Wednesday, Oct 17, 2018

I camped on a weaving trail with a cloudy sky overhead; I awoke to a haunted forest fog. Hail fell intermittently, spattering the tent with a pleasant sound.

During the night, I decided my mountain lion friend is named Cedrick. My first thought when I heard the hail was that Cedrick was urinating on the tent to taunt me.

Tempire

4 minute read

Thursday, Oct 18, 2018

There’s full LTE coverage at this campsite, and for most of the surrounding area. I am tickled pink when there’s data coverage on the trail.

Tempire

4 minute read

Friday, Oct 19, 2018

Eyes open. Darkness. I’m completely underneath the down quilt. I poke my eyes out of the warmth, and I see that the condensation on the inner wall of the tent has frozen.

Some has collected on the foot box, but not enough to wet the down feathers. It’s 6:45. The sun has risen, it’s time to get up.

Tempire

2 minute read

Friday, Oct 19, 2018

The North Rim.

Finally. Here.

I walk up to the registration office.

I’m an Arizona Trail hiker; I’m told there are campsites available for people like me.

“Yes, but the registration system is down, so you can’t pay. I’m just going to let you in”

Neat.

It’s after October 15th, so everything is closed. No general store, showers, or laundry. All expected.

I was not expecting, however, a sink with running water.

Tempire

3 minute read

Saturday, Oct 20, 2018

Joe got up later than he said he would. At 6:19, he declared, maybe I’ll see you on the trail today.

I, on the other hand, could barely move my left foot.

So I lay there. Wondering what I should do. Wondering if I should quit. I took to google to look up treatments, found some stretches, and went about trying to will my ankle to be healed.

Tempire

2 minute read

Monday, Oct 22, 2018

It was time. Time to leave the North Rim.

Either by foot or by shuttle, I was no longer content sitting still.

My ankle wasn’t perfect, but I could walk without limping; the discomfort had moved to my lower shin, and could be targeted by stretching.

Tempire

6 minute read

Tuesday, Oct 23, 2018

My thighs and quadriceps are burning. My calves are burning.

I feel everything that happened yesterday.

It feels fantastic.

Except for the ankle. It’s not too bad, but it is worse, as you would expect. After stretching, it feels alright. Enough to walk.

After I pack up the tent, I walk to the camp registration office to pay for last night; it’s 1/2 miles down the road.

Tempire

6 minute read

Wednesday, Oct 24, 2018

The closest town is only 0.2 miles off the trail. After getting up at sunrise and taking off, I wave goodbye to Robert’s tent wherein he remains fast asleep.

In town, I stop into Starbucks for a Pumpkin Spice latte. I’m going to be far away from civilization for over 100 miles starting today, so let’s start out correctly with the proper amount of basic hipsterdom.

Just to know, I ask the barista if there’s a convenient way to get to Phoenix or Vegas from here.

Tempire

2 minute read

Friday, Nov 9, 2018

Upon returning to Tuscayan, it was already within an hour of sunset.

Although I could have camped immediately, starting off with no miles and 20 degree weather did not seem appealing.

A night at a hotel, included breakfast, and starting out early seemed the better option.

Up at 5:45, breakfast at 6:30, and off by 7.

The reality was more like 6, 7, 8.

I checked the weather once again: lows of 15 degrees tonight.

Tempire

4 minute read

Saturday, Nov 10, 2018

It’s 4. Time to start setting up camp.

Probably not the best spot. Cedrick has already been here.

And now we start the process of trying to find a campsite that’s just a little bit better.

That spot is good. But what about around the corner?

Ok. You have 5 minutes to find something better, or you have to come back and use this site.

Tempire

2 minute read