March 5, 2022
- Start: Fish Canyon (Mile 74.7)
- End: Random trail junction (Mile 92.3)
- Miles hiked: 17.6 miles
I tried to ignore the damn ATV riders revving their engines and hollering like idiots up near Kentucky Camp last night. But it was a real struggle, and I eventually just put in my AirPods and drowned them out instead.
This was the same strategy I used last summer on the portion of the Oregon Coast Trail paralleling the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. The ATV and OHV riders there loved riding at night too, this trick to block them out worked wonderfully once again. My blood pressure dropped a few notches, and I soon fell into a nice slumber.
KATABATIC
I slept until 3 am, when I woke up to discover my face and head were simply freezing. I scrambled in the dark to find my beanie, and then I pulled my Buff headband over the bottom half of my face to keep it warm. The air was that cold!!
In the morning, I found a layer of frost covering my rainfly. I knew it was cold here in early March, but I was surprised to learn there was that much moisture in the air to coat my entire tent.
I grabbed one of the water bottles in my vestibule so I could warm up with cup a hot coffee, but quickly determined they all had huge chunks of ice floating in them. Luckily, the bottles hadn’t frozen completely solid overnight so I could still use at least some of the water for breakfast.
I’d camped just below 5000’ elevation, and I don’t remember the weather forecast saying the temperature would get this cold. It must be the fact that I slept at the bottom of Fish Canyon overnight.
I should’ve known better. When you camp in a depression (like a ditch, wash, or valley) the dense cold air will often drain down the surrounding slopes and settle near the lowest spot. This katabatic effect is what left my campsite at the bottom of Fish Canyon much colder and frostier than the surrounding areas.
It was so cold that I snuggled back down in my quilt and delayed getting into my hiking clothes for about an hour longer than normal today. My feet were sore and swollen from yesterday’s 25+ mile day. But since I’d hiked much farther than I’d planned yesterday, I had the luxury of dialing it back and just hiking 17 or 18 miles today. And that decision meant I didn’t need to jump up to get on the trail as soon as I woke up. I could linger in camp instead.
Once I actually got up and moving, it took me a bit longer than normal to break down my tent. I knew I needed to diligently make sure to wipe off all the frost covering every inch of rainfly. If I didn’t take that step now, the ice would just end up melting during the day and leaving me with a soaking wet rainfly (and tent) when I tried to set up camp this evening.
KENTUCKY CAMP
I finally set off down the trail around 8 am and wandered north through tall yellow grasses toward Kentucky Camp. I’d stopped just a mile short of it yesterday because I’d read there was no dispersed tent camping inside the camp’s boundary. And it would cost me $75 to camp inside the bunkhouse.
Kentucky Camp is part of the late 19th/early 20th century mining activity in the Santa Ritas that I learned about yesterday.
More informational signs lined the trail, sharing how the Santa Rita Water and Mining Company built a number of adobe buildings at Kentucky Camp to house the workers who’d create the tunnels and dams for the hydraulic mining technology to extract the gold deposits in nearby Boston Gulch.
The company ultimately failed though. Their company engineer, James Stetson, fell to his death from a three-story hotel window in Tucson in 1905. Then the company’s president and lead investor, George McAneny, died in 1909.
The land changed hands when the Hummel family acquired it. And they used the camp buildings as their ranch headquarters until the 1960s. The site, along with most of the Greaterville mining district eventually became part of the Coronado National Forest in 1989, and now the Forest Service manages the camp.
Just before I reached the gate leading to Kentucky Camp, I came upon a trail register inside a tall metal podium. Day hikers, section hikers, and AZT thru-hikers signed their names in the register. This helps the forest service and Arizona Trail Association see how much use the trail was getting.
The register may have been designed for these official purposes, but it had a side benefit of showing me exactly who was ahead of me on the trail – much like the shelter logs have done when I thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail.
In the week preceding my visit, I counted nine other thru-hikers:
- Yoda (from Tennessee)
- Dennis & Frauke (from Germany)
- Carlisle (from Utah)
- Helium (from the UK)
- Ratio (from Alabama)
- Cheez-It (from Tucson)
- Leah (from Denver)
- Orca (from Wales, UK)
- Salsa (from California)
It was great to see there were so many people ahead of me. I wondered how many I might meet in the days ahead. Surely, I’d have to cross paths with some of them soon.
