Friday April 26 – Wednesday April 30

I gradually made my way to Arizona, after leaving the Pisgah & Cherokee National Forests in North Carolina, where I was helping my friend search for her lost dog.

After leaving the serenity of the forest my first stop was for dinner, which just happened to be in Nashville. The hot chicken was good, but the environment was chaotic. I would describe it as the Las Vegas of the Southeast.

I made my way across the country, and at one of the grocery stops, I found kringle, a Wisconsin pastry that I love and is hard to find.

After driving I-40 all the way across the country, I made a stop in Southwest Colorado. There was still plenty of snow up high!

As I drove the “million dollar highway”, aka US550, I noticed this really cool mountain and I have no idea what its name is.

I stopped by the Carver brewing company in Durango, which is one of my favorite spots. (They give Colorado trail hikers a free beer when they finish the trail!).

The next day, after tending to some car maintenance in the morning, I went for a trail run with my friend Katie who was visiting from Boston.

The next day I made the final push to Flagstaff, where I would start my hike. Along the way, I made the requisite stop at the four corners monument.

It’s a little strange that we celebrate a random geographic location that was man-made. But the nearby snack stand had really good fry bread!

After arriving in Flagstaff, I did a few errands around town, like shopping for supplies and printing my maps.

In the evening, I met up with one of my friends from the PCT, Beer Goddess. We had hiked part of the Arizona trail together last fall and it was fun to catch up.

After leaving the brewery, I made sure I had all my chores done. I left the grocery shopping for the morning but everything else is good to go!