First, I want to say how excited I am to be using my brand new journal! I am in absolute love with it! I contemplated buying it due to the price but I knew if I didn't get it I would regret it. My alarm went of at 05:20 and again at 05:30. It was pitch black out and I contemplated getting up so I laid in bed until around 06:00 upon which I got out to make some tea. It was cool outside but not too cold so once my tea was made I headed to the trail head; leaving my camper behind.
The drive this morning was beautiful and seeing the sun come up over the mountains was breathtaking. I stopped a couple times on the way to the trail head to snap some pictures. When I arrived I needed to use the restroom but the bathrooms there were so disgusting and were out of toilet paper. It's a good thing that I carry toilet paper with me where ever I go so I went back to my vehicle to grab some and then held my breath as I went back inside the bathroom. Normally, I would have just walked off into the woods; however, there were people around and I think they would not appreciate that.
Starting off on the trail was difficult right from the beginning for the trail maps and signs were the worst I have come across thus far. I began on the Marshall Gulch trail which wound thru the woods and crossed multiple streams: hoping I was in fact on the correct trail. In 1.2 miles I veered onto the Wilderness of Rock trail and verified that I was indeed on the correct trail. I followed that trail until I hit the Lemmon Rock L.O. trail that was 2 miles long and all uphill. Like I was on Camelback Mountain I was completely out of breath and very dizzy to where I thought I would faint. I was stopping every couple feet to sit down and place my head between my knees to stop the wave of dizziness. I wish I knew what was going on with me for it is really frustrating. I know I am out of shape but if the reason is that then why is it all of a sudden bothering me to do these uphill hikes? I climbed Guadalupe Peak and many other mountains that were at a greater elevation and never once had any spells of wanting to faint. All I know is that it is really upsetting me and making me feel like a weak person.
Eventually, I did make it to the top and the view was amazing for I was looking out across the mountains and over the Tucson valley. After that the trail signs became completely confusing and I was on little segments until I reached the observatory. At that point, I become lost for awhile hiking on the road and then in the woods trying to find the trail that I needed to take me back down the mountain. All the trail plaques listed trails with the exact same name which did not match the map the woman at the visitor center gave me and the arrows pointed off in a direction where there was no trail to be seen. At one point, I had my phone out in satellite mode trying to find the trail I needed and took off behind this gate that said no unauthorized personal. There I met an older man whom I asked if he knew if there were any trails where he had come from. He mentioned that he saw some trail plaques but was not too sure so I headed in that direction to see. Here in the absolute middle of nowhere was the trail plaque for the trail I needed!
Finally on the trail that I needed I headed down the mountain which was a nice change from all the uphill hiking I had been doing. The mountainside was covered in wildflowers growing over the burnt earth from a past fire. When I reached the bottom I decided to take the long way and continue on the Aspen trail back to the parking lot. All in all I had hiked 10.6 miles and my feet were on fire; I really need to acquire hiking boots that fit my feet properly. Before getting in my vehicle I spoke to a ranger about my hike and he mentioned how they were looking for volunteers to man the observatory at the top of the mountain and that he thought I would be perfect for that job. Though it did sound intriguing I have a trip to do.
Back at my camper, I spoke to Travis while I sat in my camp chair too exhausted to move. After our conversation, I made pasta and ate that then I started to update my blog for I had internet service where I was located. While updating my blog my mom called to see where I was and we talked for awhile and then we said our goodbyes. At this point, it was getting cold outside and dark so I climbed into my camper to finish up. To end the night I opened up Netflix and watched Emma until 23:00 for I had coffee earlier and could not go to sleep.
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