I'm going to hike the Arizona Trail

I have given it some thought and I think the health issue I had on the CDT was caffeine overdose. I peed too much, I could not sleep, I felt like I was dying. I think it was caffeine and chronic lack of sleep because of the caffeine. I won't make that mistake again.

I am going to hike the Arizona Trail at the end of March. I am really looking forward to it. This is a great year for the AZT. There should be a lot of wildflowers in the desert. There should be plenty of water. There may be a lot of snow, especially north of the Grand Canyon. You can road walk that section. This does not appeal to me at all, but I'll wait to see what it's like when I get there.

There should be a lot of hikers, too. The PCT is so snowy this year people are quitting before they even begin. Some of them will go to the AZT instead.

I'm going to mail my food and see how that goes. I found it hard to shop as I went in those small Idaho/Montana towns on the CDT. I assume some of these small Arizona towns could also be hard to shop in. So I will mail a minimum amount of food and supplement with snack foods in town.

The food I will send:

• Breakfast: Oats with dates, protein powder or collagen, chia/flax/pumpkin/sunflower seeds, milk or coconut cream powder, peanut butter. Breakfast Essentials and Starbucks Via (only 1 per day).
  
• Lunch/snacks: Larry & David Protein Cookies, extra strength Digest supplement (pea protein is hard for me), Ivan bars (so good), Just Fruit bars.
• Dinner: Three different dinners: 1) Cous-cous with dehydrated chicken, pine nuts, sundried tomatoes, olive oil. 2) Dehydrated refried beans (and more Digest supplement), dehydrated cheese, taco seasoning, dehydrated corn and red bell peppers, dehydrated chicken, dehydrated rice and store-bought corn chips. 3) Spam singles, dehydrated sushi rice, sesame oil and Japanese rice topping.
• Supplements: Curcumin with pepper (inflammation), Digest (for beans), Magnesium (for leg cramps), Lite salt (for potassium), Salt stick caps (electrolytes).
  

I've got my base pack weight down to 8lbs. This is about 5lbs less than the CDT. Eight pounds if I use a Nashville Cutaway pack, a little more if I use one of my other packs. 

The Cutaway is a small pack. They say it is 26L at the collar and 31L total. I'm a little worried I won't be able to fit all my food. Fortunately it is not until the Grand Canyon that there are any segments longer than 4.5 days. By then I should be able to hike more miles per day.

If I don't go with the Cutaway I have a Pa'lante V2 which they say is 31L just for the internal capacity, not counting the external pockets. I modified the Pa'lante pack to take the Nashville straps so this is my new favorite pack. I love the bottom pocket on the Pa'lante. It is big and easy to access. I can put snacks and my wind jacket and pants in there. There's a little trash hole to stuff in your wrappers. I took it on a thru-hike of the Backbone Trail and loved it.

The bottom pocket on the Cutaway is small and hard to access. I am not sure I would put snacks in there because it's too hard to reach in. The big uni-pocket on the Cutaway is weird. Sure you can reach everything in the big pocket without taking off the pack but nothing stays in its little area. It all flops around in there. It's all one big shapeless pseudo-pocket. The whole pack is weird and shapeless and sort of drives me nuts. I could thrash it to hell on the AZT and not care if it died, which is the reason why I am leaning toward taking it. Maybe if I have something to hate other than the trail itself I will be better off.

Lastly I have my trusty Zpacks Arc Blast which now seems too big at 50L. It's always been the most comfortable pack I've ever worn. I don't think I'll need huge water capacity this year. Almost 5L capacity is what I will have.

Videos of my 2022 SOBO section hike of the CDT

I did 45 days on the CDT. I went home from West Yellowstone. I think I may have gotten a concussion when I fell before Darby. I didn't really rest and recover after I fell. I didn't even take my first zero day until Lima. Symptoms of untreated concussion include headaches, nausea, fatigue and insomnia, which I had. Symptoms of heat exhaustion include headache, nausea, leg cramps. Symptoms of exercise exhaustion include fatigue, loss of energy, pain and stiffness, nausea, headaches, shortness of breath. I probably had all three. Sucks to get old. Sucks to sit behind a desk for 13 years.

