AZT 9 – Pusch Ridge Wilderness

Daily miles 21.5
Total miles 167.5
Camp elevation 5000 feet

Big downhill out of Suguaro National Park this am.   The colors were beautiful on the mountains as we made  the descent.

Once we got lower in elevation,  we were back in cactus land.   There were plenty of new wild flowers in bloom along the way.   Again we were in full exposure for much of the day.

The only person that we saw on the trail was a mtn biker that we spoke with for a while who was riding a section of the AZT. We chatted with him for a while and then moved on.  In the late afternoon,  we came to Molina Campground where we are able to eat an early dinner at the picnic tables and toss our garbage.

We hiked on for a couple hours after that and for another half hour in the dark.  Tomorrow we are going to try to make it to Summerhaven.   We are waking up at  5 am in an effort to get the 17 miles in before the restaurant closes at 5pm.  We have  a lot of climbing to do,  so we will beat either way…. Kinda like tonight.

We are camped on  a little saddle above the sycamore reservoir.   No tarp,  just cowboy camping.   The sky is colorful pink in the clouds in part,  and the rest is clear and starry. Beautiful.

*hammocking – right out of Suguaro National Park,  there are trees for a mile or so.  After that, the are places in the small canyons.   Tricky,  but doable… Once near the sycamore reservoir,  there are plenty of options.

*previous day Hammock notes – Hope camp is the last descent spot until grass shack camp.  Up closer to Manning camp, there are plenty of spots,  and that continues until the park boundary.