A couple of summers ago, I took a Greyhound bus to Price, Utah on Hwy 191 then proceeded to hitch to Huntington Canyon and hike around in the mountains there for a few days. I also camped along the Price River and began my return to Arizona on the 21st of June.
The return trip took me a total of 24 different rides, it was about 700 miles or so but I'm not really sure. The first night was spent around Monticello, Utah, near the Blue Mountains. It was a stormy night with high winds/rain /and hail. After the storm it looked like snow had fallen due to the amount of hail on the ground.
On the second night I was camped by the San Juan River close to Bluff, Utah. I had the river to myself after I bushwacked through the tamerisk and Russian olive to find a "private" beach. I built a small fire and made coffee to celebrate my privacy. After night had fallen I simply laid out my poncho and pad and slept in the open on the beach. There was an awesome meteor shower and very clear skies to behold. I was able to make out all of the major constellations. The only problems were the gnats and mosquitoes.
The 3rd night I hopped the fence on someone's property on the Navajo Reservation just south of Ganado, Arizona. It was in a Juniper and Pinion woodland with lots a sage brush and prickly pear cactus on hand.
On the 4th night I was just south of Sanders, AZ on the edge of the Navajo Rez, my camp consisted of just throwing up a poncho under some juniper trees in a natural arbor.
I reached the White mountains of Arizona on the 4th night and decided to spend 2 nights camped around 8K feet in a ponderosa forest, my shelter was made with a little more care due to the amount of rain in the area. It rained hard for several hours the 1st night in the whites, and continued to drizzle all the next day.
I was able to hike around and do some exploring and located some turkey feathers ,and then a bull elk skull with the skull cap recovered hanging in a tree.
That Night I heard some strange vocalizations and odd sounding banging in different areas of the woods all night. It was kinda cool to experience.
My coffee ran out so I hitch hiked back into Alpine. I got a ride with a lady who worked in the fire tower on "26 road" as she called it. I bought some food supplies and 2 cups of really bad coffee from the local store. I also managed to do my laundry.
After a couple of hours in "town" I hiked to the town limit and soon caught a ride which took my to Benson, Arizona, where I met an interesting character named Jose who once paddled the entire length of the Mississippi River and subsequently rode mules with his son across the USA back in the 80's. Now he just hangs out in Tombstone, carving Indian style flutes for the tourists.
Jose dropped me off at the Benson city limits, then I caught 3 different rides over a 30 mile stretch to Sierra Vista ,where I hung out for a few days visiting friends before I headed into the Huachuca mountains to do some camping.
It was a fun and interesting trip and it was my pleasure to have met several interesting and colorful characters along the way.
During my trip I noticed the kindness and generosity of folks, most of whom seemed to have very little but were willing to share what they had and help another person.The displays of kindness and generosity have partially reconditioned the waning faith I have in my fellow man. I look forward to further adventures on the road.
