21 December 2022 Maha’ulepu Heritage Trail (6 miles, +200/-200 feet). Half Cookie and I have been together for 30 years! It’s hard to imagine…. We decided to celebrate with a trip to Hawaii to see Kauai, an island we have never visited. Our friends Quercus and Tami have moved there, so we get to see…
Category: AZT
Day 6: I Guess I’m Not a Thru-Hiker
20 March 2022 AZT Mile 92.8 to 104.9 (12.1 miles). Oh boy. I did it again. I quit! The day started out with some beautiful scenery. But I knew I was in trouble when an easy climb out of our wash was giving my right knee fits. Normally after about an hour in the morning,…
Day 5: No Cross-Country for Old Men
19 March 2022 AZT Mile 71.4 to 92.8 (21.4 miles). Butterfingers and I coordinated a 6:30 departure this morning and everything went great. Until we got separated! After a couple of miles we met Aaron, the hiker the biker told us about yesterday. He’s a fast hiker, and I kept pace with him a while…
Day 4: Mount Wrightson
18 March 2022 AZT Mile 50.1 To 71.5 (21.4 Miles). I really thought today was going to be hard. My right knee has been hurting and we were leaving town with full packs and a 2,500 foot climb. But it was a GREAT day! Butterfingers and I started by walking into town past a herd…
Day 3: Nearo to Patagonia
17 March 2022 AZT Mile 39 to 51 (12 miles). Today was a “nearo” — a small mileage day into a town. And I was happy for both the small miles and the town! When I woke up I got a good look at where we set up in the waning light last night. Butterfingers…
Day 2: Camping with Cows
16 March 2022 AZT Mile 15 to 39 (24 miles). After yesterday’s big climb, today was supposed to be easy. And the morning was indeed delightful, but the afternoon was a bit tough for me emotionally. I left before Butterfingers this morning and hiked solo for a while, seeing turkeys, deer, a windmill, and Parker…
Day 1: Miller Peak
15 March 2022 Montezuma Pass to Mile 0 to Mile 15 (17 miles). Today was the first day of my AZT thru-hike attempt. I flew in to Tucson yesterday evening, stayed in a motel, and got a shuttle to Montezuma Pass with another hiker named Butterfingers. From there I had to walk backwards to get…
AZT Resupply Maildrops
11 March 2022 I’m not very fussy when eating on trail. One time I packed nothing but pizza for a multi-day trip! So I usually just buy food as I go instead of mailing myself packages. But today I bought twelve days of food for my upcoming thru-hike of the Arizona Trail. Three days are…
My AZT Gear
9 March 2022 I already have a dedicated gear page, but I’m very excited about my upcoming Arizona Trail thru-hike attempt, so I thought I would lay everything out that I am taking. Here it is! I have not made a lot of changes since my PCT thru-hike attempt last year. During that hike, I…
The JimmyJam Hiking Club 