Day 11: The Adventure Begins

The ranchers from the prior night warned me of snakes on the Bill Williams Wilderness area where I am hiking through today. I started my day with sunrise so I could be sure to spot any of the slithering snakes. 

The river brought lots of life, which meant lots of bushes and trees. There is no trail or dirt through this section so I had to carve my own path. No more was the easy walking of dirt roads. Into the wild I go!
The brush is was thick and impassable. So, my first attempt was climbing the rocks on the side of the cliff faces carved from the water, but the going was slow. The final straw was when I slipped on loose rock and caught myself with a cactus on the ground. I pulled out three large thorns including the one below that was completely embedded in my hand; I was lucky it didn’t go all the way through. 

My next plan of attack was to try to bushwhack through the brush. This was futile. I consistently dead ended or was fighting through thorns.

The best way through I decided was to face my fears and go the path of the river. I started wading directly in the river (more like a creek) and the miles went slightly quicker... but always on my mind was the warning to “watch for snakes”. 

Along the three miles wading through the river, I fought through marsh-like conditions, thick tree areas, and scared at least 10 huge (at least a foot long) fish. I think I even woke one fish from its slumber (it was just floating backwards down the river.. do fish sleep?). 

But finally, I made it through the section to arrive at a backcountry dirt road that would take me I-95 and then into Parker. 

10 road miles later, I arrived at my campsite at the La Paz County campground. A friendly lady, her son, and their friend invited to me to a home-cooked dinner. They cooked some tasty salmon and tuna and I wolfed it down. It was the first real conversation I’ve had since Jenn left me 9 days ago and I am incredibly grateful for it. People like that are truly amazing.

I also went to eat a dock side bar later the night to get more calories. I weighed myself today and I’ve already lost 5 lbs. I’ll need to eat more food! 

Miles: 20.5