Passage 35 crossed through Babbitt Ranch land, a landscape that much resembles the Chain of Craters in New Mexico — dry juniper forests, blackened volcanic rock earth, cratered hills that guide the way. Mt. Humphreys and the San Francisco Peaks dominated the skyline, growing closer until eventually out of view when I entered the foothills. The AZT probably uses Babbitt Ranch land on an easement, so I’m not sure how much they appreciate people off trail, but I did quite a bit today.
| 🗓️ Date | October 24th |
| ⇢ Mileage | 29.0 |
| 📍 Trip Mileage | 173.0 |
| ⛅️ Weather | Sunny 60°F with sparse clouds by afternoon; a distant thunderstorm in the late evening into the night |
| 🏞️ Trail Conditions | Cross country, dirt roads, single track |
I followed the old AZT route in many places today. The trail seemed to intentionally meander, providing spur trail access to dry tanks and dry Babbitt “Lake”. Instead, I routed on cross-country terrain and adjacent dirt roads to more sustained water sources. Water sources, especially the game sources built by Arizona Fish & Wildlife, are commonly a bit off trail, adding a mile or two to daily mileage in side trips.
At one point, I had an estimated 17 mile stretch to my next good water and only half a liter. I could pull it off, but I diverted to an off trail cow pond to be safe. It was just about down to mud. I continued cutting cross country to save some distance, but found myself approaching the backyard of a ranch house. I cut up a hill along the fence line and down to a public use road.
After my last spring water source, I made a few more miles. A thunderstorm crackled about two or three miles east of me, and the skies spit a bit of rain in my last miles and as I pitched camp.
Looking back at today’s photos, the scenery was much more striking thing than expected. That’s the way of the desert — sometimes it’s fascination is minute, underlying, or delayed in appreciation. I slept hard tonight after a good 29 mile day.
Signing off,
Zeppelin
“Freak on a Leash”
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