Daily Miles: 12.5, Total Miles: 355.8 Gusty winds all night long so put my earplugs in early and had the best sleep on the trail so far. The wind was still blowing as I left camp this morning. I quickly made it to Pipeline Tank, the start of a steep bushwhack up and over to Tripp Canyon. I got way off track here on my 2018 GET hike and it wasn’t fun at all. This time it was tiring but…
Daily Miles: 17.6, Total Miles: 343.3 I said goodbye to Horsehead Lodge, Adam and Tucker, his yellow lab, and headed back down Klondyke Road. Hooked up with the Buford Hills GET alternative that took me along the southern flank of the Santa Teresa Mountains for almost 13 miles. The rugged, jagged mountains are impressive but fire scarred since I hiked the GET in 2018. Purple and yellow flowers were out in full force adding to the beauty of this place….
Daily Miles: 0, Total Miles: 325.7 Very little distraction today so a very relaxing zero day. The warmest day of the week, probably in the high 80’s, but starting to cool off tomorrow. A cold front is moving in later this week with expected lows in the teens on top of the Pinalenos. I had frozen water bottles there the last time on the GET. There was an article in the local newspaper this week about a hiker rescue by…
Daily Miles: 13.2, Total Miles: 325.7 Always early on a “town” day, I followed Rattlesnake Mesa all the way down to Klondyke Road. Great views of the upcoming Santa Teresa Mountains to the northeast. Another three miles up the road and I was in Klondyke, founded in the early 1900’s by miners coming from the Klondike in Canada. Perhaps they couldn’t spell very well? Klondyke may only have about a dozen residents but does have a recently re-opened general store…
Daily Miles: 14.0, Total Miles: 312.5 Other than the initial bushwhack up the first steep hill, today was thankfully more straightforward. I even found a trail at the top that took me down a drainage with a few good pools. I soon reached the Keilberg Dam, constructed to support some old gold mines in the area. Below the dam, I took the path of least resistance and slid down into two plunge pools. Shallow but still refreshing. Rather than continue…
Today goes down as one of my more challenging days on any trail. Started off with four miles of boulder hopping up intermittent Redfield Creek – my ankles were not happy. Rested a bit and had a snack at Hooker Canyon. I then entered the Galiuro Mountains with a warm climb through mostly burn areas. A faint trail or no trail at all, I eventually reached a drainage to continue uphill. The narrow drainage was choked with cat claw, alligator…
Daily Miles: 12.6, Total Miles: 289.0 A quiet, still night except for being serenaded from time to time by owls and coyotes. My new quilt was very comfy and warm but not really put to the test. I headed out east on a steady climb for eight miles to the edge of the Redfield Canyon Wilderness. Great views of the Catalinas and Rincons to the west and the upcoming Galiuro Mountains to the east. On the drop into the spectacular…
Daily Miles: 20.5, Total Miles: 276.4 Mrs. Haze drove me up the Catalina Highway on a cool, clear morning and dropped me off at Palisades Visitors Center at 8,600′. After our goodbyes, a short stroll down the highway to the Upper Green Mountain TH. A steep, uphill climb right away got me up and over the ridge to join the Brush Corral Trail. I was quickly rewarded with expansive views down the eastern flank of the Catalinas and the San…
Ready as I will ever be – well, that’s not quite true – I could be in better shape. Just back from a backcountry trip dropping a few food and water caches. Not completely necessary but I’m reasonably close and it will cut down on heavier food carries. I had a nice chat with Beth and Dave at the Klondyke Store. I also enjoyed a Klondike bar while dropping off a re-supply box. I tested a pretty cool app, Onx…
I got my jury duty obligations postponed until after my hike so good to go! I plan on an early April start beginning where I left off in the Catalinas. There may be a chance for snow on the first high Sky Island, the Pinalenos, but probably OK. I found a webcam near the observatory on Mt Graham, so can get an idea for what to expect. Preparations are going well. I am considering dropping a cache off Klondyke Road…
