Dates: March 5 & 6, 2020
Miles: zero! Then 300.5 – 318.9
The best trail angels I’ve run across so far live in Superior, AZ. MJ and Al are transplants from Minnesota who shuttle dirty AZT hikers around and open their home to them. Funnybone and I got a ride in from Al on the morning of March 5th and I decided to let my legs take a day off at their house.
MJ greeted us with a bowl full of fresh baked blueberry muffins, a doggo to pet and a crazy little orange kitten. I immediately felt at home. I spent the rest of the day getting me and my clothes clean, catching up on email, going to lunch with Tim and Gayle who had driven out from Florence to say hello, picking up resupply boxes and getting to know my hosts. We had a lovely spaghetti dinner later that night and I slept sprawled out all over my own giant bed. It was glorious. Anyone doing this trail should stop and see Al and MJ in Superior. Tell them Peanut says hello.
The next morning, after a big blueberry pancake breakfast and lots of coffee, MJ gave us a ride back to the trailhead.
My legs had very quickly gotten used to doing nothing yesterday, and it was a struggle to build up a good pace on trail. The sun was out with a vengeance and the heat bounced between the walls of Whitford Canyon, intensifying itself. Water ran the length of the canyon though, so there were plenty of places to stop and camel up or cool off.
The trail then entered Reavis Canyon and headed uphill about 2500 feet over two and a half miles. This brought me and my pounding heart to a saddle with a beautiful view of the canyons, mountains and Superior to the south.
To the immediate north, the landscape was charred from a fire in June of 2019 but small signs of regeneration are showing through.
I walked through a couple miles of this on dirt roads until I reached the Rogers Trough trailhead and camp for the night.
Beautiful photos. Love the loaner shirt.