Here are videos from my trip.

Zero day in West Yellowstone

Not a lot to say about zero days but I really needed to rest. I just don’t feel right. Shortness of breath, dull feeling in my chest, a lot of peeing—always clear—a lot of thirst but little desire to drink, no real appetite, occasional nausea. I rested as well as I could, which wasn’t very well with all the chores to do on foot.

 

I bought a COVID test from the pharmacy. I tested negative.

The hotel where I stayed was next to one of those cosmetics shops where middle eastern men stand out in front and offer samples. I found out a hiker had borrowed a bicycle from one of the men so I asked him if I could borrow the bike next. The mission for both of us was to get to the dispensary. 

I had tried hitchhiking and had no luck. The dispensary was 7.5 miles away. Bike rentals were expensive. Borrowing the bike was going to save a lot of money. I needed gummies to help me sleep. This was my last day in a town in a state where such things are legal. Benadryl, according to Dr. Google, exacerbates heat exhaustion symptoms and it did not make me sleepy anyway. I could not bear the thought of any more sleepless nights either in the hotel before heading out or on the trail. 

So I rode 15 miles round trip to get gummies. In the rain. On a busy highway with trucks, RVs, and rumble strips in the shoulder. While riding I could still feel my main symptom which is a sense of tiredness in my chest and difficulty breathing. I breathed in-out hard like the hills near Lima with the effort of pedaling. At least it was relatively flat to get there. 

After that errand, I was pretty wet and cold (imagine that!) so I crawled under the covers of my bed and took a nap. 

When I woke up I thought I could probably eat pizza. I went to Wild West Pizza and Saloon and got a personal pizza and a salad. The salad was so good. It had onions and cucumbers on it. I felt better just from that. I got a white sauce pizza and a beer. 

I’ve been putting lite salt on things, drinking Gatorade, eating salty almonds and making lists in my head of foods to bring for this 8 day section. I have a stop in 3 days to buy restaurant food and snacks so I don’t have to carry a full 8 day resupply, just an extra 5 days of things that are not snacks. 

———

The next morning, after sleeping pretty well thanks to the gummies, and despite needing to pee several times, I woke early to check FarOut for water info and saw the last water for me would be at 16 miles from the trailhead. After that the next water would be 26.6 miles and inside the park. I would have to get a permit to camp in the park. I would have to commit to a 16 mile day this afternoon and a 26.6 mile day tomorrow. 

Suddenly the weight of all this dehydration and exhaustion and loneliness overwhelmed me. The remoteness of the trail towns, the hot summer heat, the inability to feel 100% well, the dread to return to trail. 

I bought a plane ticket for less money than the rest of this trip would be. I could be home around midnight. Poof it would be over. 

I felt simultaneously sad and relieved. I went to tell Wanderer who was outside waiting for his ride back to the trail. He could tell anyone who asked if I was still on trail that I wasn’t. Not that anyone would miss me or anything. I saw some guys with backpacks hitchhiking and gave them my bear spray and fuel. 

It makes me sad that I’m not strong and fast like everyone else. I had hoped to hike a trail like this with others and enjoy that kind of experience of camaraderie. This was the loneliest town on the trail. I barely spent time with anyone here. A brief conversation was the most time spent. 

This has been the hardest trail I’ve ever hiked. I hiked about 800 miles. I hiked the Bob and the Anaconda-Pintlers and a lot of other wild places. All the things I’ve seen are all blurred together. It looked nothing like anywhere I’ve ever been. So beautiful. I’m glad I gave it a try.

The airport is 2 miles away. My flight leaves in 8 hours. I think I can I make it. 

Great view in the Bob

Initial blowdowns in the Bob

Snow near North Chinese Wall

Soft rounded hills of Montana 

Larch forest in Anaconda-Pintlers 

Lake in the Anaconda-Pintlers 

Following Id/Mt border near Lima

Wildflowers and butterflies in Southern Montana
 

Dirt road on my 2nd to last day on trail

Storm on my 2nd to last day

Best night’s sleep 

To West Yellowstone Day 4: bailed

I’m starting this day at mile 914.7. I’m ending it in West Yellowstone. I hiked 2 miles on the trail, then I bailed down mile creek to the highway and tried to hitch, then walked however many miles on the highway back to Reynolds Pass where after hours standing in the wind and sprinkles I got a ride to West Yellowstone. 

