One Zero Zero
Fried eggs with a runny yolk.
What you just pictured in your brain, was in fact, what happened to our brains, on this sunny, exposed, dry, hot, baron day.
Just yesterday, we were crawling around canyons and creeks, high above the sun scorched earth below.
'Wow', we remarked, 'sure looks dry down there.'
Well, yes, it is dry. Because now we are down there.
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A great sleep after a great steak dinner, a couple beers, and a glass of wine. What more could a thru-hiker ask for?
We broke down our gear, rolled back into Kentucky Camp where we filled up our waters and said our final goodbye to Doug.
His trail magic kept on giving today, as we packed out two ginger ales to enjoy on our first break.
Thankfully, the sodas satiated our thirsts for some time, as it wasn't until 15 miles into the day did we cross a water source.
Not more than 24 hours ago, we were commenting to one another at how abundant the water was, and all the creeks which were not marked in our maps as water sources, flowed freely.
Fortunately, we came slightly prepared with heavy water bags and slightly more than we typically carry.
We happened across a source (again not marked, but thankfully taken), and filled up our bladders after chugging the liter or so we had left.
The water source for the day was a stock pond, which upon further investigation was noted as being surrounded by cows and filled with not live, but dead fish...
Luck was on our side once more as we found a tiny little hole of water (unfortunately filed with creepy crawlers darting around) before we were forced to hike a half mile off trail for a disgusting source of water.
As we neared the end of our 22 mile day, we crossed a small rock formation outlining '100' signifying the completion of the first hundred miles of the Arizona Trail.
Our biggest day yet, and now over 100 miles.
Even as the day wore long and we zig zagged around endless hills of tall, dry, yellow grass, we were excited, if not a little delirious.
We setup camp, built our fire, and ate dinner. Situated in limbo between the wilderness and civilization, we hear the planes of Tucson airport, the trucks of I-10, and even (presumably) a border patrol helicopter that circled around our camp, seemingly inspecting our setup. A quick shine of our flashlight and wave of the hand sent them on their way.
Spirits are high, even if water contents are low. Tonight's a dry camp, meaning no water here, so we're hoping to make due with our meager liter for tomorrow morning and find some more water quickly.
On a side note, happy birthday, mom!
