Day 10. Part 1. March 10. Mile 106.6 (Highway 8 Rd) to Mile 126.3 (Rincon Creek)

Day 10. Part 1. Friday March 10. From Mile 106.6 (Highway 83 & Suaharita Rd), elev. 3670, to Mile 126.3 (Rincon Creek), elev. 3090. Walked 19.7 miles, 1316 ft up, 1867 ft down. 

Dear Trail Friends,

I thought there was no way I could push myself today. I had a reservation at a campsite for tomorrow night and that pretty much limited the distance I could go. 

But then ... well, you know, things changed. It turns out my gps app changed its Mile numbers. When I got off the trail to go to Vail, the trailhead was Mile 108.7. When I returned, it was 106.6. The camp where I have a reservation was Mile 38.8 and is now Mile 35.3. 

So I was figuring my 4 days for this next section, and when I might arrive at the trailhead where Anne and Steve will meet me (hoping to avoid rush hour traffic) and I got totally confused between the old numbers and the new ones. Wheb I began to straighten it out in my mind I realized that I really would like to camp a little further down the trail. Now this is pretty near impossible. My fantasy was maybe I will find someone with reservations at the other camp (mile 39.9) who would like to trade with me. 

So when I took my second rest break today (after a cool easy morning hike that I loved, followed by a very very hot midday hike that made me think maybe I need to plan my days when I'm in the desert so I don't hike between noon and 3 when the sun is most merciless) at La Sevilla Picnic area. 

I saw a group of hikers arrive, and I walked over to chat with them. They consisted of a young couple Ho Ho (a guy) and Chicory (a young woman) who met hiking the PCT in 2015 and who have since hiked the Pyrenees in Europe (and Ho Ho has hiked the Appalachian Trail too). They are hiking this trail with their fathers, Van Go and Pops, which of course delighted me since this pilgrimage is in part about my father. I asked if they had made campground reservations and they said they hadn't. But they heard they were flexible about accepting reservations at the last moment - except that this is a weekend, plus there seems to be no cell service. 

Off I went on my hike. Soon Chicory's father Van Go (as opposed to van stop, he told me) passed me. I asked him what they planned to do about the area (Saguaro National Park) where camping was by reservation only. He said they planned to hike to the very edge of the area and camp there tonight and then hike out of it tomorrow. To my surprise my pace quickened and I caught up with him. I asked how far to that place - he said it was Rincon Creek, a place with water and campsites, 6.6 miles beyond the picnic area where we had met. It was 4 pm and he wanted to get there before dark.  

Well, I knew I couldn't walk that fast but I liked the idea of not being tied to my reservation. I fell in behind him and to my surprise seemed to be able to keep up with him. It didn't feel as if I was pushing too hard. It reminded me of when my cyclist brother-in-law Gerd talks about riding in another cyclist's draft. It really felt as if I was being pulled after him with ease. I certainly walked faster than I can recall ever walking on the trail. 

We arrived a little after 6pm, well before dark. As we approached our destination I asked, by the way, how far was it before one got out of Saguaro National Park (the area of restricted camping). He said 24 or 25 miles. I thought oh dear what have I gotten myself into here. Unlike today, tomorrow is not an easy hike over mostly level terrain. Tomorrow there will be a 5,500 ft gain (that's more than when I will hike up the Grand Canyon) in 14 miles. That's pretty close to hiking up Mt Constitution three times without any downhill.  

So the campground near the top - a hike of 13.5 miles with most of that gain - would be a perfect and challenging day. Going further could be miserable. Going a lot further could be a disaster. So what am I doing here?  Being River. I have this plan. As I go up the mountain I have cell coverage. Even though the office is closed Saturday, some nice ranger answers the phone. I ask if there are any sites left at Manning. He tells me yes. And I live happily ever after. 

And what, you might ask, is plan B? I guess plan B is to hike a little way down the mountain  and find a flat spot and camp illegally. Not a terrible plan if I don't get caught except that the hike down is very very steep and there probably are not any flat spots. 

So where does that leave us? I guess that leaves me hiking a very short day tomorrow (9 miles) to Grass Shack Camp - where my reservation is - and staying there unless I have cell coverage and can change my reservation, or some hiker comes along who wants to trade with me. 

The hike from Grass Shack to Manning is about 4 1/2 miles and 2600 ft (a little more than one Mt Constitution - for those of you not from Orcas, Mt. Constitution is our little mountain that I train on, 4.3 miles and 2000 ft to the top). 

Now that you've heard all my fascinating obsessing, maybe you'd enjoy sharing a little of today's hike?  Today felt like real desert. And for the first time I got below 4000 ft and into the region where the Saguaro grow. 

Photo 1 shows me with trail angel Sandy ( despite not being an early riser she got up before 6am to be sure her friend Jerry didn't get lost and to see me off). Do you see her wings?

 

Two more Sandy stories. One was when I was talking about how nice she and Jerry (I've been misspelling his name and also that of Desi the dog) were, and how I it wasn't fair that they were nicer than me and I wanted to be the nicest. Sandy said "and I want to be the most humble."  It was one of those delightful moments when I felt affectionately called on my stuff by someone who was really seeing me in a way I could laugh at. 

The other Sandy story - just that I loved going to her yoga class. The teacher made the class a rich meditative experience and interwove Hindu stories with yoga postures in a way I found hypnotic. It reminded me of the yoga I did in my 20s in a church basement in Harvard Square. Just like John (my teacher in the early 70s), Tim often said "yoga says...". "Yoga says all things are divine" was one of them. Can't remember others but was enthralled. I told him I wished we had a yoga teacher like him on Orcas and he should come to visit. He immediately said he would come in August and how about if Sandy and his girlfriend both came along? Did we have two guest rooms? Yes, I said, a little bit off balance but also loving the surprise. We could arrange to have two guest rooms. 

I started hiking at 6:30am and the first thing I noticed was the "everything is illuminated" feeling from the early morning light on the profusion of cacti. I hope photos 2 and 3 convey the feeling. 

 

 

I am thinking about the pilgrimage theme of the people emerging out of dark into light. And the light on the cactus. And feeling seen by Sandy - a kind of stepping into the light. And the All Souls Procession and Dance of the Dead - is that about the dead people being seen by the living?

I thought about my father and a lot of other people I have loved who are dead. I imagined them as skeletons dancing along beside the trail with me. 

After finally getting into real desert it was amazing to dip into a green canyon for my first rest stop beside a stream (photo 4). 

 

To be continued in Day 10, part 2.