Mile 506 - Stealth To Mile 525 - Kearny Good morning! We reached the town of Kearny this afternoon after a thoroughly enjoyable morning hike down to the Gila river -- just in time for second lunch! Looking forward to a bit of a break before heading into the southern sections. We've reached a new … Continue reading Day 28. Gila River

Mile 482 - Stealth To Mile 506 - Stealth Beautiful morning This is simultaneously a beautiful and also hot, dry section. Even though the fall air temperature during the day is not that high, the long climbs with no shade are tough. Our backpacks are heavy with large quantities of water. The stunning scenery is … Continue reading Day 27. Fun Desert Hiking

Mile 461 - Stealth To Mile 482 - Stealth The trail at times seems almost to want to be a thorn bush. After scraping my knuckles in countless places and snagging my pants every two steps, I decided to take note of what bushes were causing which problems. Hopefully this crude drawing helps illustrate the … Continue reading Day 26. Thorns

Mile 445 - Roosevelt Lake Marina To Mile 461 - Stealth We camped last night near the marina so that we could stop in this morning at the Forrest Service visitor center nearby where we used an outlet to charge some batteries and a water fountain to refill our bottles. Time to check out a … Continue reading Day 25. Entering the Superstitions

Mile 425 - Stealth To Mile 445 - Roosevelt Lake Marina The trail passes by Roosevelt Lake, where we have a resupply box waiting for us at the marina. More importantly, the marina has a restaurant. We got up early to make sure we could arrive there by dinnertime. As we hiked, we watched the … Continue reading Day 24. Roosevelt Lake

Mile 404 Stealth To Mile 425 - Stealth Entering Four Peaks We're transitioning from the rugged and difficult Mazatzals to the much calmer Four Peaks area. This has us looking forward to some smoother trails and hopefully more peaceful hiking. Peaceful hiking The trail passes near Roosevelt Lake soon and we can start to see … Continue reading Day 23. Four Peaks

Mile 383 - Stealth To Mile 404 Stealth After eating a stale tortilla and a few slices of pepperoni for lunch, I contemplated the differences between a hiker diet and a home diet. We can only eat what we carry, which means high calorie, small, non refrigerated items only. Most days between resupplies as rye … Continue reading Day 22. Which would you rather?

Mile 363 - Stealth To Mile 383 - Stealth We picked a terrible place to camp last night. It was dark, we were tired, and we were on a tight ridge with only a few feet on either side of the trail. We grabbed the only flat/clear bit of dirt we had seen in miles … Continue reading Day 21. Why we Hike

Mile 341 - Stealth To Mile 363 - Stealth Starting the Mazatzals We're starting possibly the most remote and rugged section of this trail. It will also be our longest stretch of wilderness yet with not even forrest roads through this area. Crossing the East Verde River. "I'm glad this water isn't actually green." Mountains … Continue reading Day 20. Entering the Mazatzal Wilderness

Mile 332 - Pine To Mile 341 - Stealth After another stop at the library this morning, we downloaded the books that Rocket started to her Kindle. Then we hiked across town to the place where Brenda had sent our resupply box containing new shoes for the second half of the trail. We found a … Continue reading Day 19. Transition