Wednesday May 1, 8.5mi/13.7km

Jail Trailhead (0.0mi/3320ft) to Jct road FR258 (7.9mi/3810ft) (Arizona) +0.6mi looking for a longdrop

The sun wakes up weirdly early here in Arizona, I think it’s because they are on Pacific time during the summer time, when they should probably be on Mountain Time. But I was up early with the sun, and went to Fry’s just after they opened to do my grocery shopping.

I bought enough food for this upcoming section, plus three other sections where I would be mailing a box to the post office there.

I drove to the post office to mail out the boxes, and then drove to the storage facility where I would be starting by car for the next month. I double checked that I had everything on my packing list, and that all of the logistical details were completed. At 11am, I got a ride to the trailhead from Brian, who is a local trail angel for the Arizona Trail. He was super knowledgeable about the area and it was a beautiful drive as we made our way down Oak Creek canyon to the towns of Sedona and Cottonwood. I said goodbye to Brian, and noticed that I hadn’t remembered to fill one of my water bottles, so I went to a nearby Mexican restaurant to get some water. Since I was already there it was hard to resist the temptation to get lunch.

Their bathrooms had a funny sign.

After lunch I walked a block to the Start of the Jail Trail, and got a few requisite starting photos.

It was an interesting urban trail that weaved its way through a very verdant and lush area.

There were tons of little trail junctions, but most of them were well-signed like this.

After a mile I emerged into Dead Horse Ranch State Park. My plan was to just walk through the park and not camp since it was only 3pm, but also get a shower at one of the campground facilities on my way through. Unfortunately the entrance fee no longer covers showers, so I just kept hiking.

For a couple minutes I traveled along another lush area, which merged with the Verde River.

I soon left the river and climbed up onto a broad ridge, which was crossed with a series of mountain biking trails. Apparently the ridge also had some caution snakes, which is a new species I hadn’t heard of before.

And all the cacti were in bloom!

I passed by one water source which I expected to be dry, but it actually had a foot of water in the trough! I skipped this one though, since I had carried enough water to make it to a creek tomorrow.

I stopped hiking at 6:30pm and set up my tent, and it felt nice to be getting to camp in the daylight.

After such a big lunch, I wasn’t really hungry for dinner but I made myself eat something anyway while I watched the sunset. The sun sets weirdly early here, like at 7:30. All the hiking I did today, and for a couple hours tomorrow morning, are on the Cottonwood connector trail. It’s a 14-mile connection to get to the official start of the MRT, where I assume the trail will start climbing up onto the Mogollon Rim.

I’ve been taught three different pronunciations of the word “Mogollon”, so maybe I’ll get it right by the end of this hike!