Day 7 (continued)
After saying goodbye to Giggles, I spent most of the day running errands and getting in some blogging at the local library.
I developed a fond admiration for the small town of Patagonia. It has a real sense of community and seemed to genuinely care about the nature around it. I would have liked to have stayed another night.
On my way out, I noticed the reliable signs for the AZT began to disappear. There was one sign pointing down the highway, but none showing where to turn off. On more than one occasion I had to double check my route to be sure I was going on the right direction. Once sure I was on the right dirt road out of town, it was just a long haul to an actual Arizona Trail trailhead.
The views in the grassy hills outside of town offered up some breathtaking panoramic vistas of the surrounding mountains, and even dramatic views of the Canelo Hills and Miller Peak in the distance. Ahead, Mount Wrightson dominated the landscape.
The trail soon dropped into Temporal Gulch, a pretty area, but not one I was keen on camping in. I pushed on and found a great ridge with perfect views in every direction, but couldn’t find a good place for a tent. I went a bit father down the road and wound up joining Salsa, Twix, and Olive Oyl at the trailhead.
The sun had already set so as they were brushing their teeth, I grabbed a quick dinner and made camp. We stayed up for a bit to do a bit of stargazing before I jumped into some night photography. I missed having Giggles’ knowledge of the universe there. I also missed hearing her giggles along the trail.
