Thursday October 12, 16.3km/10.1mi

Mather Campground (100.1/7030ft) to Near road FS2709 (110.2/6820ft) (AZ)

We slept in later, recovering from yesterday’s difficult hike. I wandered over to the general store at 8am to grab a breakfast burrito and charge my devices. I was suddenly pretty hungry, so I also got a chocolate milk, orange juice, some ice cream and a yogurt. TopShelf joined me an hour later, and we took turns doing our resupply shopping while the other person watched over the charging phones. I also went next door to the post office to get my new shoes, and by noon we were pretty much ready to leave. I headed back to the campground to get packed up.

After I had a quick shower, we left 1pm and were hiking back toward the trail. We rejoined the Arizona Trail, and in this section it’s also a paved bike path.

We hiked side by side on the wide paved path, occasionally dodging e-bike riders who were going way too fast. An hour and a half later, we left the Grand canyon National Park.

The forest for this entire section seems to be a large ponderosa pine forest.

Pretty soon we turned left, and went under the park access road in a tunnel.

There was all sorts of artistic and interesting graffiti in there, and this one was especially funny since I always appreciate song lyrics.

We hiked along for another couple hours in the ponderosa pine forest, which was really quiet in contrast to the commotion in the National Park.

As the sun got lower it started to get really cold and I checked my weather forecast – a low of 30F/-1C tonight, brrrr. I found a spot to camp up on a small hill, which should be slightly warmer since it’s not at the bottom of a cold valley. As I write this in my tent, I can hear elk bugling in the forest not too far away.

Wednesday October 11, 38.1km/23.7mi

North Rim Campground Jct (77.1/8230ft) to Mather Campground (100.1/7030ft) (AZ) + 0.7mi to North Rim Campground

We started hiking at 6:30, just a couple minutes after the sun rose. It was a quick 10 minute walk back to the trailhead, where they had posted all of the usual information. The elevation profile is always a little intimidating.

I thought the sign for mules was hilarious with the illustration.

The temperatures were just above freezing, so we started hiking in all of our clothing layers to stay warm.

As we descended further the temperatures gradually warmed, and the increasing sunshine helped as well.

The Coconino overlook is an iconic photo spot on the North Kaibab Trail. It’s even better in the morning light.

We continued descending all morning…

… Through the Supai tunnel…

… And a little later down through the red wall layer of rock.

It should have been a fast hike down, but I kept stopping to take photos of all the amazing scenery.

I’ve hiked this Trail a few times before, but those were in winter or in darkness, so it felt like a whole different trail when it was in the warm Autumn daylight.

After we had descended about 2,000 ft, the temperatures were much warmer and I was stripped down to shorts and a sun shirt. The red rock at this level also really helps absorb the heat.

I loved the sections where the trail was clinging to the side of a cliff.

The spot where Roaring Springs emerges from the cliffside is always an amazing sight. Where does all that water come from?

We took a break at the Manzanita Creek rest area, where they had bathrooms and picnic tables and a water spigot. We got back on the trail, which followed the Bright Angel Creek all the way down to the Colorado River.

It was easy hiking, and there were a ton of other hikers going the opposite direction, so to entertain myself I greeted everybody in French. Phrases such as “Comment ça va?” and “Bonjour” didn’t yield many responses, but I did meet two people who actually replied, haha. After a little more hiking, we had a view from just above cottonwood Campground:

We could see the South Rim, our objective for the end of the day. The last few miles before Phantom Ranch, the trail weaved through a deep dark canyon right next to Bright Angel Creek.

We stopped at the Phantom Ranch cantina for a cold drink and some snacks. There were a bunch of tourists there, and the cantina seemed understaffed, so it took forever to get a drink. But it tasted so good on a hot day!

I used my cook pot, since they give you a discount if you bring your own drink vessel. We sat in the shade and snacked for quite a while, and eventually we left and started hiking again. We arrived at the Colorado River within a couple of minutes and crossed over the Black Bridge.

It was now 3:45pm, and we had 2.5 hours of daylight left. I was not optimistic about reaching the top before darkness, which was 6 mi and 5,000 ft above us. Nevertheless we tried our best and moved uphill at a good steady pace. I didn’t take many photos at all, since I was focused on the climb and had hiked this trail a few times before.

We got up to Skeleton Point, just over halfway between the river and the rim.

