Long Distance Hiker

Thru Hiker's Blog and More

  • HOME
  • TRAIL JOURNALS
  • TRAIL PHOTOS
  • RESOURCES
    • Trip Planning & Debrief
    • Fitness, Food & Health
    • Gear
    • Community
    • Recommended Reading
    • Arizona Trail (AZT) – Resupply Plan
    • John Muir Trail Resupply Plan
    • Long Trail (LT) Planning Guide
  • ABOUT US
  • CONTACT
You are here: Home / Arizona Trail / AZT 34 – First Glimpse of the Canyon

AZT 34 – First Glimpse of the Canyon

April 11, 2015 by Beardoh

AZT 34 – First Glimpse of the Canyon

Daily Miles: 24.5
Total Miles: 684.5
Camp Elevation: 6850 ft

Last night was our coldest night yet on the trail. We could not get warm regardless of what position we layer in. Our 20 degree underquilts were not enough as we could feel the cold on our backs. It was a long night as we woke up a lot.

It was hard to get ourselves up knowing how cold it was, but nature’s call always wins out in these situations. Our water bottles were frozen solid, so we couldn’t have our normal breakfasts (granola with a carnation instant breakfast for SweetPea and a protein shake for Beardoh).

We all packed up in about twenty minutes and then we hit the trail walking as fast as we could to warm up. Our fingers and toes hurt so much from the cold. We snacked on other food until we were able to thaw out some of our water.
image

We came to our first water source (a livestock tank) about five miles in. It was at a trailhead which had garbage cans, so we could throw out the garbage we had accumulated over the past few days.

We decided to walk on the road which paralleled the trail, as we were still cold and we’re hopeful that the road would be sunnier than the trail. It was nice walking on the road and we warmed up as the miles went by.

We stopped for lunch at another trailhead and hung up our sleeping quilts to dry while we ate. The quilts get a bit damp during the night from our breath around the top, and in the foot box where we use a foam pad for extra insulation.

image
Edge of Grand Canyon from lookout tower

There was a very tall lookout tower at this trailhead, and it is supposedly staffed in the summer. From the tower we could get our first glimpses of the Grand Canyon. We were surprised to see it so close to us, since all we can see around us is trees.

Our final two water sources for the day were dry, but luckily we had anticipated that and had gotten extra water earlier in the day.

We continue to see wildlife in the woods. Today we saw another coyote and several groups of elk. We can hear the coyotes in the distance as we are getting ready to sleep.

Filed Under: Arizona Trail

« AZT 33 – Into Kaibab National Forest
AZT 35 – Tusayan »

Questions or thoughts on this article? Please leave them below: Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Join our email list to be updated of our latest posts.

All Slovenia Mountain Trail 2022 Posts

Buffalo Roamer Podcast Image

Buffalo Roamer Podcast Feature

2021 Gear Lists – CDT and John Muir Trail

Don’t Patreon Us, Donate to these guys instead

Special Thanks To:


Top Posts & Pages

  • The Mogollon Rim Trail (MRT)
    The Mogollon Rim Trail (MRT)
  • How I Avoid Shin Splints
    How I Avoid Shin Splints
  • Trail Journals
    Trail Journals

Thru Hiker Blog

Well over 14,000 miles of our thru hiking blogs, photos of our trips and resources can all be found on this site.  We hope that the pages herein can be of help and inspiration.

Like Us On Facebook

Long Distance Hiker

Click Here for RSS Feed

Follow us on Instagram

Affilate Disclosure

Some of the links within the pages Long Distance Hiker are affiliate links.  We are discontinuing the addition of affiliate links to new pages as of February 2019.

We encourage you to support the trail organizations that make hiking around the world a possibility.

Copyright © 2023 · longdistancehiker.com · Thanks for Visiting ·

Sign Up for our mailing list to get our newsletter with new posts.
This is typically emailed 1-3 times per month.

powered by MailChimp!

 

×