11/13/21 12 miles Norm's IGA in Kearny gives free coffee and a donut to AZT hikers. A kindly clerk tells us this as we're wandering around their deli, selecting chaotic foods for breakfast- a cobb salad, some cold pork ribs, diet coke, potato salad, a giant spicy pickle, a mexican cookie shaped like a pig. … Continue reading Arizona trail day 30: Kearny

11/12/21 16 miles. It's so hot. I mean I know in the last section I was being a weenie about even mild heat, and then yesterday I felt like I'd finally adjusted! But today it's actually hot. Alan's watch says 94 degrees. We're contouring above the Gila river on nicely graded, beautifully groomed trail, as … Continue reading Arizona trail day 29: cooked

9/11/21 22 miles For breakfast, MJ feeds us the best gluten free waffles I've ever had. Plus a mountain of bacon. I drink orange juice and coffee on top of it and now my stomach hurts, but I'm not mad about it. MJ shuttles us to the trailhead. She's so generous! And gracious about helping … Continue reading Arizona trail day 28: Saguaro dream trail

11/9 and 11/10 4 miles MJ the trail angel meets us at the Hewitt Station trailhead, where the sun is rising over the saguaros. She's wearing lavender, has lavender hair, there are purple wings painted on the side of her car. I am immediately into her vibe. She tells us she moved to Superior four … Continue reading Arizona trail day 26 and 27: MJ’s dream house

11/8/21 21 miles I've never had a trail name before. My name, Carrot, is so weird already that I've never wanted one. But now I have three- Snakeflusher Clownmouth Rawdog. Snakeflusher because Matthew is afraid of snakes now so whenever there's grass I have to walk ahead, to "flush the rattlesnakes", clown mouth because I … Continue reading Arizona trail day 25: rawdog

11/7/21 21 miles I wake at 4 a.m. for some godawful reason. I feel... bonkers tired today. Oh well. I guess I'll walk, because that's the only option on a thru-hike. Tired? Walk. Sick? Walk. Sad? Walk. Etc. I am extra stumbly on the descent to the suspension bridge over roosevelt lake, and my ankles … Continue reading Arizona trail day 24: molasses

11/6/21 26 miles The zipper on my sleeping bag is breaking- it keeps coming open in sections after I zip it. And my neo-air seems to be deflating more than the usual once per night. Between that and the fact that we've been getting to camp late on account of the slower miles, and also … Continue reading Arizona trail day 23: wiped

11/5/21 10 miles Waking up at 3:30 a.m. isn't bad, honestly, when you're in a warm comfortable bed and you can work on your blog for two hours with the blanket over your head so the light doesn't wake your sleeping friends. By 9:30 a.m. you feel like you've been awake an entire day before … Continue reading Arizona trail day 22: rattlesnake

11/4/21 15 miles At 3:30 a.m. there are loud voices, passing through camp. Gathering water, chatting, then gone. I'm confused, and then very awake. We'll learn later that there's an AZT bike race happening right now, and those were some of the racers. I can NOT imagine biking this trail, much less in the dark. … Continue reading Arizona trail day 21: Payson

11/3/21 22 miles In the morning Matthew tells me that something was wandering around in the woods in the middle of the night, screaming. I slept right through it, which I'm grateful for. The sound wasn't quite right for a mountain lion- he thinks it was a fox. The noises foxes can make are truly … Continue reading Arizona trail day 20: bummersville