RAAZ Day 6 - Flagstaff to Rim Country Camping

69.0 miles, 3878’ climbing

Campsite in the pines

We had breakfast in our hotel room and rolled out at 6am. It was chilly as we rolled down the pavement for a few miles before turning off onto a maintained gravel road with washboard. Eventually we turned off onto a smaller road. The day was characterized by a series of roads through the pines, oaks, and aspens on roads that had washboard or a thick layer of gravel. The scenery was beautiful with some large meadows and wildflowers including irises.  

After a welcome descent on good pavement, we topped up our water bottles at the Happy Jack ranger station, then headed back into the woods. The afternoon felt hot.

Eventually it was getting late. We spent some time looking for an expected water source that didn’t materialize. Finally we dry camped in a pullout, surrounded by pines. We had a full sky of stars and not a single other light visible at night.