Summerhaven – A wee walk

Section 3 Flagstaff to Pine 20th October Another long fairly flat walk of 115 miles on the next stretch to the tiny town of Pine was again going to be tough on my feet!

Leaving Flagstaff after crossing Route 66 on the ‘Urban Route’ variation of the AZT, I was back into the countryside surprisingly quickly. Ponderosa pines again dominated but then gave way to more sparse pinyon juniper. I chatted with ‘Fliss(?)’, ‘Mo’ and ‘Firecracker’ heading out of town but ended up camping solo at Horse Lake that night. Sunset here was stunning across the flat grasslands and lake, with noisy geese, elk and coyote adding to the ambience.

On the 2nd day out from Flagstaff I hiked round a prescribed fire set off by the Forestry Service which filled the air with thick smoke for an hour or two, before cutting off trail to the small settlement of Mormon Lake for lunch at the bar and a food top up. I came across a few of these 8 legged wonders along the way….

After another 3 days I eventually hit the pleasant Highline Trail and dropped off the ‘Mogollon Rim’, an escarpment descending from the Colorado Plateau with some welcome streams, red rock and (a rarity so far) clouds! The trail took me into the tiny town of Pine- arriving at 8.30am and diving into the Early Bird Cafe to meet a few other hikers for second breakfast. 330 miles or so hiked- hoorah

Section 4 Pine to Roosevelt Lake Marina 26th October 115 miles again to my next food resupply at Roosevelt Lake Marina. This one involved some more rugged up and down over the Mazatzal and Four Peaks Wilderness’s. A bit of rocky trail and scratchy shuffling through spikey bushes kept me on my toes. I think this was my favourite stage so far however as the variety was interesting and I saw my first javelinas (small boar that live in groups called squadrons!) ……and stunning saguaro cactus…yipee.

Section 5 Roosevelt Lake Marina to Kearny 1st November 80 miles Hikers seemed to coalesce at the lake marina with about 10 of us at one point- resting weary legs, eating, sifting gear and sharing tales from the trail.

South from the marina I entered the Superstitions Wilderness, crisscrossing and chatting with fellow hikers Grandpa, Firecracker and Survivorman. It was another fine rocky area but one that dropped in elevation meaning that, despite now in November, the temperature really ramped up in the middle of the day. I took the opportunity for a cooling dip as we traversed alongside the Gila River, the trail’s lowest point at about 1,600 feet, before reaching the mining town of Kearny the next day.

*L-R Brian, Grandpa, Firecracker, Survivorman*

Section 6 Kearny to Molino Basin Trailhead and Tucson 6th November 100 miles Kearny was a super friendly small town; from the offer of a place to stay by ‘Q’, easy hitching in and out, diner, pizza place, supermarket with free coffee for hikers, helpful post office staff etc…. it was just great.

*With fellow hikers and ‘Q’, middle right, at her house in Kearny*

Setting out from Kearny, the terrain continued as low desert scrub and the temperatures were hot- maybe 30C in the afternoon. I got into a pattern of waking about 5am and hiking by 6 in the dark for a bit to enjoy sunrise and the cool early temperatures. These were my favourite times of the day with hiking into dusk at about 17.30 to 18.00 being a close second. The disadvantage was that I spent most, if not all, of my camping time in the dark!

I met up with Carrie/Firecracker along the way and we hiked together after applying some plasters to patch Carrie up as a result of an argument with a barbed wire fence!

I was glad when the trail climbed up high to about 7.800 feet at Summerhaven (amazingly this far south, a winter ski resort) and Mount Lemmon. A veggie burger with Survivorman was a rare treat here and the granite hills and pine clad slopes were really nice. Leaving early morning was a bit harder with the sub-zero overnight temperatures but the trail remained interesting all the way down to Molino Basin trailhead road crossing. I decided to hitch from here into the city of Tucson for a full day off of luxury; real food, showers, a swim in the motel outside pool(!) and some gear fixing.