Day 5 on Arizona Trail

Mileage: 18 miles

Weather: Cold and snowy

This was a very rough day, actually my worse day yet. I was ready to call an Uber (if I could have got one there) and leave. I was done being wet and cold.

We got an early start this morning just as the sun was coming up. It was a gorgeous view. We started our journey through the harder slush and snow since everything was frozen again. About a mile into the hike, we came to a section with excellent climbing, so of course Family Mule had to take a moment and show he still has his skills! He is like a kid in a candy store when he sees a rock to climb on!

As we kept on the trail the snow was deeper and deeper. We came to a large opening where all we could see was snow and some views of the green pines once in a while. The snow was so deep it was hard to walk through. Each step I took I had no idea if I would stay on top, crash through a couple inches or crash through a foot. I tried to tie bags on my feet before we started to try to minimize the water getting to my feet. It didn’t work! I was still soaked and so was Family Mule. The morning was very cold so the tops of my soaked shoes had frost and snow covering them. The bottom of my pants were even frozen.

We came to an area where the rock was above the next portion of the field, so we soaked in the sun and had some lunch. We took off our shoes to try to dry our feet at least for a few minutes. That felt great paired with hot lunch, it was like 30 minutes of heaven.

After lunch we pressed forward (not very willingly). We were in another snow field. This time the sun was beating down on our heads at full force and reflecting on the snow. Snow blindness is real! I know what you are thinking:…why didn’t you bring sunglasses! Well we did! Somehow we lost them in the snow yesterday! We believe they are on the log we took a break on but not worth going back for. We pushed 4.75 miles through the deep snow under our feet and the sun beating down on our heads. We both had burns on our faces and Family Mules head. We took our shirts off and put them on our heads which made a little visor type thing. It was comical if you were to see us but it worked to get us across the area.

We finally made it out of the field where we did a 300ft climb up through the pines, yes still snow covered and steep. We pushed through in hopes we would be getting out of the snow soon. According to the FarOut App, a comment stated that just past Crystal Springs water source, the snow goes away and there will be good camp spots. I was holding on to this hope……we’re only another 6 miles away, so we kept pushing.

We came to the East Rim of the Grand Canyon. It had some beautiful views and good camping. We really wanted to stay here but we needed to get water and knew we would be out of the snow soon…so we thought. It was just another few miles to the water, so onward we went. We came to Crystal Springs, which was an excellent water source. Hard to spot in the deep snow but on a normal hike, probably an easy spot for most to find. At this point we knew whomever the contributor on the FarOut App who made the comment regarding the snow was WRONG and we were becoming distraught (me more than Family Mule). By this time the sun was starting to set and it was getting very cold. The temperature was dropping quick in this valley. We kept going another mile and then realized we had to make camp soon or we were going to be in trouble with the dark and cold. I was shivering nonstop and both our feet were soaked and froze at this point.

We found a small spot on a hill across the field. We made the journey off the trail, and up the hill, to the only dry spot we could find to fit our small tent. It was covered in rock but we did our best. We set up everything as quickly as possible and made dinner. It was spaghetti. Luckily, Family Mule had an idea to put both the bags in one of the gallon bags so it was easier for me to hold and try to get warmth from it. Good thing we did because one of the small bags leaked everywhere! It was just how the day was going. We ate dinner by light and tried to get some sleep. It was bitter cold and windy. We had soaked socks, shoes, and pants that we knew was going to freeze. Not much you can do about it in this situation. I do have to say our Big Agnus double sleeping bag did keep us warm!