our way back to the trail. There was no Uber or Lyft in Payson, so we’d have to hitch the 30 miles back down to Sunflower on Highway 87.
Volt and I walked down to the last business on the edge of town (a Speedway gas station) and threw out our thumbs, standing there for the next 45 minutes with no luck at all. Cars and trucks whizzed by us on their way toward Phoenix and nobody even slowed down to glance in our direction. This definitely wasn’t Kearny’s friendly vibe. Maybe Payson was simply too far from the AZT for people to know about the trail.
I was starting to believe we wouldn’t ever get a hitch when a black Suburban pulled off to the side of the road and rolled to a stop about 100 yards ahead of us.
We jogged up to the passenger window, saying hello to the slim woman in her mid-40s who was driving. She immediately asked me if we were hiking the Arizona Trail. When I confirmed we were, she still seemed to waver just a bit, unsure whether she wanted to let us into the SUV.
Then she seemed to make up her mind, and she told the two teenage girls in the backseat to hop all the way back to the third row so we could get in.
The driver’s name was Ruth. She revealed that this was her first time picking up hitchhikers. She was also more than a bit wary of letting complete strangers into the car since she had her teenage daughter and her two high school friends in the Suburban.
But a few things tipped the scale in our favor on this warm March afternoon. The first factor was that I was a female hiker, which made us seem less threatening. Women were less likely to be serial killers.
And the second reason she stopped was because her husband was a hiker too, and he was planning his first thru-hike of the AZT this upcoming fall. Seeing two hikers on the shoulder of the road trying to get back to the trailhead made Ruth think about how her husband would get back and forth to towns. Her sympathy overrode her fear, and that’s how Volt and I lucked into a comfortable air-conditioned ride back out to Sunflower!
WASTED ENERGY
Given our morning full of town chores, the long wait for a hitch, and 40-minute ride back to the trailhead, Volt and I didn’t start hiking again until a quarter to 2 pm.
We were in the mood to hike solo again after much time together in town last night and today. Volt had a spring in his step from his new roomy shoes, and he pulled ahead of me handily.
My shoes, on the other hand, were in a sorry state. They’ve only degraded more since the Superstitions. I honestly didn’t expect the AZT to be this hard on shoes with all its stupid rocks. But at least I only had 70 more miles to Pine where my new trail shoes awaited me. I just needed to make it a few more days!
Volt pulled far enough ahead of me that I soon lost sight of him. Then I became so buried in my own thoughts that I accidentally missed my turn from an old double track Jeep road onto the narrow path of the AZT.
I walked nearly half a mile beyond the junction before realizing my mistake, and I was in a sour mood the entire time I was backtracking. That detour was an entire mile (roundtrip) of wasted energy, and I mentally kicked myself over my inattentiveness on this warm afternoon.
Despite my error, I caught back up to Volt, shooting right past him as he sat under the shade of a large tree to take a smoke break. My frustration was fueling me now and my pace picked up as the afternoon wore on and the trail headed uphill.
MAZATZALS
My goal for the day was to hike 11 miles and camp near the junction with the Sheep Creek Trail. There were supposed to be one or two campsites in that vicinity. But more importantly, it would also put me right around the halfway point of this thru-hike!
Most people say the Arizona Trail is 800 miles long, from Mexico to Canada. But the truth is that it is currently only 780 miles long. That number continues to change as the trail association builds new trails and reroutes things here and there. But as of this year, the trail is 780 miles, which means mile 390 (near the junction with the Sheep Creek Trail) was the halfway point of my adventure.
About six miles into the afternoon, the trail started climbing again. The AZT rose from 3,400 feet elevation (back at Highway 87) to 7,100 feet as it dove deep in the Mazatzals. I wouldn’t be ascending quite that high today, but I was still aiming for somewhere above 5,200 feet elevation before making camp this evening.
As I wove my way north, the trail headed into a canyon, where I heard the call of some sort of unusual bird. The birds actually sounded more like crazed goats bleating, and it was pretty unnerving. Too bad I know nothing about ornithology, because I would have liked to be able to identify these odd-sounding birds.
Mazatzal is one of those indigenous words that most AZT hikers have trouble pronouncing. Some locals I met earlier on this trip told me the word sounds “mad as hell,” while other Arizonans just call them the Mazzies.
The climb into this picturesque mountain range was steep in places, but it was definitely not nearly as bad as the Superstitions (which has become one of my new metrics for difficulty on the AZT). The scenery around me was filled with unusual rock formations of starkly different colors, unlike anything else I’d seen thus far on my hike.
When I finally reached the junction with the Sheep Creek Trail, the sun was already setting, and the temperature was dropping quickly. It was a beautiful desert sunset, and I found just enough space to squeeze two small tents near the trail junction in the waning light.
Right about the time I finished setting up my tent, Volt joined me and we found a way to Tetris his tent into the small space beside mine. It was nearly dark now, but at least it wasn’t windy. And tomorrow would hopefully be a 20-mile day as I hiked north into the Mazatzals.
Highlights
- Our ride back out to Sunflower from Ruth was a fantastic surprise. Volt and I did our best to answer all her questions about the AZT while being good ambassadors for the trail. Hopefully we aren’t the last hikers she stops for now!
- I’m excited to enter the Matazals. This should be the last rugged stretch of the AZT for a while. At least that’s what everyone else seems to say.
- Tonight’s sunset from my perch up at 5,000 feet elevation was great. Arizona never disappoints in that regard. And what a way to celebrate making it to the AZT’s halfway point!
Challenges
- Payson might be considered a Gateway town for the AZT, but nobody seemed willing to give us a ride back to the trail. It was a bit demoralizing to stand there while car after car blew by us..
- The soles of my shoes are worn completely smooth, and now I’m starting to feel a small blister forming on the ball of my right foot. I’m so ready for new trail shoes!