OLD PUEBLO
After signing my name to the trail register, I made my way through the gate to Kentucky Camp. I could see the the old adobe building with its wrap around porch up ahead. and there was supposed to be piped potable water as well as with a pit toilet nearby – both of which I definitely wanted to patronize during my visit.
What I didn’t expect to see as I crested the small climb was an entire race crew. Beside them sat a giant inflatable finish line. All those signs and markings I’d spotted on the trail yesterday were for the Old Pueblo Endurance Run – a 25-mile and 50-mile trail race.
This is Arizona’s oldest ultramarathon race — it started back in 1985 — and the course began and ended at Kentucky Camp. Well that solved that mystery. I guess I’d be sharing the AZT with a bunch of trail runners today.
According to the race clock beside the finish line, the race started 2 hours and 26 minutes ago. So it was unlikely that I’d actually see any any runners out there on the course up ahead. I suspect they well beyond whatever part of the course I’d be on today.
Half a dozen race volunteers were standing around near the finish line. So I wandered over to ask someone to point me to the bathroom. Most of them just turned and gave me the stink eye. Maybe they thought I was some dirty hiker coming over to beg for some of their goodies. But trust me, I wasn’t. I just wanted to find the toilet and fill up my water bottles before heading out again.
After taking care of business, I was on my way up the the dirt road that led out of Kentucky Camp. The trail was super easy to follow. I just needed to follow all the pink flags and chalk marks on the trail.
As I made my way to higher ground, the views were wonderful. I could see some snow dusting some of the mountains in the distance. Unfortunately, the AZT’s tread was not nearly as nice here as it have been this morning on the way to Kentucky Camp. I was now on uber-rocky terrain once again, and climbing nearly 1000’ in elevation toward some random high point ahead.
I’m sure the runners didn’t mind the trail conditions. But the soles of my feet were so tender from yesterday’s 25-mile day. These rocks felt as it they were put there on purpose to make my progress even more slow and painful than normal.
I eventually had to stop and sit down around 10:30 am to treat a new blister forming on the outside of my left heel. It looked like a mirror image of the one that formed on my right heel over the past two days.
I’m starting to wonder if the AZT is the real culprit, or whether it’s my shoes. I had a similar issue during my winter section hike on the southernmost 110-miles of the PCT. The outside of both my heels formed blisters. But then I remembered I was wearing completely different shoes on that hike. So perhaps it isn’t the shoes after all. Maybe it’s the desert and all the fine dirt.
BEST TRAIL MAGIC
I was aiming for AZT mile 83 for lunch today because there was a note in the FarOut app that there’d been trail magic near that road crossing over the last few days. I know the weekends are the most likely time for people to do random trail magic. And since today is Saturday, so I’m desperately hoping the trail magic is still there.
The location was only about 8 miles from where I’d camped last night, so it was only 11:40 am when I arrived at the dirt road,. I saw a black SUV parked at the trailhead. And two people were milling about. Was that the trail magic?
As it turns out, those two people were just day hikers getting ready to head out for a mid-day hike. I began to disappointedly walked past the SUV, but stopped when I saw way lie ahead.
There was absolutely trail magic at the far end the parking area!! It was an unmanned trail magic station set up by a former AZT thru-hiker named Cooper.
There were four collapsible camp chairs for hikers to sit in resting up against a fence. Plus, there were two coolers filled with soda, beer, fresh fruit, and even some homemade slices of pie. Nearby, I could see at least 10 gallons of fresh water cached for hikers. And there was a trash bag hanging from a tree where you could dump your empty cans or wrappers after consuming some of this trail magic.
But the real coup de grace was the giant plastic tub next to the cooler. It was filled to the brim with first aid supplies, sunscreen, TP, and repair items. Oh my goodness! It was unreal. And so thoughtful. This was someone who REALLY knew what hikers wanted and needed out here.
I found a mini chapstick in the box to replace the one I lost yesterday (yessss!) and grabbed two Compeed blister bandaids for my feet. I was introduced to Compeed (a UK brand) when I was hiking the Camino de Santiago back in 2018, and they are so much better than the BandAid brand blister bandages.
This cache was exactly what I needed to take care of my feet. Nothing else has seemed to stick to the blisters and surrounding skin, but I know the Compeed will do the trick. The blister bandages are designed to cushion and protect the damaged skin while simultaneously absorbing the moisture from the blisters.
Cooper, I could kiss you right now. Seriously!
I grabbed a cold can of Pepsi and a small tangerine from one of the coolers, and then went to set up a chair in the warm sun. This trail magic was exactly the morale boost I needed!!
