Blankhiker - Arizona Trail Journal - 2016
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Blankhiker
City: Prescott Valley
State: AZ
Country: USA
Begins: Apr 1, 2016
Direction: Northbound
Daily Summary
Date: Sat, May 14th, 2016
Start: trail mile 777.2
End: trail mile 793.7
Daily Distance: 16.5
Trip Distance: 548.3
Min Elevation: 6559
Max Elevation: 7256
People Met: 5
Journal Stats
Entry Visits: 275
Journal Visits: 9,560
Guestbook Views: 76
Guestbook Entrys: 5
Last night
We carried as much water from Jacob Lake as we thought we could stand and figured we'd have to make it last until around noon Sunday when Alicia's parents pick us up. Tom prays before we set out in the morning and today his prayer included asking that our water would last. It was pretty hot the day before and the humidity level had come down to a normal level so that was a concern. We would pass a reservoir today but it was reported dry back in March. For those who don't know, water is such an issue on the AZT that hikers report in the status and a volunteer keeps an online reference chart for other hikers. There is also a new AZT app where users can report instantly (I downloaded the app in Morman Lake and have been reporting in to both). A couple hours after leaving camp, we saw something weird through the trees and discovered a water catchment system that is not on the water data list. It would have been natural to walk right past without noticing it but God provides what we need. We were able to "camel up" as we said in the desert regions (drink a liter or more there) and top off our water bottles. We would have been uncomfortably thirsty otherwise as the day was mostly sunny and warm again. Saw a gopher snake - #7 for this year. Encountered our first humans since leaving the North Kaibab trail: a family biking the last passage. As soon as we got everything in the tent, it started to drizzle. Rained again in the night but the tent was dry in the morning like the arid landscape.
