The original plan for me today was to lead a hike up Mount Wrightson, making it a difficult 14-miler loop. First I was late as I overslept, and then Rod gave us bogus information about Box Canyon Road off SR83 being closed. I hadn't heard that but I believed him, and so we drove 20+ miles out of our way. We didn't get to the trailhead until 9:15am and started the hike at 9:26am.
I made the mistake of starting it with the Old Baldy trail, a steep but shorter trail than the more stable Super Trail. It wore me out! I was slow from the start, stopping to take photos but then getting behind so far that I gave up. I stopped a lot for a few minutes at a time. All the drainages were dry, which I wasn't expecting. I made it to Josephine Saddle in 1:13minutes for a trail that's 2.5 miles long! Why was I so slow? Lack of sleep? Dehydration? Out of shape? Most likely a combination of all three, but with thunder overhead I was in no mood to continue on with the fear of getting caught in a storm.
Rod and John agreed, so the group of six broke off into two, with Don, Barry and Joe continuing up to the summit, which they peaked at 1:15pm.
A lot of hikers from the Southern Arizona Hiking Club were coming up the Super Trail to rest at this saddle as we got ready to leave. No one else dared to go further. Mount Wrightson was shrouded in fog. Rod, John and I continued on the Super Trail downhill, a much more pleasant surprise as there was also water here for Sadie.
More later
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