Thursday, October 12, 2023
Miles: 30.02
Elevation gain/loss: 2405’/3310′
Despite it being very cold overnight, I slept deeply. There was condensation on my sleeping bag from using my tarp as a bivy sack to protect me against the cold wind. I was up at 5am and hiking by 5:25am, excited for town but trying to not think about it too much. It was so cold, I was wearing my buff wrap, fleece hat, mitten shells, and rain jacket for the first 3 hours, and I still couldn’t fully feel my hands. I hiked quickly, trying to stay warm and just wait for the day to get warmer. There was ice on the morning’s first water source at 9am in direct sunlight.
As I slowly got closer to town, I saw quite a few bikers and runners; some bikers were polite in yielding and letting me know they were coming while others were not. The trail wound around residential neighborhoods, and the trail became busy enough I had to be more careful when I stopped to pee.
The day was fairly flat, with a random steep climb as I got closer to Flagstaff. I met Bard and Eventful when they were stopped for lunch, and they remembered me from the spring! As Flagstaff came into view, I was glad to hit gravel and paved trail as I walked into the city. I was on the far side of the city by 4:30, where I stopped at the Motel 6 to stay the night. It was relatively clean and quiet, though the heat was blasting in the room and it smelled very strongly of cleaner.
Before heading to Walmart to resupply, I took a little while to dry out my sleeping bag and tarp in the waining daylight on the pool fence. I was very glad I’d be inside, since that night was forecast to drop to ~20 degrees, a few degrees colder than last night. I wasn’t eager to be out overnight in that cold. Once my gear was dry, I took care of my resupply and bought dinner and breakfast, and then took a ride share back to the motel with all of my goodies. Then it was a relaxed evening at the motel while I ate, did laundry, and prepared for my next portion of the trail.
