5/21 - Hiking in 100 Degree Heat, Don't Forget the Pool Party!

After my stop at Salton City, I begrudgingly had to continue on to make it to Phoenix by any decent time. As soon as I left Salton sea, my radio starting humming as the RPM's of my car inceased (indicating a bad ground or loose cabling). It got sooooo annoying, soon my audiobook was almost impossible to listen too, so I tried my best to mess with my 4-channel Alpine amp's wiring while remaining on the road. The issue came and went and eventually I just accepted it and switched to music.

I saw my first amazing Arizona sunset on the trip, it had almost every color of the rainbow due to the dust in the horizon. Seeing colors like green in the sunset was something I had never seen before (it was faint enough that it didn't show in the pictures). I continued to drive and noticed the exits were getting further and further apart. Being the desert, there are long stretches without civilization (or gas stations) so I quickly became aware that my fuel gauge was getting low. I've been really good with gas on this trip (partially my mother's words of warning in my mind) and have been filling up when I get to half a tank. I hadn't noticed it getting low due to the frustration of my stereo, but once I saw the needle next to "E" I decided I would stop at the next gas station.

A few miles went by, then the damn humming started again! I began hitting my dash this time, desperately trying to get rid of the sound that was beginning to aggravate me and spoil my mood (along with being behind schedule and now hoping to be in Phoenix by 1am. I forgot to consider the timezone shift). It was then I noticed I was passing an exit and subsequently a gas station right off the highway. As the gas station shrank in my rearview mirror, my low fuel light came on, so I had maybe 60 miles before I ran out. I quickly pulled up my GasBuddy app to check if there was another gas station ahead or if I should try and turn around. According the app there was one 15 miles up the road though not as close to the highway. I decided I would aim for that station.

I pulled off at that next exit and headed towards the GPS coordinates another 7 miles down a quickly darkening road. I thought about why It would be so far from the highway and looked again at the name...it said "Kennedy Raceway"...wait is this place actually a gas station??? The answer came when I called the number (at 11pm) and they answered! I was heading to a racetrack, and technically yes they have fuel, its just race car fuel, and its $6 a gallon for the cheapest stuff. At this point I didn't have a choice, I went down the long road leading to the gate, signed the waiver, drove out to the track, and cringed as I carefully only pumped enough fuel to get to the place that sold fuel for non-race cars. Lesson learned, pay attention to the fuel gauge!

After saying goodbye to the friendly Kennedy raceway staff, I was off to Phoenix. I made it to my friend Troy's place around 1am (After hitting my trip's 4000 mile marker, woohoo!). We caught up a little and watched some tv before passing out around 2:30am. I awoke the next morning with a couple kiddos, Mya (7 yrs old) and Anna (4 yrs old) bashfully watching me then running away. Eventually they greeted me with some adorable miles and a giant Moana action figure! 

Troy had picked a few hikes in the area to choose from. After discussing it, Myself, Troy, and his wife Katrina all headed out to Echo Canyon to do a simple 1.2 mile trek up the canyon and then back down. Easy right? If you said yes than you have thighs of steel and a impressive heat tolerance. For our little group the answer was HELL NO! But it was fun. 

Phoenix was nice enough to give us a 99 degree day as the trail climbed 1400ft of elevation in the sun over that 1.2 miles. Needless to say it took about an hour and a half to climb up (hiking really only happened the first 1/2 mile, the rest was climbing). When we got to the top we realized we had used up about 75% of our water (close to a gallon), we briefly worried about the potential for dehydration but thankfully the trip down only took 45 minutes. 

While climbing up, I noticed someone had placed a Snapchat profile stick on one of the marker posts. I opened my app, found the user, and we sent a snap hoping they enjoyed the hike as much as we were! I got a snap back almost immediately saying that he had just finished the hike a few hours ago and was at a pool party....and that we were all invited!!

We encountered some wildlife along the way. A number of lizards were warming themselves on rocks throughout the hike. As we descending a couple were within 20 ft of each other and possibly in a mating ritual. They kept swooping their heads up and down and it looked like they were doing pushups, like reps of 10-15 at a time, trying to impress each other. It was rather entertaining. Unlike other hikes i've completed that were labeled intense, this one truly lived up to its name. By the end we were all noticing the hike in our muscles, along with some minor dehydration, we felt depleted yet accomplished. When we got to the bottom, we slurped up lots of warm water from the trunk of the car. mmmmm....

We decided to take Sky (the snap chat pool party inviter) up on his offer as it was only 15 minutes away. We arrived to a group of 30+ people having a great time with a pool, shaded seating, and a keg. I found Sky and met him in person along with a handful of other really chill people. The party turned out to be a group of rappers, producers, and some models! 

As soon as I walked in with a camera I was approached and asked if I could take a couple shots of some new T-Shirts a guy named Sam had brought to showcase. 
I met more people who earn an income by traveling with instagram and other social media, and got to exchange stories with other travels and locals. It was a ton of fun and a great detour after a long day.
We ended up staying just over an hour, making some new acquaintances. We went back home, relaxed and rehydrated (I was exhausted), watched the new Resident Evil (which I thought was much better compared to the last couple), and called it an early night with everything we had accomplished! Especially since the next morning I would be heading to the Grand Canyon =).

Perception:
The hike was intense. Though I had been resting (relatively speaking) the last few days, compared to my time in national parks a week prior, that hike was incredibly draining. I can now say that my last few experiences in dry desert climates have led me to the conclusion that my sinuses may not be able to handle the desert for extended periods of time. It's a bummer, since I love the southwest, the terrain, and the dry heart (compared to muggy Minnesota) but my sinuses were in revolt. Bleeding, scabbing, itching, and I think I may have gotten a little sick due to the dryness.
Also, Phoenix drivers suck. I spent less than 48 hours in the area and had 90% of the bad driver experiences of this trip. Every time I looked to see who was driving in such a manner it would be a senior. I think more later in life driver testing may be needed, because there were a few close calls that could have been really bad if I wasn't driving defensively!

Introspection:
I feel like the universe has been laying a path in front of me this whole trip. The synchronicity of the whole situation is almost too coincidental, yet its continued happening when I let go of trying to control my experience and instead enjoy the moments and let them happen. My visit to Phoenix along with other parts of this trip I've shared have all shared a theme...adventures happen everywhere and in every moment. You only have to be able to notice them. And when life holds the reigns, its amazing how things can line up just right to make some wonderful memories and experiences.
I don't typically discuss my faith, but these experiences have really shown me that the universe guides us when we don't fight it. I see the universe, nature, and God as being synchronized. When we surrender our worrying to faith, I think it acts as a much better guide. We can only plan for our future, not "control" it. I've almost felt the sensation of being "watched over" as I've traveled all these miles so far. As I continue to venture out on my own, I haven't felt alone for one moment...Lead with love, and life will take you where you need to go...

​...speaking of which, next up is probably one of the most impacting and interesting parts of my journey. Keep an eye out for it ;)