Colossal Pretzel

April 7, 2023 - Day 7

Mile 113.1-132.7 (19.6 miles)

Hambone didn't sleep well last night and I feel bad for him. I slept great between the AC blasting and being burrowed in the soft bed. We got a ride back to the trail and started off kind of slow. Hambone was struggling between the lack of sleep and the heat but we had to make it to Colossal Cave before 4 pm to grab our resupply packages so I offered to hike ahead.

One of the coolest on trail murals

The mileage was close and I wasn't sure if I was going to make it. I put my headphones in and pushed myself to hike fast. I jogged some of the downhills and hiked fast on the uphills. By the time I got to the dirt road to road walk to the cave I was exhausted. As I walked under the heat of the sun I heard a car approach me from behind and almost stuck my thumb out to hitch, but my instinct told me not to. I had no cell service, Hambone was miles behind me and we were in the absolute middle of nowhere.

So I hiked on and eventually saw the cave in the distance on the side of a hill. The last hike up the road to the parking lot was killer and when I finally got there at 3:30 and snagged our packages I collapsed into a chair at the care and sucked down a prickly pear lemonade. I was extremely dehydrated but proud of myself for making it in time.

Hambone rolled in about an hour later as I was on the phone with Mom and we split a colossal soft pretzel I'd bought for us. We went through our packages, deciding to leave some food behind in the hiker box since we were moving faster than we thought we would be.

I hiked the rest of the evening with a headache and sore feet but at least Hambone was feeling better. As soon as we were back on trail we hit our water source which was a pump at a pavilion. I dunked my head under the cold water multiple times and chugged a liter. As usual after the sun set below the horizon the temperature was much more enjoyable and I found myself admiring the beautiful desert landscape and some of our first saguaro cacti.

We night hiked for a little while until we came to a good spot just before our next water source. I agreed to cowboy camp tonight and we had everything set up and were eating dinner when I watched two spiders crawl out of holes in the ground and over the quilt.

I shook my head, moved all of our shit and set up the Duplex. I am not about things crawling on me in my sleep.

Another beautiful sunset