Soon after this it got dark, and we hiked an hour with headlamps on. We arrived on top of the South Rim at 7:45, and very glad to be done hiking uphill.

It was very windy on top, and we still had two miles of flat hiking to get to the main Grand Canyon village and Campground. To make things more interesting, the trail had been rerouted recently, and the map no longer matched what was on the ground. After some headlamp navigation and running into a herd of sleeping elk, we finally arrived at the Mather campground at 8:45 and setup our tents. I was starving, so I walked the 5 minutes over to the Yavapai Lodge to get a late night meal.

The small pizza was mediocre, but the elk chili really hit the spot. I finished my dinner really quickly, which I’m sure the staff appreciated since they closed 5 minutes later, ha! I wandered over to the main lounge area, and sat in one of the couches while I recharged my devices and updated my journal. Once all that was finished, I walked back over to my tent, surprising some elk in the darkness. It was easy to fall asleep after that long exhausting day.

Tuesday October 10, 31.7km/19.7mi

East Rim Overlook (58.1mi/8860ft) to North Rim Campground Jct (77.1/8230ft) (AZ) + 0.7mi to North Rim Campground

I was awake at 6:15am and stumbled over to the viewpoint to watch the sunrise.

Not a bad way to start the day! The view from the East Rim is spectacular and seems rather underrated. We got packed up and started hiking at 6:45 and it was quite cold. I hiked in my hat and puffy coat for about an hour.

We emerged into a sunny valley, and it warmed up a little bit.

After an hour we stopped at a little spring and refilled our bottles, it was still pretty cold so we didn’t stay long. Most of the morning we were hiking thru groves of Aspens with their fall colors.

When I had hiked here in the spring, everything was quite wet, and it was surprising to see how dry it was now.

We crossed a dirt road and then I was walking on trail that I had never seen before, since the Hayduke turned off onto that road. Pretty soon we crossed the boundary into Grand canyon National Park.

Right after that we came upon an old fire tower, which was still open to the public as a viewpoint. So of course I had to go up and explore.

From the top of the tower it looked like autumn in every direction. Yellow Aspens everywhere!

I climbed down the tower and TopShelf went partway up. It was pretty windy there so we hiked a little further down the trail to have lunch at a warmer spot.

We stopped at a Ranger station where they had set out a jug of water for hikers, and enjoyed our lunch at a picnic table. It was a beautiful fall afternoon and the temperatures were a perfect 65F/18C. With only 10 miles to go and a nice easy flat trail, the afternoon cruised by.

Before I knew it, it was 4pm and we were at the North Rim. I filled my water bottle at the famous water fill station, where all the parched rim-to-rim hikers finish their hike.

We took a side trail over to the north rim campground, we saw a massive herd of deer. One of the deer was not afraid at all and seemed to be posing for photos.

We stopped by the general store which was pretty empty of food since they are closing for the season next weekend. But they did have some funny books by Louis Lamour, which reminded me of the CDT.

With such a slim selection of food, the other hikers who were there also bought some really strange items. Like this massive box of frozen fried chicken!

We walked over to the campground and set up our tents, trying to be a little apart from the crowds, like this one group that had set up three tents on one platform.

The North Rim Campground is on a narrow peninsula and it had some really epic views into the Grand canyon.

This might be the best campsite on the entire Arizona Trail! There are so many views in every direction. Tomorrow we plan to wake up early and get started at 6:30 to hike rim-to-rim. It’s a long 22 mile day, descending 6,000 ft and then right back up 5,000 ft.

Monday October 9, 33.3km/20.7mi

1mi South of Murray’s Lake Trailhead (37.4mi/8580ft) to East Rim Overlook (58.1mi/8860ft) (AZ)

I watched the sunrise from my tent, while I ate breakfast.

The morning was a little chilly, maybe 45ºF but there was no wind so it wasn’t bad. As I was taking down my tent I noticed a nice orange glow over the forest.

By 6:45 we had hiked out of camp, and into the morning sunlight.

The trail meandered through an old burn area for a few miles, which gave us pretty expansive views.

Eventually the forest returned, and I could hear squirrels running all over the place, probably gathering the last of their nuts before winter.

There were a couple of small dirt road crossings, which always had these trail signs. This trail is so well marked.

I walked along and enjoyed my last honeycrisp apple, which I had packed from an orchard back in NY. Yum.

At one spot we had a very long view to the east, and down into a canyon. We are too far north for the Grand canyon so I think that might be Paria canyon?

