Bushcamp to Bushcamp
28.3 miles
Mil 263.0
Around 5:30 AM I woke to Happy Joe singing good morning at the top of his lungs…I guess it was time to get up? It took me another hour to finally get moving. Happy Joe and the group of four were already long gone.
Five or so miles out from camp I ran across some awesome trail magic maintained by my friend Pete. The chairs were a nice touch, thanks dude!
I spent the rest of the morning wandering through flat barren desert.
After crossing a large wash, the trail climbed up some small mountains, offering a view of the copper mine to the west.
The trail down was lined with colorful wildflowers.
When I reached the Florence Kelvin Trailhead, I found the bear box loaded with water. While relaxing there in the shade Happy Joe and the group of four walked up, I must of passed them while they were eating lunch.
After chatting for a bit, I pushed on two more miles to the Gila River Trailhead, where I spontaneously grabbed a hitch into the nearby town of Kearny. I hadn’t planned on going into town, but I’d already finished the miles for the day, and I was craving a cold beer and some wings.
From reading the trail notes I learned that the pizza joint in town, Old Time Pizza, was super hiker friendly, so I went in to check it out. While waiting for my food I met the owner, Lorraine. She was incredibly friendly, offering to drive me back to the trailhead! Score.
When I got back to the trailhead I found the group I’d left earlier lounging about in the shade. Apparently they didn’t feel like hiking either. Turns out there was a desert tortoise on trail that I’d juuuust missed. Here’s these picture they shared with me…
Bummed about missing the tortoise, I walked up the trail a bit before finding some flat ground near Mineral Creek to stop for the night.
I haven’t showered since starting this trail, and oh boy am I getting ripe. Hopefully some if this tan line will wash away with a good scrub…
Cheers!