Patagonia to Enzenberg Canyon: I was excited to take a break from CDT road-walking only to come to Arizona to do more road walking. 😂
I climbed all morning. My body felt strong, core engaged. My clothing drenched in sweat, my mind in the zone of the present moment. I felt I was high, living out my dream in real time instead of through a screen.
I grew to love the challenge of uphill climbs. I became a witness of the thoughts that penetrated my mind… the daggers of doubt… the lingering temptation of giving up. But I kept taking one step at a time, to the beat of the music or to the sound of my breath. I found a rhythm and by the time I realized it, I was up and over the physical and mental climb.
Took a siesta as I came across a flowing stream (rare for the AZT). Soaked my feet downstream, melted my cookies in the sun and enjoyed reading my book as I waited for the heat of the day to pass by.
Met some day hikers who were trail angels for the Grand Enchantment Trail. They asked if I needed anything, such as food or water. They admired my mesh water bottle holders and told me my bag was too big.
I got a lot of fear mongering messages before I hitched out here. I was told I would die from heat exhaustion if I hiked the AZT at this time of year, followed by fearful stories of what apparently happened to past hikers.
Evidently, I’m rebellious by nature, so the stories only tempted me. I love to challenge myself and I find I become more aware of how to hike in certain terrain/weather the more I actually throw myself out there. It’s all a teaching/learning experience for me and of course, it builds my emotional strength.
I climbed all morning. My body felt strong, core engaged. My clothing drenched in sweat, my mind in the zone of the present moment. I felt I was high, living out my dream in real time instead of through a screen.
I grew to love the challenge of uphill climbs. I became a witness of the thoughts that penetrated my mind… the daggers of doubt… the lingering temptation of giving up. But I kept taking one step at a time, to the beat of the music or to the sound of my breath. I found a rhythm and by the time I realized it, I was up and over the physical and mental climb.
Took a siesta as I came across a flowing stream (rare for the AZT). Soaked my feet downstream, melted my cookies in the sun and enjoyed reading my book as I waited for the heat of the day to pass by.
Met some day hikers who were trail angels for the Grand Enchantment Trail. They asked if I needed anything, such as food or water. They admired my mesh water bottle holders and told me my bag was too big.
I got a lot of fear mongering messages before I hitched out here. I was told I would die from heat exhaustion if I hiked the AZT at this time of year, followed by fearful stories of what apparently happened to past hikers.
Evidently, I’m rebellious by nature, so the stories only tempted me. I love to challenge myself and I find I become more aware of how to hike in certain terrain/weather the more I actually throw myself out there. It’s all a teaching/learning experience for me and of course, it builds my emotional strength.
