5/11/19 Mileage: zero The people at the table behind us are talking shit about us. We're eating pizza at the one other restaurant in Alpine, the one that's not the right wing white supremacist Bear Wallow Cafe. We thought this restaurant would be better, and it sort of is? There aren't any confederate flags or … Continue reading Mogollon Rim Trail day 32: Alpine

5/10/19 Mileage: 8 415.7 Miles hiked Nice flat campsite under junipers, the earth littered in cow patties. Warm night at 6,200 feet. What could go wrong? Lots of things, actually. The last of the light is fading from the heavy, leaded sky and we're in our shelter when the mosquitoes appear. No problem, the zippers … Continue reading Mogollon Rim Trail day 31: cold downpour

5/9/19 Mileage: 16.5 407.7 miles hiked In the night condensation comes and steals the warmth from me. I wake up, touch my damp sleeping bag, decide I need to pee anyway. The tent has frozen solid from condensation, and I push away the frozen flap of the vestibule, shivering and tiny bits of ice rain … Continue reading Mogollon Rim Trail day 30: from the frozen snags to the secret land of the free cows

5/8/19 Mileage: 20 391.2 miles hiked I dream we eat donuts from Le Caves, the very good donut shop in Tucson that is "accidentally" vegan (so Muffy can have them!) and I wake up warm and cozy in our shelter, which is stiff with sheets of frozen condensation. Just one week until Le Caves! I … Continue reading Mogollon Rim Trail day 29: The Black River is f*cking cold

5/7/19 Mileage: 21 371.2 miles hiked First thing in the morning we're hiking the old railroad grade through open mountain meadows, wearing all our layers, the wind beating us. I watch the sky warily as we walk. It's cold up here, in the White Mountains at the beginning of May. I really hope it doesn't … Continue reading Mogollon Rim Trail day 28: someday this will all be aspens

Update: the fundraiser is funded!! Thank you SO MUCH, everyone!!! 🎉🎉🎉 Muffy and I will roll out one blog post per day for the next 9 days. Yall RULE! 😀🎉🎉🎉🎉 Francis' asylum appeal fundraiser (click here) needs just $160 to reach its goal, and then my last nine blog posts from the Mogollon Rim Trail … Continue reading Francis’ fundraiser is so close! 😀

5/6/19 Mileage: 13.8 350.2 miles hiked I hardly sleep, for the second night in a row. Why is civilization like this? Four walls, the hum of electric wires, the small glow of charging electronics. Air that doesn't move. The sense that I'm missing out on something, that something is happening somewhere without me. That I'm … Continue reading Mogollon Rim Trail day 27: The calm before the storm

5/5/19 Mileage: zero We've grown bored of zeros. At the beginning of the trail it was fun- let's zero in every town! And our bodies were sore and exhausted, so it was great. We're stronger now though, we don't need to spend a whole day in bed in a motel room every section, doing nothing. … Continue reading Mogollon Rim Trail day 26: zero in Greer

5/4/19 Mileage: 14 336.4 miles hiked It's cold. "We should've slept in the trailer," laughs Muffy, as we heat water for our respective coffee and tea in the morning, too cold to get out of our sleeping bags. Oh well. Lesson learned. Gray dawn gives way to long yellow light and I watch Muffy drink … Continue reading Mogollon Rim Trail day 25: the pioneer myth

5/3/19 Mileage: 20 322.4 miles hiked It's cold in the large meadow in which Los Burros campground sits. We hike out in the morning in all our layers, even our gloves. There are groves of aspens, now, in the ponderosas, white and ghostly, not even the hints of new leaves yet. Everything has a damp, … Continue reading Mogollon Rim Trail day 24: alpine wonderland