Gail texts: "Maybe the better word to describe these arid lands is not 'uninviting' but 'not overindulgent.' The first 90 miles were mostly cross-country with assistance of signs and GPS and maps. Unlike PCT and AT you must stay aware of terrain and your location and water sources. But everyday has good surprises. One good thing about walking is that you see the little things. I am having a good time. Made better by fact that Sharon continues to leave water at road crossings."
Gail has always totally despised the use of public land for grazing cattle. She is walking through cattle land with a lot of overgrazing damage, so she must be really stewing.
Gail already has me on identification duty. She knows the mule deer, pronghorns, jackrabbits and coyote from when we lived in AZ, but asked me to identify "small gray and white bird with bright yellow throat patch." I Intertubed it and have decided it is a female and/or immature olive warbler. http://birdquote.com/quote/bad-bird-bad-egg/
Gail said that she has learned from Wise Bill that "creosote bushes are the oldest living things on the planet. Older than bristle cone pines. Some of the wellwater was deposited in underground aquifers in the ice age. I am walking with the very old. Desert sand also old."
Gail started walking again on Sunday. But due to wildfires, she will have to reroute in a few days. Fires are currently burning in the Gila National Forest. She may not get one of her packages due to evacuations of towns. She might even end up coming back to Seattle for a week or two before resuming on schedule north of the fires. The weather is windy, dry and warm, which doesn't help. Cross your fingers! I'll post an update when I get news.
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