Day 312

Day 312 (AZT 17): 30 miles

Early in the morning I took a little detour to actually get down to the Gila River to get some water. I saw a couple thru hikers camping down there and talked for a bit before moving on. The morning wasn’t too scenic. The trail never really got close to the River but instead just went up and down little hills a quarter mile away from it, much less enjoyable than hiking along the Gila River in New Mexico.

By the time I got to the end of the river I was pretty darn thirsty since I was never really close to the water. I rode the rails for a little bit to save a pointless climb and descent before getting to the road. There was a water spigot for county workers near the trail at a road crossing. It was awesome. Great water with a little shade tree, picnic table, and lawn chairs. It was the best oasis in the desert I could’ve asked for. Allegedly a local pizza place would deliver there too so I wish I knew that a couple days ago and I would’ve brought less food and taken advantage of that.

While I was hanging out there for about an hour, enjoying shade in the heat of the day, a guy pulled up and talked about hiking for a while. He took my trash and was just super nice. Unfortunately, while eating them I realized my Oreos had an ant infestation so I parted ways with them. Send prayers

Leaving there wasn’t too enjoyable. It was still hot with a lot of sun exposure. It was a 2,000 ish foot climb out which was frustrating cause it felt like anytime I went up I immediately went right back down and was just wasting ascents. I also couldn’t enjoy a view of the valley to my right cause the sun was low in the sky and absolutely blinding. When it finally set I enjoyed some nice colors.

While hiking after dark I met 4 more thru hikers camping, that’s more than I had seen on the entire trail so far. It’s good that I’m catching up to them for multiple reasons. 1: it’s nice to see and talk to people 2: finally there are some water caches that aren’t all empty. I crossed a surprise water cache at a gate after dark which was awesome.

Saw a random box today that said MW2. Fellas, quite a sigh

Passed through an area today where a decent number of people that get bit by rabid animals. I’ll admit, that wasn’t on my list of concerns when I started this year

Song of the day: who will save your soul-jewel