April 12, 2022
- Start: Jacob Lake (mile 754.8)
- End: Jacob Lake (mile 754.8)
- Distance: 0 miles
Volt’s pronouncement that he was quitting the trail last night weighed heavily on my mind throughout the night. I knew I had to come up with a way to convince him not to give up his thru-hike so close to the end.
I’m not Volt’s mom nor his therapist. Only he knows what’s in his heart right now. But I feel such a strong bond with him after walking all these miles together. Volt and I met each other all the way back before the ascent to Mt. Lemmon, near mile 170. We’d been hiking together on-and-off for the past five weeks and we’ve literally camped together every single night since we went into the Mazatzals (400 miles ago).
I was there when Doug came up with Volt’s trail name. We hung out together on every zero day I’ve take from the trail – from Kearny to Winslow, and then Flagstaff. He dug me out of the snow when I post-holed up to my thighs up on Humphreys Peak. We’ve shared beers and swapped innumerable stories. We have history, dammit!
Bottom line: I really wanted to finish this trail with him. But I also knew that meant we’d have to do it on his terms. So I was willing to wait him out and get to the bottom of why he really wanted to quit.
SNOW
I slept in fits and spurts through the night, and woke for good with my stomach grumbling at 5:30 am. It was hours before I needed to be up for the day, but I was curious to see what the storm brought overnight. The wind howled and rattled things outside for much of the night, but it seemed pretty quiet now.
So just as the sun was just rising, I peeked out the draped window of the motel room to see what fate brought. Two inches of fresh snow sat on the ground. Icicles clung to the eaves of the roof. Jacob Lake looked like winter again.
The snowfall wasn’t really deep enough to preclude us from hiking, but did I really want to head out today?? The temperature was still in the teens and it was only going climb to 30°F today. The trail was sure to be snowy and icy — or muddy, at best. Plus, tonight’s overnight low temps were supposed to hover near 10°F. Ugh! That didn’t sound like a good day to be facing the elements
The motel’s cafe didn’t open until 8 am this morning, so my stomach grumbled loudly as I mulled my options for the next two hours. I just lay in my comfortable bed thinking about hiking and getting to the end of the trail, but the pull of taking a zero here at the motel seemed to be growing by the minute. Moreover, a zero day in Jacob Lake would give me time to change Volt’s mind about quitting the trail.
A few minutes after 8 am, Elliot, Volt and I all ravenous and ready to eat. We wandered outside through the snow and made our way over to the cafe where we greeted by a warm toasty atmosphere and a breakfast that was utterly awesome! Each of us ate two breakfasts apiece and we must have drained a pot or two of coffee in the hours of sitting there talking about what lay ahead.
One Last ZERO
As we ate, the three of us agreed that a zero in Jacob Lake was really the wisest choice today. The wind wasn’t nearly as bad as yesterday – and was only blowing 10-15 mph now. But coupled with the below freezing temperatures, it just didn’t seem like we’d have any fun out on the trail. Besides what was the rush?
Luckily the motel still had availability for this evening, so we extended our two room reservations and spent the rest of the day lazing about watching videos and reading. I even washed my hiking clothes in the bathroom, even though it wasn’t really necessary. We only have 30 miles left to go to the northern terminus. Who cared if my hiking clothes smelled bad for another day or two? But the chore gave me something to do.
Sitting around the motel all day felt equal parts luxuriously relaxing and unproductive. I’d gotten used to hiking 10+ hours a day, and this downtime left me wondering how I was going to transition back to life at home when I’m not moving, moving, moving all the time.
The combat my antsy feelings, I went for a walk down to the nearby North Kaibab Visitor Center just before noon. The building was still closed for the season, and the sun was out and shining and trying to melt the snow off the metal roofs of the buildings. However, it was still unbelievably cold and my fingers felt like ice inside my gloves. Our decision to delay the hike a day was a solid one!
JACOB LAKE
Volt’s mood also seem to radically improve throughout the day (and with each meal we ate). We went back to the cafe for lunch, then bought some hard cider to share while we played cards in the room and just goofed off. We even bought some mini bottles of wine from the gift shop that we planned to take with us to the northern terminus to celebrate when we finished — since the gift shop didn’t have champagne!
By the time dinner rolled around, Volt was back to his normal self again. He even started proclaiming that he was moving to Jacob Lake because the cafe’s fresh baked cookies were so good. I guess that’s one way to finish a thru-hike. You could just move to the trail and never leave!
I know Volt was merely joking about moving to Jacob Lake though. You could see he was itching to finish what he started. He just needed a zero to rest his weary feet. And by late afternoon, Volt was 100% back on board with hiking to the AZT’s northern terminus again. No arm twisting required. Just a healthy dose of patience and lots of warm food.
We trod back to the cafe for dinner around 6 pm (for our third hot meal of the day), and that’s when we spotted two familiar faces at the motel’s registration desk. It was Barb and Ian! The two Canadian bikepackers that Volt and I hung out with at Mather Campground (on the Grand Canyon’s south rim). They were standing in all their cycling gear checking in for the night at the motel.
I didn’t think I’d ever see them again! But the duo rode their bikes north, taking the 200-mile route around the east side of the Grand Canyon up to Marble Canyon. From there, they cut west heading through Jacob Lake on their way up toward Zion National Park.
Wow! What a feat. Especially since they had to battle yesterday’s insane wind and today’s frigid cold on their bikes. They each had three jackets layered on top of each other, and they were determined to spend a night indoors to thaw out from the elements!
THE FINAL LEG
Barb and Ian quickly stored their cycling gear in their room before joining us in the diner, then we ate and swapped stories about our adventures since we parting ways on the south rim four days ago. We’d been on completely different journeys, but somehow we all felt that universal bond that comes from enduring something difficult in the outdoors and pushing your boundaries.
After dessert, we said goodnight and retreated back in our respective motel rooms. Our lazy recovery day before the end of the trail was seemingly what we’d needed to get back on track.Everyone was in good spirits once again. Tomorrow morning we’d pack up and have one last meal at the Jacob Lake Inn’s diner and then we’d hike on.
Elliot may try hiking a massive 30-mile day and finish the AZT by tomorrow evening. Meanwhile, Volt and I are just walking. We will get to the northern terminus when we get there. Whether the end comes tomorrow, or the next day, or that day after that – it doesn’t really matter. We going to Utah and together.
Highlights
- I was incredibly grateful to spend today indoors where it was warm and dry, and there was lots of hot, delicious food to enjoy.
- Our relaxing zero day seemed to be just what was needed to convince Volt to change his mind about quitting the AZT. Tomorrow we would head north once again!
- Seeing Barb & Ian again was a real treat. I loved hearing about their bikepacking adventures and they had a ton of great tips for my when I try my own bikepacking trip this summer on the 335-mile C&O Canal Towpath and Great Allegheny Passage.
Challenges
- Sitting around all day was a lot harder than I expected. I struggled to get past the nagging feeling that I should be out hiking. And I suspect that transition when I return home will be equally challenging.