Superior to Kearny. Aggressive plants, turtles and zeros, there are never enough.

Statistics:

Miles: 495.3- 532.5

Days: 23-27

Superior town.

We decided to get a zero in Superior. A zero day is a rest day where you walk zero miles. Hikers take it very seriously. You can walk 25 miles every day, but in your zero you will calmly declare that a restaurant a mile away is too far to walk to.

We were greeted by one of the best Trail Angels, MJ and her cat, Daisy, and what amazing hosts they were!

MJ picked us up, gave us a bed, made breakfast, and made root beer floats (ice cream floating in root beer), something I had only heard about but never tried. I thought it was a modern invention, but apparently it was “invented” in the 19th century by a guy looking at a mountain. True hiker spirit: you look at nature and think about food.

halloween spirit

At night, MJ told us to go look at her neighbor’s Halloween decorations and, my goodness, that yard display deserved some kind of Oscar for decoration. It had sound, lights and moving props! I clung to their fence like a creepy grown-up child, watching the spectacle, hoping they wouldn’t call the police.

At Family Dollar I found something I had been looking for since before the tour: battery-operated fairy lights for my store. The old ones broke years ago. Finally, my store will be cozy again, and these aren’t just any lights, they’re pumpkins and cats!

Walking to Kearny

The stretch between Superior and Kearny is majestic. We took a slightly alternate route from Superior through Telegraph Canyon, because we like shortcuts. For those using FarOut, see the image below with the green line. Telegraph Canyon is that green part that doesn’t follow the blue or brown lines. It started out okay, but about half a mile turned into a flood damaged mess, requiring scrambling and clambering over branches to get through this «shortcut.» I’m not sure if I would recommend it.

The green line is what we walk.

Once we rejoined the trail, it was a windy climb with incredible views.

I started this trail on very worn out Altra Lone Peaks that I bought in the spring, so they weren’t in very good condition to begin with. Now the tread is completely gone, so every once in a while I do something that looks like a cross between a bad ice skating routine and a stroke. Poles generally save me; So far I have only fallen once.

aggressive flora

Although I don’t even need to fall to get hurt. On that beautiful day, I was so enchanted by the views that I forgot to look where I was going and went a little off the path. I looked down and saw the trail three steps below me, so I carefully started down. One step, two steps and then… OW! Something stabbed my leg. I picked it up and there it was: a green cactus ball performing extremely painful acupuncture on me. I tried to grab it; Impossible, too pointed. I finally used a trekking pole to peel it off my skin, which was harder than it sounds – that cactus really wanted to stay.

AZT Low

With this spirit we arrived at the lowest point of the Arizona trail. Legend says that everything gets better from here… We camped nearby with a swarm of mosquitoes. To escape them, all I had to do was spend 20 minutes zipping up my tent, which, like my shoes, is starting to give out. I don’t blame him. That Zpacks has served me for two full hikes before this one.

Oh, and just before the lowest point, I ran into something I knew existed on this trail but had completely forgotten: a desert. tortoise!

Kearny!

The next day we entered Kearny.

Kearny is the most hiker-friendly town on the planet. We didn’t even get to the road to start hitchhiking when a man stopped and offered us a ride.

We walked into the IGA and someone immediately told us that hikers get a free donut and coffee.

Since then, people have been greeting us, asking us if we have everything we need and wishing us safety. Every time we walk into that store, they ask us if we have our donut and coffee yet.

This year they started a “hiker map” where AZT hikers pinpoint their country, so when you see that weird lone pin in Lithuania, that’s me.

We could stay here for Halloween.

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