I am embarking on my third  attempt at hiking the Superstition Mountains on the Arizona Trail… In 2024, I was rained/snowed/blown off the mountains in a terrifying hypothermic SAR situation, prematurely ending my planned thru hike that season (and leaving the northern half for another time).  In 2025, I returned to the trail to finish what I couldn’t in 2024. This time, I had a Garmin InReach, a rain jacket, and wasn’t juggling two jobs and an impossible timeline. I intention

D-SCAR, night 1 (miles 41–74) 7:30 pm, mile 41.4:   I left Newfound Gap (the single SCAR halfway point) and headed into my first night on trail. Being on trail at night poses so many different challenges than daytime. Not only do I need to be sharper mentally, but I also physically need to have more endurance. The temperature dip at night combined with the wet trail made it impossible conditions to take any kind of break whatsoever. No sitting, definitely no dirt naps, and no