Winter Rd to Utah, elevation 6564' down to 4988'
We started hiking at our usual time (well before 6am) even
though we had a short day. The day promised to be very hot again
so we wanted a morning finish.
We enjoyed both the well planned and built trail and the views
that it led us to. We guessed that Buckskin Mtn was named for the
horse color.
A mystery was solved when we had just a few miles of trail
left! Way back, before the Four Peaks Wilderness, we saw solar
panel installations where there was no purpose or power usage.
Today we saw a fenced wildlife tank. The "solar panes"
were actually corrugated metal panels just above ground level.
They channeled rain water into a metal tank underneath. A pipe fed
a small concrete pool for wildlife. What a cool system!
A sign (that we've seen before) states that it is illegal to
camp within .25 mile of water in AZ. I thought it was to prevent
campers from disturbing the nocturnal animals but today, after
seeing the elk trails leading to the tank, it occurred to me that
perhaps the reason is to protect the campers.
We could see the trailhead in the juniper and piņon below us
as we switchbacked down off the Kaibab Plateau. What a good
adventure!
But our adventure got unexpectedly complex. After we had been
napping and lounging with shoes off at the very nice
trailhead/camping area for several hours I decided to re-read our
email to Marta and Bert to confirm the pick-up time. I had the
time right but had written Thursday and today is Wednesday! Oh no!
We don't have 24 hours of water, especially with 100* heat. Nobody
is at the trailhead so we decided to walk out to the road to
increase our chances of help.
We walked on the road for less than a mile when a BLM Ranger
drove up, stopped to ask what we were doing. We went over options
again, she offered water. We all decided that she should drop us
off at another trailhead with more of activity.
Then Marta and Bert drove up (Jeep loaded with water, drinks,
fruit and sandwiches)! They knew the email was wrong! We drove
back for finish photos and are now in Kanab, UT. M&B just got
the Trail Angel Oscar! Thank you a million times M&B.
PS AZT has beautiful steel plate trailhead signs at most
trailheads. Ken said he would skip his traditional kiss-the-ending
point this trip because the sign is probably 120*.
