Day 4, Stealth Site at Mile 41.7 to Grand Canyon East Rim

When I awoke this morning at 5 a.m., I didn't notice any nausea. To test how I felt, I tried to eat the rest of the dinner I couldn't finish last night. It wasn't enjoyable, but I still managed to eat it all.

I wasn't sure if this proved I was no longer sick, but it reminded me of what I've always known: I prefer hot food. Some thru-hikers don't carry a stove to save weight; they only cold-soak their food. I briefly thought about doing that for this hike, and now I was glad I didn't.

The sunrise was still minutes away when I left my campsite at 6:15 a.m. I was cautiously optimistic that I could get through the day feeling much better than yesterday.

The trail followed an old fire road through a stand of aspens. The golden rays of the early morning sun made the yellow leaves of the trees look like they were in flames.

I stopped suddenly when I heard a bird's song coming from the trees. It sounded familiar yet slightly different, so I opened the Merlin Bird ID app on my phone. It told me the bird was a Mexican Whip-poor-will, a cousin of whip-poor-wills I've often heard in the east.

After walking about three miles, I arrived at a small parking area near Arizona Highway 67. This was the Telephone Hill trailhead, where I had hoped to reach yesterday. The trail from my campsite to here was easy enough that I probably could have done it. I just didn't feel up to it yesterday and wasn't sorry I stopped when I did.

I didn't expect to find any water here, but there were serveral full jugs marked for public use. I topped off my water bottle. Then I added a comment in FarOut to let other hikers know, "Cache has been restocked. There's a little more than five gallons of public water here now. Thanks, trail angels!"

More evidence of the Mangum Fire was found near the trailhead. Highway 67 was closed for two weeks because of the severity of the fire.

After leaving the trailhead, I followed the trail around Telephone Hill. There didn't seem to be a telephone line near here now, but a map from 1938 shows a line running east to west across this hill.

The line was part of the National Forest Service's single-wire telephone service for fire detection and ranger communication. The Civilian Conservation Corps did much of the work of erecting poles and stringing hundreds of miles of wire for the service.

The trail didn't go over the top of the hill. Otherwise, I might have been able to see a lookout tree. During the first half of the 20th century, several tall, straight trees like one at the top of Telephone Hill were used instead of constructing lookout towers to spot fires.

At strategic locations in Arizona and other western states, a ladder or a series of spikes was mounted to a tree. This enabled Forest Service rangers to climb and watch for wildfires. To make the tree safer and more comfortable, the top 10 feet were often chopped off. A platform was attached there to give the fire lookout a place to sit.

I stopped on the slope of Telephone Hill in a forest of ponderosa pines to eat a snack bar. I didn't gag. This was another sign that I was starting to feel better.

The highway came into view again soon after I walked past Telephone Hill. I was now high above the road.

I struggled to make the climb there, even though it wasn't difficult. This may have been because I was still affected by the altitude, or it could have been simply due to not having my trail legs. When I passed two northbound hikers, one of them asked me how I was doing. I told him I was doing okay, but I'm not sure I convinced him or me.

A trail runner and a southbound bikepacker passed me as I headed down to a flat meadow. I stopped near the bottom to test my luck with another snack bar. Again, I had no stomach problems.

Looking at the map, I checked my progress to see if I could reach my goal of the South Rim in three more days. I planned to take two days to cross the canyon, so I would need to get to the North Rim tomorrow.

Right now, I was 30 miles away from the North Rim, a distance that seemed both too far and not impossible. How I felt this afternoon would determine if I could get there on time.

I found a lot of wildlife at a large pond, where I stopped to get water. There were several birds, including red-breasted nuthatch and robins. Unfortunately, I also found a dead bird floating in the pond when I approached it to collect water.

I decided to look for another spot, but the only other place to reach the water was muddy. The first scoop I collected was full of bugs, plants, and muck, so I strained the water through my bandana. Pre-filtering this way cleared it enough to avoid clogging my filter.

A mule deer walked tentatively down to the pond while I was collecting water. I tried to stay out of sight in the tall grass to not scare it off. After it left, I finished collecting and filtering two liters.

I stayed at the lake to eat an early lunch. For the first time in a couple of days, I had an appetite. It was another positive sign that I was acclimating to the elevation.

