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| Hiking | 16.23 Miles |
5,118 AEG |
| | Hiking | 16.23 Miles | 9 Hrs 18 Mns | | 1.80 mph |
| 5,118 ft AEG | 16 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | I had one last bit of AZT1 to finish off, and it was almost evenly split by the Miller Canyon Trail. I started from the upper Miller Canyon TH at 8am with sunny and warm conditions. I briefly contemplated not wearing my sweatshirt right away, but I didn't like the idea of stopping to re-dress. As I ascended, I could feel the air getting cooler. By the time I was at the AZT, my fingers were numb.
Miller Canyon gets steep right off the bat, but not too bad. It seems smoother going up than going down when I was sore and on my 15th mile. After the 2 mile mark the trail crosses the canyon and gets even steeper and rockier. There are several switchbacks, then a gradual straight deathmarch ascent. Between 7K and 8K elevation, the thin air makes for a slog on the slightest hill.
Once on the AZT, I made my way over to where I left off 5 weeks ago from Parker Canyon Lake. I had it marked on the GPS, but I also drew an X in the dirt which was still there. This was just past Granite Peak. on the way there, I saw 2 thru hikers heading south. The way back down to Bear Saddle was almost all downhill, so I did all that and decided to take lunch there, which was the halfway mark of my total mileage for the day.
Just before I got to Bear Saddle, it started to snow. Halfway thru my lunch, it really started picking up. I cut short my lunch, put on my raincoat and gloves, and pushed on. At the top of Miller Canyon, the thru hikers were at the bathtub spring water source filling up and taking a break. the snow was still coming down and I headed over towards Miller Peak to finish off the last segment of this passage, having hiked to Miller Peak in 2018.
As I got to the junction of the AZT and the peak trail, another heavy snow squall set in. Visibility was marginal at best, and the trail was beginning to accumulate more snow, which had me a bit concerned with the steep descent still ahead. I had thought about hitting Miller Peak for a 2nd time, but with the weather and as tired as I was getting with the climbing (having already reached 5K AEG for the day), I decided to forego another summit.
On the way back to Miller Canyon and down Miller Canyon, the snow squall was the heaviest. Miller Peak as times was barely visible from the trail. It seemed like the lower I got, the more snow there was on the trail, which is the opposite of what I expected.
the last 3 miles my quads were hurting with the steep grades and the rocky trail. The final half mile gave some reprieve with almost level and smooth grades, and even on modest uphill. The snow finally disappeared the last mile and things were dry. the sun even peeked out for a bit until I finished. Once back at the TH, the temperature was much cooler than when I started.
The private residence just above the TH has a pack of Bumpus hounds that bray ceaselessly. They were howling in the morning (along with the roosters crowing) and on the way back they were at it again. In the afternoon I could hear the owner yelling at them to keep it down, which remarkably worked (for a little while).
Very glad to finish this segment and this whole southern AZ portion of the AZT. Onto other segments now a little closer to home. |
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