Thursday, October 19, 2023
Miles: 30.8
Elevation gain/loss: 5512’/4472′
I was up at 4:55am and out by 5:20am. I started the day with a descent to Sunflower/I-87 and then climbed up and out of the valley. Before the climb, I stopped around 9am to filter water, and I heard voices though I didn’t see anyone. As I climbed into the heat, I met a handful of Americorp volunteers doing trail work. They were working on a section close to the top of the climb.
I initially was excited for the 11 miles of dirt road walking – more north, dirt road walking makes for quick miles. Unfortunately, these were more southern AZT-style dirt roads, with sharp, steep gains and losses with lots of loose rocks to slip on. Those miles were incredibly hot and exposed to the roasting sun. I struggled hard on this section, and required a longer than usual break at the water source midway through the road walk. Towards the end of the road walk, I got a little bit of service and was able to pull up my weather app. I felt vindicated in my suffering when it said it was 94 degrees, at 4:30pm. It also informed my next day of hiking, since the projected high at Lake Roosevelt for tomorrow was 103 degrees – I knew I’d want to start as early as possible to beat the heat.
I filtered more water at the last natural water source on trail until the lake, and hoped that the water cache’s supply in 10 miles would hold until I got there in the morning. I pushed onward into the burned wilderness area, and the overgrowth and washed out trail was intense. There were the biggest pricker bushes I’ve ever seen, and everything growing over the trail had some kind of thorn. There were cat claws everywhere, and the trail drew blood multiple times. As dark fell and I started navigating by headlamp, I found that the trail was also very eroded with sharp dropoffs. I went on as long as felt safe, and then started looking for a place to set up camp for the last time. After more than a mile, I finally found a mostly flat spot just big enough to cowboy camp. I set up and laid down, too warm to really use my sleeping bag; It never got below 68 degrees.
