Yaqui Ridge Is All You Need

Waxing Gibbous Moon

Today I completed a piece of something that I tried to start way back in February. I horsed Spugly around the hairpin turns on the gravel road up to Montezuma Pass, AZ. Then I hiked to the southern terminus of the Arizona Trail (AZT) at the U.S./Mexico border and back. The last mile down switchbacks along Yaqui Ridge bothered my knee, but coming back up was much better.

For northbound hikers of the AZT, this is counterintuitive. Wait...to hike from Mexico to Utah on this trail, I have to go south first? Well, yes, actually that is true. No road goes to the southern end, so hiking down from Montezuma Pass is required.

Last February, due to "inclement" weather (the snow and ice did not look anything like anyone ever named Clement), I started the trail in Patagonia, the first trail town north of Montezuma Pass. Then I promptly slipped on ice after about 14 miles and bam, my trip was over. Almost eight months later, I am still having trouble with the knee I jammed that day. But it held up for a couple of hours today, so I'm happy. The long views were terrific.

I hung out at the border for a little while to soak in the scenery. No hordes, zero hordes, not even one solitary horde of people of any sort from el otro lado stampeded over, under, around, or through the silly barbed wire fence.

The only folks I saw at the terminus were two young people who hailed from Indiana. We had a nice conversation about how wonderful the trail systems are in their home state, especially the trail called the Cardinal Greenway. But of course you know all about Indiana trails because you have read Palomino Nation: My 2016 Crazyass Walk Across America, right? Of course you did.

My feet and toes are barking like a kennel full of p.o.ed Chihuahuas after all that up and down on  the rockstrewn trail. But other than that, Yaqui Ridge was fun and both sides of the barbed wire are totally beautiful. It was as though the barbed wire wasn't there at all.

Peace, Love, and Love Some More,
Jim