I looked at the map again and calculated how far I might get today. It seemed like I could walk at least eight more miles before dark. That would put me a little short of where I wanted to be. Maybe I could go farther if the nausea stayed away.

As I was about to leave the pond, I noticed there were many more clouds than this morning. The sky wasn't totally overcast, but they weren't thick and dark. I wasn't worried about rain.

The trail went through some ups and downs, with longer ups than downs. Again, I had to stop and catch my breath on some ups.

I was now walking through an area known as the North Rim Ranches. The Grand Canyon Trust purchased 830,000 acres of ranch land that had been overgrazed for more than a century. Today, only 1,200 acres are used for livestock.

About a half-mile from the pond was a small tank. It was called Little Pleasant Valley Tank, but the water there was anything but pleasant. I was glad I didn't need to collect and drink any of it.

Pleasant Valley was a large area. The trail didn't cross the largest open space there, but there were smaller meadows to cross. Each one was wide and filled with grass.

Forests of pines and aspens divided the meadows. I enjoyed walking through all of these areas and to have a variety.

When I crossed the largest of the meadows, I noticed a white canopy was standing at the far end. My mind immediately leaped to an intriguing thought. Could it be trail magic?

When I arrived at the canopy, I met a hiker who was relaxing in the shade. Robert told me running and bicycling races had passed this way earlier in the day. This spot was an aid station for participants. There were some leftover snacks and drinks, and we were free to take what we wanted.

It wasn't trail magic, exactly, but close enough. I filled one water bottle with Gatorade and another with water, and I ate an orange.

Robert said he wasn't in a hurry to leave and would probably camp there. If I felt as bad as I did yesterday, I would have stayed too, but with two hours of daylight left, I felt no need to stop now.

As soon as I left, the trail made a steep climb and passed through a forest. Beyond it was another wide meadow. Although I went slowly on the climb and needed to catch my breath once or twice, I was able to make up some lost time on the long stretch of flat trail.

Thanks to the extra water and Gatorade I got at the race stop, I was able to pass the next two water sources. One was a wildlife drinker, but it was off the trail. The second one was a livestock tank filled with murky water.

When I arrived at the tank at 5 p.m., I checked my progress again. I wouldn't be able to reach my stretch goal, but it looked like I could hit my secondary goal, the East Rim of the Grand Canyon. Seeing this made me feel more encourged about getting to the North Rim tomorrow.

Just before the East Rim, I was surprised to find two RVs parked on a Forest Service road. The two couples camping there told me they were from the Phoenix area. They asked several questions about my hike.

I didn't have far to go from there before reaching a viewpoint on the East Rim.

Despite its name, the East Rim doesn't look like the canyon's high-standing north and south rims. Many high cliffs and mesas are spread across the area, with gorges that step down to the confluence of the Little Colorado and Colorado rivers.

Ever-so-faintly through the late-afternoon haze, I could see Navajo Mountain sitting on the far horizon. This is the same massive mountain I saw on Day 1. It was now 80 miles away.

I discovered there was cell service if I stood close to the rim, so I took a photo and sent it to Kim to let her know I was still alive.

A mile or so farther, the terrain looked favorable for finding a campsite. There were several options, and I settled on one just as the sun was about to set. The spot was near a ledge overlooking a narrow side canyon of the East Rim. I set up my bed for cowboy camping on a cushion of pine needles.

Today was hard for me, which wasn't a surprise. Even if I had been feeling well, I was nowhere close to getting my trail legs. The climbs were harder because of thinner air than I was used to breathing. Thankfully, there were several long, easy stretches, which always seemed to come when I needed them.

Best of all, the nausea I experienced yesterday was now gone. I had a good appetite tonight and had no difficulty eating all of my dinner.

I will have to walk 18 miles tomorrow to reach the North Rim. That is farther than I had hoped, but it seems doable. I was in bed by 7:30 tonight and set my alarm for 4:30 a.m. I wanted to give myself a little extra time in the morning.

The night air didn't turn nearly as cool as the other nights I camped outside. A warm wind blew from the canyon floor up the slope of the rim. This effect is called a thermal anabatic wind.

Before long, the wind was blowing strongly. I only felt a steady, gentle breeze at ground level, but I knew the wind was gusty because the upper branches of the trees around me swayed and shook. The howling wind was so noisy, I had pull a hood over my head to muffle the sound so I could fall asleep.