Reavis Ranch

I'm gonna be honest with you guys and tell you that I actually tried to come blog last week but do you want to hear what happened instead? So I grab my phone, my USB cord, and my glass of wine and I make my way into the computer room, all ready to blog and drink wine. I plug my cord into my computer to download my photos and I get an error message that says hey! You can't do this because your phone has a passcode and it's locked! Weird, I thought to myself as I typed in my passcode and continued to get the same error. So I Google it and Google tells me that oh it's something to do with your "trust" settings and you have to have your phone "trust" this computer and you need to do it through iTunes (my phone has trust issues apparently?). Ok, I say to myself as I open up iTunes to do as the Google tells me. When I do so, I get an error that says hey! You can't do this because this is an unrecognized device! Ugh, okaaayyyy so I Google this error message and it tells me that no biggie, you simply need to restore your phone! So I follow the directions only to get an error message that says hey! You can't do that! Your version of iTunes is out of date! WHAT THE FRICK, APPLE. So I Google iTunes to try and find the newest version, begin to download it only to get an error that says hey! You can't do that! Your operating system is too out of date! KILL ME, APPLE. So I Google the newest OS X operating system for my computer, find it in the app store, begin to type in my Apple ID and password only to get an error that says hey! You've tried to log into your account more than once! You need to reset your shit! So I start to reset my shit and Apple tells me oh yeah this can take a few days we'll send you an email when your shit is reset k byeee. And that's how it ends.

After about a week, an online chat with Apple Support and a few downloads later we're back in business (so far fingers crossed knock on wood) and I'm here to tell you about that time I backpacked 18 miles into Reavis Ranch. Now, this was two weekends ago now but please know, the journey is still fresh and the physical pain still radiates in my left knee and the scars are still visible in my purple toenails, for example. Yes, I said purple and yes I'm scared that perhaps they're gonna fall off. TMI probably, but I have to paint the whole picture for you guys.

So me, two of my BFFs Sarah and Charlene, and Charlene's husband Colin, made the trek on a Saturday into the Superstition Wilderness in search of Reavis Ranch!

Look at us all fresh faced, pre-blisters, knee pain, hip pain, shoulder pain, and so on and so forth.

We weren't 10 yards out of the parking lot yet when, as we began walking I hear Colin behind me, "Oh shit that's a snake. OH SHIT THAT'S A SNAKE!" I turn around and sure enough, a big 'ol snake chillin' on the side of the trail. ....oh cool, hi snake, please, lead us on to our journey to Reavis...or don't, and stay right there and please don't follow us k thx.

I wish there was a more creative way to tell you about the trip other than that we walked. For a long time.

We walked, and then we took breaks to eat snacks and run from wasps, and then we walked some more. As we were walking we encountered a man whom we named Amos because we don't know his real name (I think it actually might've been Bill based on the sign-out sheets at the trailhead on Sunday, but Amos is way more fitting) and he was probably in his 70's and had a long white beard and wore khakis and a button down shirt and told us all about how he's hiked over 2,000 miles up and in and around the Grand Canyon and basically everywhere else in Arizona. Sarah and Colin ran into him first and because Charlene and I (mostly I) were bringing up the rear we arrived just in time to hear the conversation about 2,000 miles as he's all cool and calm and collected and I walk up panting and sweating and wondering if we're even halfway there yet. As we said goodbye to Amos and continued our walking Colin's like, "Does anyone else feel like a bum piece of shit right now??" And we laughed and laughed.

We pulled over for a break about 2/3rds of the way there to double check the map and make sure we're headed in the right direction. As I was putting my pack back on, tired, knee pain setting in, and slightly hangry, it was at this moment I said, "All I know is I'm never believing Sarah again when she tells me the trail is 'basically flat the whole way.'"

"Basically flat the whole way," as we're 2/3rds of the way through hiking up and down a mountain. Up and down. Not flat. Up and down. And we laughed and I wanted to cry inside and that was the joke the rest of the weekend. Love you Sarah, but your describing skills need some work yo.

After about six hours of hiking we eventually made it to our camp spot, hallelujah. We pitched our tents, took off our boots, and started making dinner. I have to say, my chicken Fettuccini Alfredo freeze dried meal was BOMB.COM and literally the best thing you've ever tasted after hiking for a whole day. With a full belly and tired feet (and also a tired whole body) I couldn't help but call it a night.

I was exhausted and the thought of doing the whole thing over again the next day quite frankly gave me a little anxiety. This was my first time backpacking and that's definitely a realization that hits you - once you're to your destination, there's no other way out except for your chevro-legs! No one can come pick you up or drive the car around, you gotta hike out the same way you came in.

After a night of tossing and turning thinking about said journey, we woke up, packed up, Charlene and I walked down to the creek to filter and refill our water, and just like that we were off again!

On our way out we stopped at the apple orchard. Reavis Ranch actually has a rich history - it used to be a homestead, built by Elisha Reavis in the 1800's. The apples that grew in the orchard, he transported into different areas in the region and that's how he made his living. We were exhausted and running low on daylight on our way in Saturday, so we didn't have a chance to stop by, so I'm happy we were able to do so on our way out!

After we enjoyed the orchard, you guessed it - we kept walking. And we walked some more. We walked for nine more miles on Sunday. 

It was actually a real treat because it started to rain a little bit on our way out. I wondered, "Should we pull over and cover our packs?" Nah, we thought collectively, since the rain in Arizona never lasts more than five minutes. But this rain was a steady one and we eventually had to stop and put our rain flies over our packs, and put on our ponchos and rain jackets. It actually made it really nice because we had cloud cover, the temperature dropped, and the rain was actually like, a pleasant, consistent sprinkle. It was almost like it was our reward for working so hard on Saturday!

It probably took us (more like me, and everyone else had to wait for me) an extra hour or so to make it out of the Superstitions on Sunday because I was going so slow. My first time hiking that distance (18 miles round trip) and my first time carrying that weight (30 lbs.) on my back proved to be a challenge and boy did I hobble across the finish line. I realize people do this all time and 18 miles is probably nothing and 30 lbs is probably nothing but I'm a beginner so let me be dramatic this time mmk?! If anything, the pain and everything was worth it because I got like, 36,000 steps in one day alone and I totally spent the week at the top of my Fitbit leader board. So that makes it all worth it. 

But really, it was an awesome trip, a new experience, a tough challenge, and something I would definitely do again! ...Maybe not like, 18 miles again, but like I dunno 10ish perhaps? It's a cool feeling to have everything you need strapped to you and your only mode of transportation is your legs.

So, 18 miles down, only like 1,982 to go to catch up with Amos...