I woke up next to the gate after hearing someone pass through right at sunrise. As I was packing up a pair of through hikers come through. They had heard me out late the night before as I was running my bear bell. After I had packed up camp I set out towards Flagstaff. The bike route follows the equestrian trail which is a long ways around the town to then go into it for resupply. I had strategically picked the spot I had shipped my stuff to knowing this.
I had picked the CVS closest to the trail as they we're a FedEx shipping center and had a couple restaurants in the plaza. I picked up the package, ordered a significant amount of food from the restaurant next door, then setup on the patio to unpack shipment. I had shipped a more conventional backpack, fresh clothes, a tent, and a lighter weight sleeping bag. Its amazing the people who finish the trail without a drop shipment.
I took over a corner of the patio. It took almost 2 hours to get all my new stuff in place and old stuff back in the box to send home. Just after I finished eating the manager came out and told me I had to move along, there was paying customers coming for their usual lunch rush. I explained not only was a I paying customer but that I planned to come in and order more. This was not the first time in life I was assumed to be homeless though it was a very uncomfortable feeling
In my planning to carry fewer warm layers from this supply drop there was a day and a half of riding before I would drop elevation enough for the temperature to warm up. I ordered some more food and gave a call to Mormon Lake Lodge to reserve a room for the night. This certainly was going to mean a long night. Not wanting to push my luck at this restaurant I decided not to fill my water.
I stopped by the Chipotle I had ridden past on my way from the trail on my way back to fill my water and got a big burrito to put in my pack for dinner. The bike route follows the equestrian trail around Flagstaff which was a bit painful knowing it was so much longer than the hiking option. The trail out of town was an interesting mix of tunnels under roads/train crossings, ranch land, and amazingly maintained state park trail.
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| Trail near Mormon Lake |
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| Dinner with a View |
The ride through Walnut Canyon was amazing. Great views, some easy miles mixed with some extremely rocky gnarly descents which most would walk even without bikepacking bags. The canyon was filled with large rock outcropping features. I ate my burrito just before dark on the high point of the day. I'm not much of a Chipotle fan but this was certainly the best burrito I've ever had from there. Once through this developed trail network, I still had a ton of miles to cover. The trail climbed significantly. I wished I had daylight to see the area as the trail felt like it was going through open plains in a area cows grazed with an endless cliff to the East. There was a long stretch that was slightly downhill which was incredibly frustrating, though it did not look muddy, my tires we're getting packed up with "Death Mud" and I had to push/carry my bike on a flat open road. It got extremely cold, about 20*F, and I put on ALL of my layers including a pair of hand warmers as I crossed the highway.
I had grand plans to take trail all the way to Mormon Lake, so I would not need to ride the road back and forth. The trail was slow going and it became obvious that I would need to ride the road to get a decent enough sleep and out of the cold. I exited the trail at a closed campground that was being rebuilt. The road went quickly and I got to Mormon Lake around midnight. I was a bit confused on finding my key for late check in so I rode around looking for it for 30 minutes. I then found the lodging building was the first in town. I found my key and entered the warm cabin. I slept like a rock, glad I wasn't out in the 17* weather with my 45* sleeping bag.
Stats: 10:55 moving time 70 Miles 8,559ft gain
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