Thursday, April 10, 2025
Miles: 30.1 miles
Gain/Loss: 4324’/5026′
I was up at 7am, showered one more time, and headed out by 7:30am. I stopped on my way out of town for a fancy coffee drink at the Javalina Coffee House, and then kept walking to follow the Gila River alternate.
I started out on a paved road and slowly found myself on dirt roads and then ‘roads’ that hadn’t been roads for a long time. I was on roads for perhaps 14 miles and then headed out to bushwhack my way up a canyon, with tons of downed trees in a burn area with lots of prickers. It was very tough going, and hard to stay on route.
There was a 15mi water carry from algae-filled pools in the rocks. Also, when I updated Farout in town, my comments seemed to disappear so I was having a problem finding unmarked water sources. The elevation gain was really tough and incredibly steep terrain. I met Scott on the road walk, and then met Chunks and Bookworm within an hour or two of setting up camp for the night. I also saw a really cool horned toad.
I made it to camp at 8pm nearby the start of the Gila River, and was asleep by 9:30pm.
Transcending Mountains 