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| Backpack | 38.50 Miles |
5,420 AEG |
| | Backpack | 38.50 Miles | 2 Days | | |
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| 5,420 ft AEG | | | |
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| no partners | | February 20th
We arrived at the Canelo Pass Trailhead just before midnight after setting up our shuttle vehicle at the end of passage 4. It was warm for a Feburary night in Arizona.
We laid out our groundsheets, inflated our sleeping pads, and then crawled into our sleeping bags.
Around 6:30AM we woke up, packed up camp, ate a quick breakfast, and then hit the trail.
Back on the AZT!
Today would be our long day (mileage), and tomorrow would be our climbing day.
We meandered through the Canelo Hills, passing numerous running creeks and full water tanks. The abnormally warm temperatures for February in Arizona was melting the high country snow, filling the valleys below with water.
We spotted 9 white tail deer along a mile stretch of trail.
I got a chance to try out a new piece of gear, my lightweight umbrella, as the temperature and sun exposure increased. It was definitely worth the cost and the weight.
The views of the San Rafael Valley and into Mexico were amazing. The towering Huachuca Mountains, and Santa Rita Mountains dominated the skyline on the US side. We were headed towards the Santa Ritas.
The trail passes through the small town of Patagonia. We stopped to eat some pizza at Velvet Elvis, and to enjoy some beverages before continuing.
We walked another another 7 miles out of town and set up camp near the Temporal Gultch Trailhead. The gentle grade of the trail through this area allowed us to easily bag a 23 mile day.
February 21st
We got a later start on Sunday. We weren't packed up and ready to leave camp til about 9:30 AM. We only had 15 miles to do, but there was a few thousand feet of strenuous climbing in there.
I was excited to finally get to traverse our first sky island on the trail, the Santa Rita Mountains.
The trail continued to follow a dirt road we started on in Patagonia. It was only 11AM, but it was already considerably warm. I was glad to have my umbrella to shade me until we could reach the higher elevations where the cool pines were.
After a moderate climb, we reached the end of the well maintained dirt road and took a lunch break by a running spring.
From here we climbed over 1,000 ft in a mile. We finally hit single track trail again about half a mile before topping out. We were rewarded with an abundance of shade and ponderosa pine trees.
On the descent, when the hillside opened up, the views of Mt. Wrightson were great.
About 5 miles before finishing, I bumped my head pretty good while squeezing through some boulders that had fallen on the trail. I was dizzy for a moment. After sitting down for a minute, I gathered myself and continued, slightly dizzy for the next few miles.
We finished our descent back into the valley below and reached the shuttle vehicle. |
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Bear Spring |
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| | | Dripping but the box is full of good water. | | _____________________
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