AZT Day 31 – Utah

by

Jacob Lake Campground to Northern Terminus

29.4 miles

Mile 788.7

It was a rough morning guys. Yesterday’s road walk had my feet aching, and I could of used another day of sleep, but I had places to be and people to see at the terminus. By 6:00 AM Break Point, Darwin and I were cruising down Highway 89A on our way back to the trail.

Near the trailhead I split off from the dudes I’d been hiking with. I’d coordinated with my parents to meet them at the northern terminus at 3:30 PM, so I needed to maintain a brisk pace.

The trail started off in the forest, but before long it descended into desert highlands of windswept hills and red dust.

As the day wore on it grew pretty toasty as I carried on along a flat, straight and shrub hedged trail.

I spent the last hour descending towards the northern terminus with the Sand Hills looming in the distance.

A bit before 3:30 PM I tagged the northern monument and wrapped up another epic hike!

A few minutes later my parents rolled up. Huge shout out to my mom and dad for making the nearly 12 hour round trip from Phoenix to get me from the trail! They must like me or something?

Pictures were taken and Subway was eaten before taking off towards our cabin in Pine.

We stopped for dinner in Flagstaff at this cajun styled bbq joint called Satchmo’s. I got the blackened creole catfish filet on jambalaya with cajun coleslaw and sweet potato fries, and hot damn it was tasty!

But seriously, this place is a gem. 10 outa 10. Next time your in Flagstaff go here. You won’t regret it…

Anyways, thanks for following along on another adventure! I’m not sure what’s next, so until next time!

Cheers!

19 thoughts on “AZT Day 31 – Utah”

  1. Congratulations Austin!

    After a year hiking you’re going to go into toxic civilization shock! Good luck and keep things posted and fresh about your whereabouts. There will always be weekend forays and afternoon getaways. Great year, man!

    • Thanks Jay!

      It’s been a solid year for sure, but I’m stoked to get back to the real world. I’m lookin at some environmental science graduate programs, but we’ll see!

  2. Thought we had lost you in the snow there, for a while.
    Glad to see you survived, you look happy, hugging that Utah state line monument; another notch on the old hiking boot.
    Take a break, your readers can’t take it anymore, we’re exhausted too.

    Thanks again Austin for sharing your tales, trails and photos. You have inspired many, I am sure.

    Good luck on your future endeavours and adventures.

    John

  3. Congratulations, again! And thank you for another awesome adventure. I truly appreciate you sharing your time; it takes effort when you’re that tired from long hauls every single day.
    Best of luck in your future endeavors! My email will be eagerly waiting for whatever might come next from “Not A Bad Place to Pee.”
    A graduate program in Environmental Science seems right up your alley 😉

    • Thanks Alden! It’s been a fun project sharing the adventures. There will be more to come, but it’s time for a break. Thanks for following!

  5. Environmental science sounds like a good fit. I recall getting a hitch from a wildlife researcher heading up Baxter pass to survey bighorn sheep. It’s a notorious steep pass, and he had a big pack and a lot of gear. It’s the type of career that requires both education and the physical ability to perform the job in the field.

    If you stay in AZ, you could check out endangered species the WWF (or similar) have identified along the ecosystems you’ve just traveled. Again, the combination of knowledge and being able to deal in the backcountry limits the types of people who can actually perform the required duties.

    Good luck and please keep your tag along followers posted.

  6. Thanks Austin for a great year. I’ve enjoyed your journey. Would love to have another one with you at Bottleshop 48!

    • Let’s make it happen Pete! I’m heading up to San Diego for my sisters wedding this week, but maybe week could meetup for happy hour the following week?

  7. Congratulations! It’s been so much fun to follow along with you on your adventures during the past year! Good luck rejoining the “real world”. 🙂

  8. Dude! Congratulations and nicely done! The AZT and 3 R2Rs in a month! I’ll admit it’s been hard for me to follow because I am so envious that I can’t be doing the same. But your great photos and storytelling always brought me back for a weekly binge. Hope we can catch up next time you’re in Tucson!

    • Thanks Dave! It was rad for sure! I’m pretty sure I could lead Grand Canyon tours now…anyways, I’ll give you a call next time I’m in town so we can grab a beer!

  10. What a great journey and accomplishments in the last year and a half! Very few have ever Yo Yo’d the PCT, and you did it. Then you took off to see and trek the globe, pretty awesome! Good luck With Grad school, Env. Science sounds like a great fit. Enjoy your time in Colorado, will you be doing any trails while you’re up there? Thanks for taking us along with you on all your travels, it’s been a pleasure to to read your blog, I wish you much success in your future endeavors 🙂

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