Sunday December 3, 35.7km/22.2mi

Planet Ranch (410.3/640ft) to Gibraltar Wilderness Boundary (432.5/840ft) (AZ)

We started at 6:15am in the dark as usual, and walked for awhile along the dirt road before heading up a wash into a canyon. By the time we had climbed part way up the canyon, the sun had risen to illuminate the valley below.

This little canyon was full of old mines, the opposite hillside was pockmarked with them.

After we climbed out of the canyon, we were up on a sort of plateau, where I could see mountains in all directions.

We walked right next to another old mine, this one was all boarded up to prevent entry.

We took a snack break near the old mine, since by now the temperature had warmed enough that we could sit down and relax. From there we headed down a wide gravely wash, which slowly became another canyon.

And a mile later, a very narrow canyon.

The route today was like a small roller coaster, since as soon as we hiked down that wash we climbed right out and back up another ridgeline.

We followed an old road along the ridge, and we could see for dozens of miles to the south, with no signs of civilization.

We took a lunch break on top of a high plateau, where we had distant views to the south, and also some high voltage power lines.

It was a very faint old road, but easy to visually follow nonetheless.

The final part of the day involved walking down a wide gravely wash for 5 miles, which was a nice relaxing break from having to constantly navigate.

It was a pretty chill couple of hours of hiking, even though we saw a couple furry creatures along the way.

We exited the wash and hiked another mile to camp, since we wanted to avoid camping in the wash, as they are usually a little colder than the surrounding area. We setup our tents at 5:45, just after sunset. A pretty view to the west!

We’re pretty excited about getting to town tomorrow, and getting showers and food!