Daily Miles: 0, Total Miles: 411.0 A lazy, hazy day in Willcox, haze coming from a wildfire in the Dragoons west of here. That’s where I started the first half of the SKIT last fall. I did some planning on the last leg and week of this hike through the Dos Cabezas and Chiricahua Mountains. Rough, wild and beautiful country. Other than that, catching up with family, news, and reading a book, Cloud Cuckoo Land. My only exercise was walking…
Daily Miles: 17.8, Total Miles: 411.0 Just me, a few deer and lots of cows today through Willow Springs Canyon. I crossed into Dial Canyon and following the sandy wash all the way to Hwy 191. On a much warmer day, I road walked the highway for five miles to the interchange with I-10. Pulled out my Willcox sign in front of the freeway entry ramp and the first vehicle picked me up. A really nice teacher from Safford took…
Daily Miles: 15.9, Total Miles: 393.2 A truck pulled into my roadside campsite last night and parked, ildling, with the headlights shining into my tent. After about ten minutes, I figured enough was enough and started to get out of the tent. Whoever it was flashed his high beams, backed up and drove away. Cold, cold night but at least the wind finally settled down. I stayed warm and comfy in my new EE quilt but awoke to a slushy…
Daily Miles: 21.5, Total Miles: 377.3 What better way to start the day than a summit bid? Buffeted by cold winds all day, I climbed another 2,000 ft passing Clark Peak. With expansive views, I then joined the Swift Trail, a dirt road at this point. I bypassed Riggs Lake and got water at a roadside waterfall. I met a road crew fixing up the road which will be opened to the public this weekend. The Swift Trail stayed close…
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…