When I woke up to my alarm it was very dark. I found a lot of inch long skinny worms in the dimples of my sleeping pad. This had been a pretty bad campsite. I mixed up some coffee and breakfast essentials but I wasn’t hungry for anything else. I decided to eat some cookies as I hiked. Had I gone a little farther on the trail there was a flatter area. Had I gone two miles to Mile Creek there were shaded tent sites. Will I ever learn?

My ride was a kind man and his son, who may have been autistic, who said he makes a point to try to help people in need. I thanked him profusely. He dropped me off at the post office where I picked up a package containing a new polycryo ground sheet and my air mesh fleece.  I was going to send home my puffy as a trade for the fleece but it was suddenly so cold compared to yesterday. 

McDonald’s was near the post office so I stopped in for breakfast but I was too late and settled for lunch. 

I bought two nights at The Madison hotel and bought some things to try and hydrate myself. I got coconut water, although it was not the most natural kind, some lite salt (half potassium chloride), some pedialyte drink mix and some chips. I got some kefir which I’ve been eying ever since Helena. Might as well satisfy a mild craving. 

I caught glimpses of hikers as I walked around town. I saw Mango and FastCash. I saw a few guys from Lima at McDonald’s. I saw hikers I did not recognize. I saw Wanderer. He had climbed the whole big 10,000 foot mountain after where I camped and he camped on the descent after 10 pm. 

I had no real hunger. I ate at McDonald’s only because I hoped for breakfast sandwiches. I got ice cream but it didn’t taste like anything. I ate nothing else until dinner and had stir fried veggies at a Chinese restaurant. 

As I walked around town I felt like it was hard to breathe. I found a pharmacy and bought a Covid test. I tested negative. So my hydrate, rest, eat plan would have to suffice. 

My feet feel weird from all the hiking in wet socks. I bought a new pair of socks. I will keep the old ones to wear if my socks get wet. Darn Tough socks take a long time to dry. 

I talked to Tony on the phone a lot. I worked out resupply plans all the way to the end of Wyoming. If I get to the highway to Lander without dying but I still feel like I might die, I can always go to Jackson and fly home. 

The day went by quickly. I hope I can sleep. I have such poor sleep I’m afraid to sleep. 

To West Yellowstone Day 3: there are no amenities on this trail

I’m starting at mile 889.2. I’m ending at mile 914.7. I hiked 25.5 miles. 

I ended the day with a full 21 mile day to get to the pass where I can hitch to West Yellowstone.

I’ve heard people say that the CDT is a cold trail. I have never been so consistently overheated and unable to properly hydrate than on this trail. I don’t think I can continue. 

When I got myself packed up and back on trail I walked around the corner and could see a spot where someone had slept. Did they sleep there last night and see my headlamp as I got up to pee three times in the night? I also saw a lot of great campsites another 50 paces down the trail. Too bad. I had been searching for a site for 2 and a half hours and took the first thing I could make work. 

When I got down to the water source Snickers was there. He’s a young guy who reminds me of Nathan. I met him in Lima. Soon Wanderer arrived. I met him in Lima, too. He started out in the same shuttle as me and he had given me some propel so I would have electrolytes. He wondered how many miles I did yesterday. I guess he had been trying to catch me. 

The trail climbed and descended through interesting volcanic landscape and cheerful forests and meadows. I crossed numerous streams including one called Hell Roaring Creek. 

After the trail slowly descended out of the forest it followed a dirt road for the majority of the mid-day. It was hot and exposed to the sun. 

I felt okay for a while. I was drinking my electrolytes but I was slowly overheating. At the end of the day I felt blasted by the sun and sick to my stomach. I seriously contemplated walking down the hill to a house that had green grass and offering money to sleep in their yard and drink water from their hose. 

