Skip to main content

Long Winter Journey To The West - Part 5

This is part 5 of this trip. For other parts use these links:

Part 1: http://www.barefootwalk.net/2023/06/long-winter-journey-to-west-part-1-al.html

Part 2: http://www.barefootwalk.net/2023/06/long-winter-journey-to-west-part-2.html

Part 3: http://www.barefootwalk.net/2023/06/long-winter-journey-to-west-part-3.html

Part 4: http://www.barefootwalk.net/2023/06/long-winter-journey-to-west-part-4.html

Part 6: http://www.barefootwalk.net/2023/06/long-winter-journey-to-west-part-6.html 

----------------------------------

December 2022

Moving north in Arizona the weather was getting cooler again but still very nice and pleasant. On my way, I stopped at a thrift store in Phoenix and purchased the only radio they had. I suppose I had too much silence over last few weeks and this crappy radio was the solution. It kind of worked, the main problem was on/off function and the volume, basically they will work unpredictable but tuning was solid nice. Made in August 1992! It's antique I suppose.


Four Peak mountains and Superstition wilderness are popular here. This particular campsite was mostly for ATV and shooting practice but this cold weather was a good reason many people stayed home. We didn't see many people apart from a few occasional visitors driving slowly on the dirt road.


The next morning was a strange day. First thin in the morning I receive a call informing me that I have been chosen to visit and have on-campus job interview and this was super-exciting! He told me someone will call me to schedule my visit. I headed on the road after this delightful news. I was driving towards Phoenix that I noticed White Dwarf doesn't have enough power and in one of those hills it stalled. It would crank but nothing else. There was no network coverage. The new SOS option in iPhone did the magic (iPhone 13 doesn't have a satellite emergency call but it offered boosted call). Well long story short I was able to call 911 and they managed to send a tow truck and I spend the next two days in Phoenix waiting for the fuel pump replacement. I had a chance to rent 4Runner though, and spent a night in suv, without any accommodation of-course, just to save a little more and afford this super-expensive break down.


Soon after repair we were on a road again and we continued north.

Flagstaff is always a surprise. I don't expect to see a higher elevation and cooler weather in Arizona but there is always descent amount of snow and cold weather.


The next campsite was my magic place. I love this campsite so much that it easily ranks top 3 in my list.









The next destination was Navajo Monument, that is at a higher elevation, therefore I expected colder weather.






And my usual grumpiness when I see tourists! 





Comments

Popular posts from this blog

DIY ultralight pyramid tent for 2+ or 1+dog or 1+ bike

 This is my new DIY project. I have been making tents for last 5 years and I've tried different types. When I started backpacking I purchased a double wall, fully enclosed tent  (so called ultralight tent; market crap).  Most people don't really need these tents and they are not ultralight at all. I switched to a tarp when I started thru-hiking and I fell in love with it's simplicity. Tarp is fantastic. I tried copying zpacks solo tents then. It is a great design.   This time I was looking for a larger tent that can fit my dog as well and it's not as miserable looking as a tarp (people think you are broken!). I always resisted the idea of using a pyramid tent but after a lot of thoughts I settled down with a pyramid tent and I must confess this design offers fantastic features. Here how I did it.   Materials: I ordered all materials from:  https://ripstopbytheroll.com/   but I have used https://www.questoutfitters.com/ in the past and I enjoyed doing ...

New Wood Stove

Finally pulled the trigger and got the wood stove. Although it is not as small and as cheap as many other options, and there are many hassles, I like the aesthetic of it and it also gives me an option of using my MSR stove safely. I have been heating my winter journeys with MSR and cracked window and CO detector, but this sounds safer and more flexible. I spent a day next to pond and build the basic frame and tested the heater. The first impression was good! This is not mounted, it is just a test

Looking for winter in Utah, we found it in Texas

In previous years trips, I have always been stopped by a cold weather at one point, so I had to turn around at some point and head south. Although I have full clothes and sleeping system for very cold temperatures, but the main problem is that my comfort zone is very small and I can't move around a lot. This time I was focused on ideas to improve the cold weather comfort and test how far I can go. As a side note, I have learned that holidays are not good times to travel to places with good weather, nevertheless Christmas is one of those times that I will be miserable staying home. I always have very nice neighbors and friends and their attempt to make sure I am not feeling lonely makes me feel pathetic. So it is the best time to leave the town and go somewhere. If they ask why, I would say I am missing the snow. And if they say, well, you can just drive a shorter distance to the north and see the snow, I would say I miss the desert. And it is true, I miss snow and desert. The magic...