They are anxious to get the Arizona Trail between Oak Tree and Fagan Lake rolling. So we’re somewhat in a rush to finish the flagging.
It’s rough, rough country. The mountains are so steep that it doesn’t take much water to scour out the drainages. This means some very difficult crossings.
The upshot is that we were forced to take the trail higher, giving it some far reaching views.
Bernie, aka Trail Dog, was on hand for this outing. It turned just about as epic as the last one. I think all of us had a shorter day in mind, but it never turns out that way.
We ran into a major snag — a near cliff entrance to a drainage. I walked about twenty flags back, untying all the way (tying is one thing, UN-tying from ocotillo, cat claw, and all other nasties is another). Then I tried desperately to put in some turns to get us high enough. I met Mark flagging the other way, but just barely. We made it to the only possible crossing, then began switchbacking our way down the hill.
The bushwhack back to the vehicles was less than desirable. Didn’t look so bad on the map — we had a wash to follow most of the way, but the wash was fairly brushy. Then we ran into the ranch’s fenceline, which forced us onto yet another steep sideslope. All three of us took different paths, whatever looked “better” to us, showcasing our different personalities. I’d be hard pressed to say who’s was best. None really–they all sucked.
But it was not so bad. We had food, water, and (some) daylight. Sore feet, yeah. Stickers in leg, yeah. Cuts on arm, yep. Long day, yeah. But it beats any day at ‘the office.’ I rode back from Trader Joe’s (met Mark there) in the dark, making it a ~13 hour day. I’ve said it before, it’s a good thing volunteer work pays so well. Or it’s a good thing I love the AZT so much. It’s worth it.
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