AZT Day 20-Patagonia

Miles 64.3 to 52.8 (Patagonia)
Arizona Trail Passage 4
11.5 miles
3/22/15

Short hike into the town of Patagonia today.  Or rather, we squeezed our hiking into a shorter amount of time because we were motivated by dreams of town food.

Temporal Gulch was scenic despite being a roadwalk.  Lots of streams and rich riparian habitats once we descended.

Walking down Temporal Gulch.

Heuchera sanguinea!

Rest break by the rocks.

Lots of opportunities to play in streams, one of my favorite activities.  I harassed the aquatic insects and turned over river rocks.  Excited to find caddisfly larvae. There was even a fish, less than an inch, but sheesh this is Arizona so who cares how big it was. 

Some of them were too fast to catch but this water bug (larvae?) was cooperative.

This aquatic spider had been hiding under a rock.

After climbing back into the hills to head into Patagonia, we met Heartbreaker and Mike.  I'd read their blog and saw they were going to be doing the AZT and GET this year and wondered if we'd meet them (see their blog, The Uncalculated Life). Once again, wished we'd had more time to talk, but one of the tradeoffs in going southbound is that while we meet all the northbounders, it's only ever in passing and not enough time for longer conversations.

Mike and Heartbreaker talking to Farwalker.

Patagonia is a great little compact trail town with everything hikers need, and the trail goes right through town which makes it really easy access.  Farwalker's husband met us just as we arrived in town.  We had lunch together, and then exploded our packs at the Stage Stop Inn.  My parents also took a break from helping my grandparents, and drove in to meet us and have dinner. Really makes this trip special to have their support.  We found excellent resupply selection at Red Mountains Foods, the organic market, and we even got sourdough bread at the Ovens of Patagonia bakery (note: this was the BEST BREAD EVER!).

Red Mountain Foods = Resupply paradise!

Hectic as usual to get all the town chores done in only one afternoon, since we decided not to take a zero here. Usually I dedicate my town time to writing and editing photos, but couldn't this time.  Feeling major blogger angst for neglecting my blogging and not uploading posts.  I'm worried I'll forget details or that I won't be as authentic and that my blog will suck.

Oops almost forgot to mention poppies.   Thank goodness for photos.  Poppies!

It also makes me appreciate how much blogging helps me relax.  Writing and editing my photos really helps me cope with transitioning between trail and town, which can feel quite overwhelming. Not to complain or anything I was so glad to have so much fun socializing it was incredibly fun.
Guess I'll just have to finish these posts up when I finish my hike.