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| Hiking | 10.70 Miles |
824 AEG |
| | Hiking | 10.70 Miles | 4 Hrs 19 Mns | | 2.69 mph |
| 824 ft AEG | 20 Mns Break | 15 LBS Pack | | |
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| partners | | Tracey was running up against "use-it or lose-it" so it was time to burn at least 5 days of PTO.
Her first thought was checking out various hikes in the Kanab, Utah area and proceeded to reserve an Air BnB in Kanab.
However, when I started doing the detailed research I found the majority were either short (< 2 miles) and/or long (time, not distance) drives on rough roads to short and/or longer hikes, and/or required a permit so I figured something different was in order.
Since she has gradually been checking off sections of the AZT, why not do a series of out-and-backs and whittle down her to-do list?
Day 1: AZT #42 NOBO Out-and-Back from AZ 89A
The plan was to be up and on-the-road early enough have boots-on-the-ground by noon. For once our plan worked perfectly, beginning our hike at 11:42 am.
After the nearly 6 hour drive we had but one short descent to limber up before the steady climb. Now some two weeks later I don't recall enough to provide any detail other than much of it seemed to be more of the same. Although we didn't hike far enough North to reach the latest fire perimeter (which had involved an AZT detour along FR #247) we did pass through a section which appeared to have burned a decade or two prior.
Side Note: On the drive up we passed through miles of HEAVY smoke in the Lake Mary area as well as more along AZ 89 and 89A. The latter would provide us a light yet distinct whiff of smoke for much of the hike.
Upon reaching our planned turn around point at FR 247 we stopped for a late lunch. Although according to Tracey the tread along our hike was 'good' my feet felt like I had been walking on sharp rocks the whole way. So I talked her into following the road (which had been part of the fire detour) on the return trip. Only later would be both realize neither of us had removed our boots to give our feet a breather during our one-and-only stop... a lesson to remember.
Anyway, while some parts of the road-walk were somewhat blah, but following its route through a canyon I felt there were enough interesting spots that I liked the scenery overall more than when on the actual AZT. Plus we got to see the location of the Orderville Canyon Sawmill, such as it is... a sign providing a brief but interesting history.
Back to the 4Runner for our drive North up to Kanab, while dropping a few thousand feet in elevation.
Tomorrow the plan is SOBO out-and-back on AZT #43 from the AZ/UT border.
Temps: 67°/73° |
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