580 Miles into the AZT

It took us fewer days to walk from Pine to Flagstaff than we expected as colder weather and flatter land had a positive effect. We climbed up out of the town of Pine onto the Mogollon Rim (pronounced Mug-ee-yun) which is the 7,000 ft high edge of the Colorado Plateau. It is a dramatic rock escarpment that runs west-east across Arizona’s high country for 200 miles. Although the grasslands speckled with pine trees and groups of wild elk gave a feeling of peace and spaciousness, hiking 20+ miles/day became monotonous quickly as the landscape varied little. The temperatures were cold with snow flurries and morning frost on the water ponds and with mostly overcast skies we got into a ” let’s get this part done as soon as possible” mood. So we walked.