AZT Day 17- Solar Eclipse

Miles Hiked: 32.3
AZT progress: 436.6

I took a little extra time in camp this morning to make myself a hot beverage of chocolate breakfast essentials before starting my hike. I was absolutely freezing again last night and had a hard time getting any sleep at. By 6am I was on the trail continuing through the rugged Mazatazal Wilderness. I was slow moving today and stopped for countless breaks. There were quite a few sections where I had to traverse some snow that I wasn’t expecting. Eventually the day warmed up a little bit and I had to dry out my sleeping in the sun bag yet again. The condensation has been ruthless on this trail especially with the temperatures dropping so low at night. I didn’t see anyone on trail today nor did I take any pictures. It was just a weird, long ,cold day. I didn’t realize til the day was over but it was also the solar eclipse today which explains why it never really got hot unless I was in the sunshine. At the end of the day I descended to the Verde River around 3,500 feet. It was dark by the time I reached it and I took off my pants to ford the river. It was thigh deep on me and I’m really glad I didn’t even bother to wear my shorts as they would have gotten wet as well. I had a hard time finding the trail once I got to the north bank of the river so I had to spend a little extra time in the water trying to find it. Afterwards I continued another half a mile uphill to a nice spring where I set up camp next to three other tents.

Happy Trails!
-Early Bird