The heat during the day was getting oppressive.
I’d take long breaks, next to a water source if possible, but always in the shade. I’d hike through as much of the night as I dared, some of the footing through the Mazatzal Wilderness is sketchy even in daylight.
With the moon casting its ethereal glow upon the landscape, my headlamp carved a path through the darkness, leading me forward with steady determination.
Night hiking is not my preference, though there is a certain thrill in the intense focus required.
I’d hiked this section of the Arizona Trail twice before, and the allure of seeing it from a different perspective beckoned me onward.
I decided to take the blue blaze down past Sunflower mine… but when I got there, I was too creeped out to do any exploring in the abandoned mine after dark. It was hard enough navigating outside, and you could hardly tell where the night ended and the mine began.
Rather than being drawn into those depths, I walked the road back out to 87 instead. A road that was apparently closed…
#AZT #nighthike