Day 3 on the AZT

Mileage: 12.5 miles

Elevation Change: 1,334ft

Weather: Sunshine, high 54, low 31

It rained all night and in to the morning. We woke up to some ice! It was cold switching out clothes. Once we started walking it helped. My shoes were soaked. I made a rookie mistake and didn’t put them on top of my bag! Live and learn or in my case, live and remember!

We were able to refill our water in about .5 miles from camp. We drank our water and packed the rest for the full day just in case the water supplies coming up were not available. FarOut had mixed information from hikers so we didn’t chance it.

We stopped for lunch about 6.5 miles in to the hike. We found a nice sunny spot that was warm and perfect. Ramen Noodles for the win. We even learned you can cook them in their own bag. Bonus!

Once we reached another .8 miles, we found the trail crossed the highway to a camp area. It had a restroom and a bear box filled with water. We didn’t need it but it will be good for the next people who pass through.

Once we got past this point, it was a walk through a valley and covered with snow and slush. Our feet were soaked and all the cold air was collecting in the valley and sunshine was limited. After 6 miles of this, enough was enough and we decided to find a camp. My upper right side of my back has started to get very painful. Family Mule found us a camp spot on top of a pretty steep snow covered hill that was perfect. So we took the trek off the trail and up the hill to the sunshine. We let our shoes, socks, and garments dry on some rocks in the sunshine along with ourselves.

Family Mule set up the tent, we watched the sunset, ate spaghetti (my favorite camp food now!) and called it a night! It was cold and windy but we stayed warm in the tent!

Side note: Family Mule collected snow and we used it to cook our dinner!