Day 3: March 27, 2023
AZT mile 25.8 to 43.0
Hiked today: 17.2 miles / 27.7 km
AZT ascents today: 585m , descents: 951m
AZT hiked to date: 2.0%

Well, we all woke fresh after a good sound sleep to clear skies once again and set off in good spirits. Although the track is never flat for long, today the ups and downs were definitely shorter and the flat stretches were more frequent and prolonged.

Each day on the trail brings it’s own challenges and today was no exception. First was another gear failure for us with one of Rob’s hiking poles losing it’s end. It wasn’t just the replaceable tip, the pole itself snapped.

Then, shortly after that, Annette somehow twisted her foot on a rock and we stopped and strapped it up so she could keep going but it slowed her and all of us down. Being desert, the path is very dry and rocky, water sources can be far apart but with the late snow storms this year, we haven’t had to do too much of a water carry and mostly the water has been clear and flowing.

We chose to camp on some flat ground close to a creek and are sharing the spot with some cows so we hope they also plan to sleep through the night!