GUNFIRE
As I sat there and enjoyed my lunch and bandaged up my feet, some cyclists stopped by to talk to me. They were from Tucson and asked me how my hike was going. Thank goodness they caught me after Cooper’s trail magic because I was able to be the best version of myself during this interaction, rather than the grump I was while hiking on the rocks earlier this morning.
Two of the cyclists even gave me their phone number, and they told me to call them if I needed any help as I got up toward Tucson. Wow! That was really awesome. I’m impressed at how generous the people out here in Arizona’s outdoor community are with each other.
After I departed the trailhead and got to the next gate, I crossed paths were some more cyclists on the ATZ. This time, they were from Ireland. Wow! Between the British, Welsh, and German hikers ahead of me and these two cyclists from Ireland, there sure seem a lot Europeans out here on the AZT this spring.
I slowly made my way up to the high point at mile 85.8 and worked my way through another gate (my 5th one so far today), and then the afternoon was filled with rolling hills. Normally, this moderate terrain would have made for pleasant hiking, but today it was nerve wracking. That’s because I felt like I was hiking into gunfire.
I could hear weapons firing in the distance, and the trail kept taking me closer and closer to the action. I suspect it was just an outdoor firing range nearby. But that didn’t make me any more comfortable with the idea of getting closer to it.
The most unnerving component of the whole thing was that I had no idea what direction the people were firing. Were they aiming in the general direction of the trail – or away from it? Were there any solid barriers or dirt berms between me and them?
Plus, how good (or bad) of a shot were these people? I desperately hoped a stay bullet wouldn’t end up flying in my direction thanks to a poor marksman or a novice.
MORE COWS
By the time I stopped for my mid-afternoon snack, I was back into cow territory once again. Lots of mama cows and their babies dotted the rolling hills. Meanwhile dozens of others cows laid in the shade beside the trail trying to rest during the hottest part of the day.
I found a wash with some shallow pools in it next to the trail. And so I spent the next half hour scooping water into my bladder, then letting it slowly gravity filter while I rested in the cool shade just like the cows.
I was able to pull nearly three liters of water from the pools, which would definitely be enough to dry camp tonight. And perhaps it would even get me far enough down the trail to avoid the brown water in the Twin Tanks cattle pond tomorrow morning.
My goal for the rest of the day was to make it up to a ridge near mile 93. There is supposed to be one solitary campsite up there with stellar views. Cooper had a comprehensive list of all the potential campsites taped to the inside of one of the coolers, and I chose this one hoping no other hikers (and no pesky cows) staked their claim to it before me.
As it turns out, I had the spot completely to myself. It was only wide enough for a single tent, and it had trees on either side of it with branches that stretched over it like a canopy. But mostly important, it was totally flat and didn’t look like any cows had pooped on it lately!
The spot was up on a narrow ridge (hence the awesome views), but I had some challenges trying to set up my tent in the wind that was now steadily blowing at 15-20 mph. It had been calm most of the day, but the wind seemed to be picking up as the sun began to drop in the sky.
As I made dinner and enjoyed the sunset, I came to the realization that two good things will occur tomorrow.
First off, I will pass the 100-mile mark sometime before lunchtime. I love celebrating the mental milestone of completing each 100 miles of a long trail. And when I get there, I’ll be more than 1/8 of the way done with the AZT already!
The second good item is the knowledge that I only have 12.6 miles to the Sauharita Road trailhead. That’s where I plan to hitch into Vail tomorrow. So not only will I have a relatively short day of hiking, but I’ll get to go into town and sleep in a real bed for first time in nearly a week!
Highlights
- It was really nice to enjoy the amenities at Kentucky Camp. Ah, the wonderful luxury of running water and a pit toilet!
- Cooper’s trail magic at mile 83 was truly awesome. Nobody does trail magic quite like another thru-hiker can.
- I had really good, and easy-to-find water today. No gross cattle ponds for me. I was able to use the spigot at Kentucky Camp, got some water from Cooper’s cache, and then spotted the pools of water this afternoon. Nice!
CHallenges
- The blisters on sides of feet really made hiking on the rocky terrain this morning a miserable experience.
- Heading toward the sound of gunfire this afternoon left me feeling really unnerved. I hope the AZT re-routes the trail to avoid this area sometime in the future.
- The wind in the evening definitely made it challenging to set up my tent. But the sunset views were 100% worth it.