Day 40 Black Hills to Oracle

As soon as I crawled out of my tent, I realized today's weather would not be like it was two weeks ago. In three different directions, I saw where rain was falling or where it would probably fall soon. These were dark storm clouds.

What's worse, the darkest, nastiest-looking clouds were building in the direction I was about to go.

I didn't hike far before stopping to eat breakfast. I usually prefer to go an hour or more before taking a break, but seeing the clouds ahead convinced me I should stop now if I wanted to eat while I was still dry.

I shouldn't have focused my attention just on the weather ahead. When I happened to look back over my shoulder, I saw that the storm clouds behind me were much closer, and heavy rain was falling.

I didn't bother to quicken my pace. I could tell one of the three surrounding storms would be on top of me sooner rather than later.

Though the clouds were closer and darker, there was briefly enough sunshine to produce a rainbow. That didn't last long.

The rain didn't hit me quite as soon as I expected, but when it did at 10 a.m., it became a continuous downpour. The trail was soon flooded. There was no way to avoid walking through large puddles.

And really, there was no point in trying to keep my feet dry. Nothing else was.

The terrain had also changed by now. Instead of moderately rolling hills, there were several steep ups and downs. Each climb gained more than 150 feet and immediately descended back to the previous elevation.

The last four miles were a steady 350-foot climb to Tiger Mine Road. The trail turned there to follow the road for about two miles.

While I was walking on the road, a man driving a pickup truck stopped and asked me if I had seen a utility box nearby. I told him that it wasn't on the road, but was just down the trail near the trailhead.

Seeing the man lifted my hopes that I could catch a ride from him when I reached the highway. I was soaked and cold by now, and I didn't want to stand at the road for a long time trying to hitchhike. Unfortunately, the man didn't come back my way.

I didn't stand at the road for long. Though several cars passed me, I soon realized I wasn't likely to be picked up there. The downpour was bad enough, but I was also at a dangerous spot for someone to stop. The highway was lined by guardrails with no shoulder for a driver to pull over.

I was surprised, though, when even a Pinal County Sheriff's deputy didn't take pity on me and stop.

What I didn't know at first was the deputy who didn't stop still helped me. He was on a call, but he radioed the dispatcher. While I was attempting to find a better place to stick out my thumb, Deputy Brody Nolan arrived. I didn't see him at first, and he had to blast a quick yelp from his siren to catch my attention.

Deputy Nolan didn't mind when I pulled my drenched body and gear into his squad car. During the 15-minute ride into town, he told me he was hoping to thru-hike the Continental Divide Trail someday.

He kindly dropped me off at the Dollar General store. Except for a convenience store and a Family Dollar, this was the only place in Oracle for buying groceries.

When I dropped my pack outside the store, I took off my rain jacket and put on my puffy jacket. I was so soaked that I knew without it I would quickly begin to shiver while shopping.

Oracle isn't a large community, and its population has declined in the last few years down to just over 3,000 people.

It seems that all towns in Arizona either started as a military outpost or a mining community. Oracle was one of the latter. It was founded in the late 1870s by Albert Weldon, a gold and silver prospector from New Brunswick, Canada. Weldon gave the town the same name as a ship he sailed when he emigrated to California. He began prospecting in Arizona after serving in the Civil War.

The motel was about a mile from the pizza restaurant. No one was there when I arrived shortly after 4 p.m. I called a number posted on the office door and was given instructions for how to enter my room.

The room was much nicer than is typical for thru-hiker accommodations. But honestly, it could not have been better after the kind of day I had. I had plenty of room to hang my gear to dry. I was also allowed to wash my clothes in the laundry room where the staff washes linens.

The rest of the evening was spent relaxing and planning for the next section of the trail. There won't be many more resupply stops ahead. Just 225 miles remain before I reach the AZT's southern terminus.