In the morning we made a quick trip to the market before heading out. It was a tough day… we dropped over a thousand feet in elevation over four miles to the first water source, before climbing a thousand feet back up. Then we descended along a rough jeep road and down into the valley near Oracle. We carried water for most of the day because of the lack of sources along the way, and thunderstorms were breaking off in the distance on both sides of us.

Luckily the day ended with a bit of trail magic. The historic High Jinks Ranch was bought a few years ago by a friend of the trail whole occasionally leaves the basement of the house open to hikers, and when we arrived the place was unlocked. The ranch was built by Buffalo Bill’s right-hand man, and is now a national historic site. The new owner has outfitted the basement with a full bathroom, kitchen, and cots. We even watched Cowboys and Aliens before hitting the hay. All free of charge! It even rained all night to boot.