Saturday October 21, 38.5km/23.9mi

Jct to Daves Tank (285.0/6970ft) to Near road FS123 (308.9/7120ft) (AZ)

We slept great in our little spot amongst the ponderosas, which kept us pretty warm. As soon as I stepped out into the nearby meadow, it felt pretty cold.

I followed a meandering trail for an hour, as the sun rose and slowly warmed the world around me.

I stopped for a break at “Foot in Tree” tank, a rather hilarious name. I filled a water bottle, and then TopShelf caught up a few minutes later.

We walked together for a bit, and then we spent the morning leapfrogging each other, until our lunch break. We stopped by a road and ate, and I had my usual wrap with cheese. Another group of 3 hikers was already there too, since this spot is where the main route splits from a temporary fire detour. We had all heard that the fire was mostly out, and the route would be reopened, but couldn’t verify that without a phone signal. The group of 3 took the detour, and we continued on the main trail. After we saw that the signs and caution-tape had been removed, we felt confident the trail was reopened. At the next road crossing, there was a water cache, and it had some beer too!

TopShelf posing in front of our break spot and water/beer cache.

We continued on the trail, and the air became a little smokey.

We talked to a couple of wildfire workers, who were doing fire surveillance , and they said the fire was basically out, but might be a little smokey for the next mile. Sure enough, a mile later at the top of a climb, the smoke disappeared.

There was still the occasional smoldering log, which was fun to see.

And the rest of the afternoon was uneventful walking.

At the other end of the fire zone, they hadn’t been thru the area to remove the signs yet.

We hiked down into a small ravine, which had a gravel wash at the bottom.

After a short but steep climb back up the other side, we were once again in a ponderosa pine forest.

The last hour of the day was easy and relaxing hiking in a quiet forest.

The sun went down, and we spent the last 15 minutes hiking in twilight.

Finally at 6:15 we arrived at our camp spot, just as it became completely dark. What an interesting and unpredictable day.