Daily Miles: 17.9, Total Miles: 314.4 I enjoyed a gorgeous, colorful sunrise as I set out on my Saddle Mountain traverse. This area has been proposed as a wilderness area and I can see why. Saddle Mountain has rugged canyons, towering cliffs and rock spires in an obvious volcanic setting. While on a x-country stretch, I happened to look down and see a perfectly formed, small arrowhead, a reminder of past occupation in this area. In the old days I…

Daily Miles: 19.2, Total Miles: 296.5 Another headlamp-assisted start this morning heading north up a wash further into the Signal Mountain Wilderness. As it got lighter, the volcanic peaks, steep-canyon walls and craggy ridges came into full view. A cool, colorful panoramic view. I hiked in or near the wash all the way to a pass surrounded by impressive buttes, peaks and rock formations. I’m sure I had the whole wilderness to myself. Down the other side of the pass…

Daily Miles: 15.6, Total Miles: 277.3 I slept very well on the sandbar last night and as a result, a bit later start. But first, I needed to do some repair work. I lost the button on my pants near the end of my hike yesterday and the built-in belt is now useless to keep my pants up. I’ve been carrying a safety pin in my kit for 14 years and now I really need it! I think it will…

Daily Miles: 19.6, Total Miles: 261.7 I got an Uber back to the Robbins Butte Wildlife Area. The only wildlife I saw were a few doves. After walking east through irrigated fields, I headed south to the Buckeye Hills. A 600’ climb got me over a ridge to the other side. The Sonoran Desert landscapes are still with me, rolling hills, wide-open desert vistas and rugged terrain. Next up, a long, x-country hike across the desert floor and drainages, first…

Daily Miles: 17.7, Total Miles: 242.1 Last night and early this morning I must have seen and disposed of 20 spiders crawling around my tent. Must be a hatch going on in this wash. I should mention my tent zippers have crapped out and I can’t completely close it up. Probably not the smartest move but I was up early, headlamp on, and bushwhacking my way up and over the North Maricopa Mountains near Margie’s Peak. I slowly got up…

Daily Miles: 20.8, Total Miles: 224.4 I had a strong enough signal last night to stream Saturday’s NFL playoff games – the Seahawks and Broncos are through. I still don’t know who won Sunday’s playoff games. I should have got further away from the train tracks by the highway, seemed like a train every half-hour. Good thing I have earplugs. Up early, I walked down the road initially by headlamp, eventually turning west up and over Estrella Benchmark on a…

Daily Miles: 16.8, Total Miles: 203.6 Still pretty good sleeping weather but warmest night so far. I rocked and rolled on primitive roads and x-country all day heading generally NW through the South Maricopa Mountains. By mid-morning I had reached another wildlife guzzler with two nearly full troughs, a bit green and full of tadpoles but filtered nicely. Lots of finches were taking advantage of the water source. It got real toasty in the afternoon, the reason early spring is…

Daily Miles: 18.5, Total Miles: 186.5 It was a dark, quiet night with brilliant stars. I set out on the well-marked Lava Flow Trail through a pretty sparse Cholla forest, my least favorite cactus for obvious reasons. Back on dirt roads and well-timed, I reached another wildlife guzzler with a full trough with quite clear water once the surface algae was skimmed off. The winter rains in early January are certainly appreciated! Still heading NW on a BLM road, I…

Daily Miles: 18.0, Total Miles: 168.3 Once again last night, I was serenaded by hooting owls and yipping coyotes. Shortly after leaving this morning, I left the powerline on a primitive road and entered the Sonoran Desert National Monument, established in 2001 and containing a whopping 486k acres. A few hours later I also entered the Table Top Wilderness, contained within the National Monument. Table Top Mountain is the highest peak in the area and the flat-topped summit of almost…