Day 14: April 7, 2023
AZT mile 184.4 to 201.1
Hiked today: 18.7 miles / 30.1 km
AZT ascents today: 926m , descents: 1473m
AZT hiked to date: 25.1%

Every day on the trail brings its own challenges. Yesterday, it was the steep climb and clambering around boulders to reach the top of the mountain. Today, after making a winding path around the mountaintop, the trail took us along by Lemmon Creek, frequently crossing from one side to the other. Somehow, it seems we got onto another path, which also followed the creek and took us to a picnic area. Due to having entered the trailhead from a different point, we headed out the wrong way, subsequently walking 1.6 extra miles along a challenging track with a lot of fallen trees.

On returning to the picnic area, we realised that the trail simply followed the road up a mile or so to Summerhaven, a small ski village with a grocery store where we bought drinks, fruit and cheese to supplement our lunch.

Although we had hydrated at the store, we had not closely checked how much water we would need for the afternoon, and it wasn’t until we stopped for lunch that we realised that we had less than half the volume we would normally carry for the 8 miles to the next available water source. Added to that, it was the hottest time of day, and the trail was steep and rocky, first leading us to the top of a mountain and then following a ridge line for some miles before dropping us onto a steep rocky service road.

We plodded along slowly, trying to conserve our water and slipping and tripping on the scree. On the bright side, the views from the ridgeline were quite spectacular, and we did manage to see some wildlife – a small grey squirrel and a tan coloured coati. We had read about coatis but had not seen one before. We only noticed it in the tall grass because it made a growling noise, then stopped to look at us for a second before hurrying away. It had a face like a raccoon and a long tail.

Before we reached the water source, we passed another hiker (Captain Blue) who was resting in the shade by the trail. He informed us that he had just read online that the north rim of the Grand Canyon is closed to hikers till June due to a rockslide! This is pretty devastating news and may mean that we will be unable to complete the thruhike to Utah. We will have to wait to hear more news as we progress along the trail.

We did finally find the tank where we could replenish our water, and there we met Short Sticks, who is hiking at a much faster rate. She also hiked the PCT in 2019, starting at about the same time as us.

We had planned to hike a further 8 miles or so tomorrow before hitching a ride into the town of Oracle, where we should have a parcel waiting for us at the post office. It turns out that tomorrow is Saturday and the post office will close at noon. Fortunately, there is a side trail, which is only a 2.6-mile walk right into the town. Consequently, we are camped beside the path and will make our way into town in the morning.