I struggled in the sun to reach a creek on the hillside. I could not go any further. I had felt so sore and tired from the 27 miles yesterday. I did not want to do it again. I figured out a way to sleep on the hillside on a flattish spot in the aspens. A thunderstorm was growling as I tied most of the lines of my tarp to the aspens. It came out loose and the winds blew it around like last night. My bed is lumpy. I hope I can sleep. 

The idea of 21 more miles to town weighs on me. I don’t think I can continue. I texted Tony and asked if he would like to go to Yellowstone. 

To West Yellowstone Day 2: wet feet morning, long ascent/descent afternoon

I’m starting at mile 862.2. Ending at 889.2. I went 27 miles. 

I didn’t get into camp until 8. So I don’t have a lot to say. 

I probably saw 30 NOBOs and no SOBOs. 

There was a 17 mile stretch without water that had a long climb and descent between me and it. Some of the trail had been rerouted but without tread on either the old or new trail I got a little lost and wandered around a bit. 

My campsite was the first possible thing I could find and therefore it was windy and bad. 

To West Yellowstone Day 1: kinder trail

I’m starting at mile 841.5. Ending at 862.2. I hiked 20.7 miles. 

I took the first shuttle out of town and was back on trail around 10am. I mentally prepared myself for more grueling inclines. I had not slept well. I got only about 4 hours of sleep. I was twitchy and itchy. I had to pee what seemed like 10 times throughout the night. I felt short of breath. My soles of my feet felt numb. Sominex didn’t make me sleepy.  I thought maybe I should not have drunk ice tea in the afternoon and I also thought these could be the symptoms of low potassium and magnesium. These little towns just don’t have electrolytes in their tiny stores.

I had a box with extra Emergenc-C that I was either going to mail ahead or abandon and I noticed that it said it had electrolytes. The percentage of magnesium and potassium seemed pretty low so I decided to keep them and just drink two packets at a time. The internet also said pumpkin seeds and cashews were fairly high in one or the other so I bought some at the gas station. I also yogied a couple packets of Propel. 

I decided to mail home my strumstick. I would miss playing it. I just didn’t think I could continue on these steep climbs without trying to shed more weight. I wrapped it in bubble wrap and tape and slapped an address label on it. It survived the Bob and 700+ miles of the CDT, it would survive the mail. 

I was still peeing every half hour well into the morning. Where was all this water coming from when I felt so thirsty? I had a headache and felt mildly nauseous. 

The trail began as a road walk. It rose gently. In a few miles there was a stream and I filled up another liter. I had no idea what to expect about my performance so I felt I should be prepared to not make it the 13 miles to the next good water. 

When the road turned to trail and returned to following the ID/MT border fence, I was surprised how good the trail was. It was kind. It was the mild uphill that feels easy. There were some steep climbs but nothing like the last section. The forest looked different and the open areas weren’t the soft rounded folds of the last section. 

It was cloudy and rained lightly off and on. It was no longer hot. As I rose I walked in a cold wet cloud. The plants on the trail were wet. My feet were wet. 

I met lots of NOBOs. One of them seemed stressed out about the climb he was doing, wondering if he was close. I said he was pretty close I think, but I wasn’t sure how long a climb it had been. As I descended I learned it had been a pretty big climb. Another NOBO told me that this whole section and Yellowstone and most of Wyoming is practically flat and would be a lot easier than it has been for me so far. This was reassuring. 

As the day went on I felt better. The climbs weren’t destroying me. I was feeling pretty good. I had to pee 8 times, which was a lot, but it felt like it was tapering off some. I felt less nauseous. Maybe the pumpkin seeds, cashews, propel and emergen-c helped. 

I passed up a good campsite near an abandoned ATV and ended up walking a few miles in wet brush searching hopelessly for a dry spot under a tree for my camp. At long last I found something that would work. A tight squeeze. My flattest campsite in a long time. Turned out to be the best sleep in a long time, too. I was glad to be done by 6:30. That I did more than 20 miles in such a short day was a good sign. I budgeted food for five 20 mile days. With kinder trail I should get to West Yellowstone a little early and have a Nero going into town. 

