AZT 18 – Roosevelt Lake

Daily miles 14
Total miles 351.5
Camp elevation 3400 feet

Warm night of sleep,  but good.   We got rolling around 6:40am.  *Note for future hikers, there is a great campsite within a few hundred yards of yesterday’s end mileage –  we didn’t know about it and stopped just short of it,  great tent and hammock area for several people.

First couple miles of trail were decent,  in fact quite good.   The trail had been snipped of encroaching cacti and was clearly a built trail.

After that couple miles,  things went downhill.   The built trail ceased and either followed rocky river washes or forest roads.   While following forest roads sounds nice,  these were steep steep and the width of the road was full of fist sized or larger rocks.   We had read people whining about this section in other journals online,  and we hate to echo it,  but the sentiment they expressed  was legitimate.

En route,  we met a group of 8 people who had flown out from Wisconsin to hike the 45 mile section from Roosevelt Lake to Picket Post.   They were all in good spirits and we hope they have a great time.

We also met Woodchuck from Maine.   He had been watching the Super Bowl in Arizona,  saw how the people were in just sweatshirts,  and decided he wanted to come out and enjoy the good temp.   He is hiking the section from near Tucson to around the Grand Canyon. He is the only other person that we have met who had his beard in braids…. So we got a picture.

We got into Roosevelt Lake Marina around noon,  picked up our packages,  had some sodas,  juiced up our phones, washed socks, posted to the blog,  lined up some shoes to be sent to the trail,  and relaxed.   It was breezy and shaded and it just felt so good to sit by the lake at the picnic tables. Also,  we were warned to steer clear of lone coyotes in this area.  Apparently a young man was bit by a rabid one.

After about a four + hour break,  we headed out of town.   Straight away out of town was one of the steepest climbs we have experienced,  but it was shaded and we were a bit recharged,  so we motored up it in good time.

Tonight we are camped in a flat area that overlooks the river and Roosevelt Lake.   No trees here,  so SweetPea and I are sleeping on our three quarters length Zrests  that we had brought as backups for this kind of situation. Hopefully we will sleep good.