TopShelf in the lead.

For much of the day the trail paralleled the access road to the park. Usually we couldn’t see the road but we could always hear it.

The Aspens were reminding us that at this elevation, Autumn is almost over.

We stopped and got water at a pond, and pretty much right after, the clouds moved in and it started to rain a little bit.

Twenty minutes later it stopped raining and we entered a windy little valley.

We could see the trail for like the next mile ahead!

All afternoon the trail alternated between forest and open fields, which made for some pretty amazing views.

We had decided to camp at the East Rim Overlook, where there is a view thousands of feet down to the beginning of the Grand canyon. We arrived to the spot at 5:30, and by the time we set up our tents it was starting to get a little dark already. But the view was still really good!

The area is also legally protected as a Wilderness. Cool.

Amazingly, there was even a little picnic table nearby, so we made dinner there and enjoyed the comforts of civilization.

As soon as the sun went down it got pretty cold, so we did not linger at the table. I finished up dinner and went back to my tent, where it was a little warmer and less windy in the trees. I read my book for an hour and relaxed, it was a pretty easy day but I still fell asleep by 8pm.

Sunday October 8, 34.0km/21.1mi

Navajo Trail Jct (16.3mi/6740ft) to 1mi South of Murray’s Lake Trailhead (37.4mi/8580ft) (AZ)

We woke up before sunrise (around 6:30am here), after a nice cozy night under the juniper trees. The sun rose just after we left camp, and there was an amazing view across the desert meadows.

It was an enjoyable morning, and despite it being a cold night, everything was dry, even the tall grass.

This section of trail had some special trail markers, showing the Kaibab squirrel. I hope to see one of these unique critters in the next few days.

After a couple of hours of gradual uphill hiking, we took a nice break at our first water source for the day, at a guzzler.

This one had really cold water, and it was actually pretty clear. The day was starting to warm up, which was perfect timing as the trail soon entered a ponderosa pine forest.

I hiked along, daydreaming, and lost the trail when it split off from a dirt road. Oops. I quickly backtracked the half-mile, and now TopShelf was way ahead of me. I tried to catch up, and made slow progress toward that goal. After awhile, I lost sight and asked a hiker who was headed the opposite direction if they had seen anyone ahead of me…nope. So I hiked to the next major landmark at a highway crossing, and waited there. I waited 10 minutes, and we reunited there, and then had lunch. It started to rain and thunderstorm, but luckily there was a bathroom building where we could sit under the roof. The storm passed after 30 minutes and then we returned to the trail.

There was another gradual uphill climb in the afternoon, following an old two track road.

We hiked side by side, chatting about various trail things, and then we noticed a group of deer.

It’s so cool to see this trail again in the autumn when the Aspens are changing color.

When I was here in the spring the trees were just starting to bud. After a couple hours of gradual uphill, we stopped at another water source which was a large tank.

The cover was a little hard to remove but once it was off, it was unlimited cold clean water. We took a nice long break there and then decided to continue on another four miles to camp. The Aspens continued to show off their colors all afternoon.

We passed by Murray Lake Trailhead which was a nice place to take a break. It was 5pm but we decided to hike only another mile since it gets dark at 6pm. For this last part of the day we exited the forest and followed along a small highway that leads to the North Rim.

The terrain was very sloping and also very open, so it seemed like it might be difficult to find a good camping spot. But pretty soon we found a tiny ponderosa forest, and setup our tents under the trees.

It was a good second day, and I feel like I’m starting to get back into the rhythm of things.

Saturday October 7, 26.2km/16.3mi

Stateline Trailhead (0.0mi/4990ft) to Navajo Trail Jct (16.3mi/6740ft) (AZ)

After spending the night at the house of trail angels Deena & Steve, she drove us an hour to the start of the Arizona trail. It was already pretty warm when we arrived at 10am, and TopShelf and I got a few starting photos at the monument.

Everyone loves a desert selfie.

The trail started off with a big but gradual climb up onto a wide plateau.

An hour later we were at the top enjoying the view down to the valley to the east.

As we progressed up onto the plateau, we left the open scrublands and entered a sparse forest, which thankfully had some shade.

Sometimes the trail would walk up a small wash, and I had flashbacks to the Hayduke trail from this past spring.

Pretty soon we came upon a guzzler, which sounds like a Dr Seuss name. It’s a water collection system unique to Arizona, where a large flat roof collects water in the rainy season, and stores it in a tank underneath.