Zero day in Lima, August 1

Not a lot to say about zero days. It was my first one. I ate a big steak at The Peat which was a cool place. Kind of like Pozo Saloon or Cold Spring Tavern. That sort of historic bar and grill. I had a big breakfast of pancakes and pork katsu in the morning at Jan’s. Not sure that was the best thing to eat. 

It was supposedly the last day of a heat wave. There were clouds at times cooling things off a little, even some sprinkles. 

I got my resupply but missed the closing of the post office so I couldn’t send anything home. 

I met a NOBO lady who said the trail ahead would start with the steep ups and downs, then the climbing around Targhee Pass would be more normal and then going into West Yellowstone the trail is level. This appeals to me. Maybe I can keep my mandolin and puffy jacket and not try to run to the PO tomorrow to send them home. 

The scab and super glue on my forehead finally came off. 

One of the hikers asked the locals at the gas station if they knew anyone who would sell him some steaks. They found someone who sold him a huge pile of steaks and other hikers contributed charcoal for the grill, salad, rice, and I contributed garlic bread. We had a feast eating it in the parking lot and common areas of the motel. It was tender and delicious and really revived me. 

To Lima Day 5: Shuffling slowly to Lima

I’m starting at mile 825.9. Ending at mile 841.5. 15.6 miles. I really thought it was only 9.7 but apparently I’ve been in the Bermuda Triangle. 

I watched a hiker walk the ridge above the spring in the remaining glow after sunset while I was lying in bed. Later I saw movement up there and it was an elk. I watched him for a while and then he descended to some trees below the ridge. In the middle of the night I was awakened by what sounded like big boots crunching up the trail toward my tent. I hoped whoever it was wouldn’t run into me. Then I wondered who hikes at night without a headlamp? I realized it was probably the elk. I heard the footsteps fade away from me and I fell back asleep. 

My alarm didn’t go off so I got the usual 6:30 start time. I trudged up and down the remaining hills until I got to the alternate route which would take Modoc Creek instead of continuing to walk the PUDs along the ridge. It was a steep and difficult road down, filled with round cobbles that were easy to slip on or roll your ankle. It was slow going. The bottom was flat and followed a small stream. There were lots of flowers and butterflies. 

I got one bug bite and two stings behind me knees which had me fantasizing of ways I might solve this daily problem without DEET. If I could buy a big bandana I could wear my existing big bandana on the front and another on the back and maybe that would be harder for the flies and whatever stings me from getting at the backs of my knees. If I could get a small bandana maybe I could cut it in half and tie each half around each knee. Or maybe I could find a long sleeved shirt and the sleeves could fit around my knees. I sent the lower legs of my pants home because it was very warm every day and one leg had torn in the Bob. 

The hike down the road dragged on and on. I was getting hungry. My water was warm and there was no shade to sit and eat anything that needed water added. I ate some cookies and candy. I was pretty sure I’d be in town for lunch. The hours went on and I looked at the app. I had gone 9 miles but I was nowhere near the end. That’s when I learned the app must have lied about the distance. Now I hoped only for dinner. 

The heat of the sun was unrelenting. My feet were getting tired. I felt so spent and wasted from all these days. I started getting nauseous. I was thirsty but worried I’d run out of water. I chewed a Nuun tablet while sipping warm water hoping it might revive me. It made me feel worse. 

I met a few NOBOs but I didn’t want to talk. Anyone who asked me how I was doing I’d answer “I’m dying”.  Or if they’d ask if I’m enjoying the hike I’d say “No”. 

I wasn’t enjoying it. I felt like every day I had less energy than the previous. I’d walk slower. Being so alone was bothering me but it was hopeless I’d ever find anyone with a sub-two mile per hour pace, or anyone who quit for the day no later than 7 and who preferred to sleep in the trees rather than fight the wind out in the open. I felt doomed to loneliness and a slow wasting away of my energy. I felt like I’d reached the end of this hike. I felt like a failure. 

At long last I reached the underpass where a shuttle would periodically take hikers to Lima. A couple of section hikers had already called so I didn’t have to wait long. It was a long drive to Lima. 

I got a real hotel room. I would be able to sleep. The room was so nice, cheap, quiet, cool and comfortable I paid for 2 nights. I would take time to rest, eat, be clean and un-stung and decide if I can go on. My first zero day. 

