And I’ve been sleeping in rocks
Guthrie and his happy face
The trail? Probably not.
Nice Mesa!
A cairn made with weird rocks.
The rocks. Worse than Rocksylvania! Just not as long.
Later in the day the trail got steep for a mile or two and once again all rocks! You could still make good time but I could feel blisters starting to form on my heels from not being able to get a solid foothold on a rock, as it rolled underneath my foot would smack the ground or other rocks and this constant beating did finally give me my first blisters of the trail. They’re pretty small, but still unwelcome.
This steep scree field IS the trail. It’s like this for a good long climb.
They puff up to look bigger when you pick them up. They don’t even run! He just let me pick him right up off the rock!
Easter chocolate or dried mud?
This is one of those moments that I truly love. Maybe just leaves to you, but I immediately recognized these leaves as a Mertensia species, often called bluebells. I have some I grew from seeds at my house in Ohio and when you care for a plant from seed to flower you really know it! Sure enough a few hundred feet later I saw a blooming bluebell plant. The thing is they’re never really common, and these two species are in opposite habitats on different sides of the country! I love it!
If I didn’t have toenails this would have hurt.
Beautiful trail!
Burned dead trees.
Funky cacti
😦
freshly cut human
The San Francisco Peaks wayyyy in the distance.
I liked the colors with the sun getting low and I’m so glad I too this shot. This is one of my top favorite landscapes I’ve ever taken. Just love the colors so much.
Update: I wrote this in the moment, when I was very frustrated and this day sounds pretty down and not fun. That’s exactly how I felt. Now that I’m in a hotel, just ate a burger, took a shower and am happy as a clam, I don’t think it was all that bad, but that’s not that feeling I had yesterday. I want people to know not every day is a good day thru hiking. Sometimes you just have a very bad day. This was one of them.
Old car graveyard Huge flowering evening primrose
Look at those colors!
This is how far I was when he started rattling.
Look at the belly colors!
Oh yea crossed the halfway point today! Yayyyyyy
Thank you!!!!!
The white flowering puke bushes line the trail for miles.
That’s a new and beautiful cactus!
Corydalis
For some reason there was also a lot of variegated miners lettuce in the burn zone.
Deciduous forest! Notice the saguaros on the hillside in the background. Cray.
Arizona walnut leafing out.
I run into a group of 6 or 7 people backpacking in the forest and say hi to them. They say. “You’re Woody Sheriff!!!” Close enough! More instagram followers! Awesome! I’m glad so many people like the pictures. I chat with them a bit and get on my way. I also notice many of them are wearing Brooks Cascadia shoes! First others I’ve seen. I’ve been following a pair for a long time but never caught the wearer.
Cooked right on the fire
skin peeled right off to give me the nice tender meat! Cooked on an open mesquite fire!
Arizona?
Blister beetle in a poppy
Camp among the sycamores tonight