It was some good water, especially by desert standards! We filled up a liter and continued onward. My hiking partner, TopShelf, loves juniper trees and we stopped to admire a few.

It was an uneventful afternoon on a mostly flat and easy trail. We did encounter this neat little geode next to the trail.

As it got hotter, the miles seemed to come more slowly. It felt like it was in the upper 70s (25C) in the sun.

In mid-afternoon we passed by the Winter Road trailhead, which supposedly had a water cache but all the bottles were empty. It did have a couple cool signs though.

It showed the entire Arizona trail! The nearby gate was also pretty unique, with the trail symbol on it.

We walked along easy trail all afternoon, which alternated between shady juniper trees and open meadows.

The flowers were very brightly colored, more than a photo can show. I’ll have to download a book of desert wildflowers…

With our later start today, we stopped to camp after only 16 miles. Plus, the next section is in an old burn area, where it can be difficult to find safe campsites. We setup under some juniper trees, and within a few minutes it was dark.

Now that we switched to Pacific time (Arizona is on Pacific time most of the year, and mountain time in the winter), the sun sets at 6pm. We made our dinners and I was in bed reading my book (“Mud, Rocks, Blazes”) by 7pm. We will have an “early” wakeup tomorrow morning at 6am when the sun rises. Though the time on my watch is relatively meaningless out here, we basically have 12 hours of daylight for hiking….

Chamonix (France)

Thursday August 24 – Sunday August 27, 32.2km/20.0mi

The

Dolomites (Italy)

Wednesday August 30 – Monday September 11, 0.0km/0.0mi

The

0.0km/0.0mi, Banyuls-sur-Mer (France)

Saturday August 19

I had a small surprise after I got settled into my campsite yesterday. A hiker I had met on day one, Lea, just happened to be finishing the same day and needed a place to camp, so I offered a spot on my campsite. We had a good time catching up on everything we had seen and done, since parting ways way back on day #3. I got a fun photo of her packing up her tent, shaking it out.

After Lea left, three other HRP hikers arrived and I got to hang out with them. Jan, Harry, Sandy were a fun bunch!

We hung out and socialized at the campground’s little cafe, which had surprisingly good food.

In the afternoon I went to the aquarium in town, it was pretty impressive for a small exhibit.

After the aquarium, I went back to the beach and had a longer swim. The Mediterranean Sea is a little saltier (higher density) so it’s actually easier to float. Afterwards I walked back to the campground and had dinner with my new group of friends.

Sunday August 20

I packed up and left the campground in the morning, and met up with a US hiker that I had met before. Dirtmonger and I had hiked the CDT in 2016, which is where we first met. The long distance hiking community is a small world, and it just happened that he was hiking the HRP about a week behind me. He is a speedy hiker and ended up finishing only two days after I did, and we split a hotel room in town to take advantage of the nice cold AC.

Of course we headed back to the beach and then we did some shopping in town before having dinner and then heading back to the hotel.

Monday August 21

I got up at 7:30 to get showered and packed up, so I could walk across town for a train that departed at 9am.

I rode the train all day, changing trains a couple of times before I finally arrived at my destination in Chamonix. Time for a mini-hike!

Friday August 18, 23.2km/14.4mi

Col de l’Ouillat (773.6km/935m) (France) to Banyuls-sur-Mer (796.8km/4m) (France)

I was awake at 6am and left the campground at 6:30. The trail immediately started uphill through a nice forest in the cool morning air.

After half an hour I emerged above the trees on a big grassy ridge. The sun was just starting to come up!

It was a pretty neat looking sunrise over the hillside…

…and over the Mediterranean Sea.

I stood on the summit of Pic Neulos, where there were views in all directions.

After I left the summit there was a little junction, and the sign said I’m getting very close to the finish!

Much of the morning was hiking on an open grassy ridge.

I passed by a little cabin, which was the last one of this trail, and I noticed the door had some odd graffiti on it. It’s in French, but when translated it’s a little… disturbing.

I passed through a small forest where there were cows roaming around, and it had another signposted junction.

The walk along the open ridgeline was a really nice way to end this trail.

In the distance I could see the town of Banyuls-sur-Mer, and the finish.

After hiking on the open ridge lines all morning, I started dropping down in elevation towards the sea.

The signs were saying I was getting really close!