To Lima Day 4: pointless ups and downs

I’m starting the day at mile 803. I’m ending at 825.9. About 23 miles of grueling fence walking on the Idaho/Montana border. 

My little campsite in the trees was sheltered and safe. The storm eventually died down and it was calm. I set an alarm for 5 am. It’s quite dark at that time. I needed my headlamp to put things away and eat. Soon I was back on the trail. 

The road turned the corner back into mountains and trees from its long sage scrub traverse. Soon I was hiking on trail again. 

The trail went up and down. There were frequent little streams and at times I was in shaded forest and other times on grassy hills. 

Soon, after gaining a couple of summits with views, the trail descended in earnest into cattle country. I got water at a stream near a trailhead where a USFS truck was parked. Then I headed out into what felt to me like close to 90 degrees. I passed a northbound hiker and then found myself walking among cattle, following a stream I had made a mental note to gather water. But this was cow trampled water so I did not gather any. 

At 2 pm I noted it was 5 miles to a spring. At the same time I began a steep climb up to the fence line between Idaho and Montana. I got lost numerous times. Sometimes there was no trail or there was trail going the wrong way. At times FarOut positioned me 50 miles off the trail and I would have to wait a long time for it to position me accurately. The climbs were straight up and straight down. It took me until 5:30 to get to the spring. 

I looked at the map and the rest of the day would be more of this fence line. I was exhausted. I had seen a southbound hiker coming up from the spring before I got there. I just couldn’t follow him. I was too tired and frustrated. I did not like all these hills. They are pointless.  

FarOut comments said there was no camping at the spring. They were wrong. I found a tight little spot in some nearby trees. There would be no camping on the ridge and it could be 5 miles or more before I found anything following the trail. Five miles of this ridge walking took me almost 6 hours. So this was the best spot to stop. 

I drank water all day and still I am so thirsty. I can drink all I want camped by this spring. 

It’s about 9.7 miles to I15, according to the app. I’m going to take the Modoc creek alternate and shave off some PUDs (pointless ups and downs).

To Lima Day 3: milder hills so the weather had to make up for it

I’m starting at mile 776.7. I’m ending at about mile 803. About 27 miles. 

I could have done 30 easily but the weather turned to high winds, rain and thunder and lightning at 6 pm. The third thunderstorm I had endured. Miles of barren exposed road stretched out before me. The comments about my goal location said it was grassy and windy. I may have had to go all night before finding trees for shelter. I just didn’t know because I couldn’t see where the trail was going. I had passed up some nice trees already and as the weather suddenly degraded and I crested the hill, there were trees on the other side of the fence. I climbed under the fence and found good shelter. I got my tarp up just in time for the rain. 

The rest of the day was really nice. The trail had turned kind with reasonable hills and switchbacks. There was open sagebrush interspersed with shaded little forests. There were flowing streams and lakes. The views were grand with wide open vistas and craggy and rounded mountains. I even recognized a view from Sie So’s videos and got a similar picture of my own. 

It felt good to hike like a normal person. The only bad part of the day were the storms. The first one struck when I reached a ridge and the top of a climb. I figured the ridge was short and on the other side I would be about as tall as the bushes on the sides of the trail so I didn’t worry too much. A guy I met at the last water source said I was braver than him. He had wrapped himself in his tyvek ground sheet and took a nap to wait it out. 

The second storm hit as I was walking a huge long expanse of open sage scrub. It was so windy I could barely stand up. 

The third hit when I had 3 miles left to hit my first 30 mile day. My biggest fear is to not be able to keep my shelter up in the wind and rain. So much PTSD from the PCT. 

I did a lot of thinking today. I have to take care of myself. Prioritize resting if I’m tired, seeking the sheltered locations to camp that will make me feel safe, maybe getting a hotel room in the next town so obnoxious thru hikers don’t ruin my sleep. I’m not a thru hiker. I don’t feel like one. I’m not planning to go the whole way. I’m not young. I’m slower than everyone. I’m alone and lonely. I’m just me by myself with nobody to help me. I have to take care of myself and let all the thru hikers go.