After I had dropped down in elevation I had an even better view of Banyuls-sur-Mer, and all of the surrounding vineyards.

And pretty soon I hiked right by the vineyards and saw them up close.

I went up to the edge of the field, to see what kind of grapes they were.

It was hot and dry down at this low elevation, but there were vineyards everywhere!

There were also a ton of cacti too.

And finally after descending down, down, down… I was in Banyuls-sur-Mer.

I walked through the village, winding through residential streets and eventually a small commercial district.

I crossed the final street…

…. And I was at the beach!

A couple of obligatory finish photos.

Across the street at the hotel there is a sign for the finish of the GR10. I hiked the HRP, not the GR10, but it still has the same start and finish towns so I thought it was a good photo.

After getting all of my finish photos, I decided it was time to get some food. Unfortunately in France the restaurants seem to only be open during lunch and dinner hours. It was 2:30pm, so I went around the corner and got some ice cream instead.

Then I went to a convenience store to buy a new SIM card since my old one had expired, as well as some snacks and drinks to enjoy at the beach. I spent a couple hours at the beach and even swam a few quick laps in this swimming area. Eventually I walked to the campground which was a kilometer away, and got settled in for the evening. What a long day!

The HRP was a beautiful trail, and I highly recommend it, but it’s not an easy one either. There is a lot of elevation change, and you really earn every kilometer. But it’s a grand journey thru Spain, France, and Andorra!

Thursday August 17, 36.1km/22.4mi

Mouli Serradou Ruins (737.5km/830m) (France) to Col de l’Ouillat (773.6km/935m) (France)

I was awake pretty early to get started before the heat. I hiked uphill for an hour to the Col Cerda, where I have my first view of this morning’s high point, Roc de Frausa.

The path climbed steeply up the ridge, through brush and then into a nice forest.

After an hour of uphill I was at the top!

The views south into Spain were pretty neat, but the views north into France had this amazing undercast layer of clouds.

I descended thru a nice beech forest, which kept the temperatures nice and cool.

After awhile I emerged onto a small paved path, which continued all the way down into some farmland.

At this lower elevation it was a little warmer but still not hot, which was a nice surprise.

For about an hour I was on a wide 2-track through a dense forest, and I was just enjoying the morning in the shade.

Just before lunchtime I came into the small village of Las Illas. The first building I passed was the Hostal dels Trabucayres, a nice little refuge.

I walked a minute further to the village’s central park, which had free camping and even a shower for hikers!

It was a cold shower but after a few minutes of bravery, I was nice and clean. Afterwards I sat and ate my final lunch on the trail. The afternoon went by quickly since the hiking was mostly on old dirt roads.

There isn’t any mountainous terrain or even public land in this area, so the route sticks to old roads.

Sometimes those old roads are popular with migrating animals as well, haha. I followed these guys for at least five minutes before they decided to turn off into the forest.

I had been descending all afternoon, into a valley with another town. This one was actually pretty big, Le Perthus.

I passed by this neat old stone building and I have no idea what it is, but it just looked cool.

I got into Le Perthus at 4pm, and it was a shocking experience. There were people, cars, and noise everywhere and I couldn’t wait to leave.

But first I had to buy a couple of groceries for the last day on trail. When I was entering the grocery store, some employee kept saying something to me angrily in French… I asked if she spoke English or Spanish…nope. Eventually a customer came by and translated, she didn’t like my backpack. I wasn’t leaving it by the front door to have it stolen so I just left the store. I bought a cold gatorade and some snacks at a store nearby and then left town as quickly as I could. There was a neat border stone in the middle of town, I have been seeing these stones since the start of the hike, they mark the boundary between Spain and France.

I had a couple hours of uphill hiking to get to my planned camp spot at a refuge. Along the way some generous locals (trail angels) had left a table and cooler with cold drinks for hikers. Awesome!

Since it was later in the afternoon, even the uphill climb didn’t feel hot.

I came upon two other guys from France, and hiked with them for the rest of the day. The time flew by and before I knew it I was at Col de l’Ouillat. The two guys had dinner reservations and joined their friends at the refuge there, and I went over to the meadow to set up my tent and make dinner. Afterwards I went over to the refuge to charge my phone, and one of the employees offered me an ice cream! Amazing final night on this trail.

I finished my dessert and had a nice evening in the refuge chatting with some of the other people who could speak Spanish. I went back to my tent at 9pm, and fell asleep pretty quickly.