the twilight zone...

So we woke up this morning and managed to file everyone in and out of the shower. After checking out of the headed over to campus and were once again met with the gruff front desk personnel. After identifying ourselves to them, we had a long conversation regarding the differences between the medical school and the health sciences school. We also got some pretty useful tips about locations that would suit our needs. As we continued to do research, Paul and I decided that today would be an ideal day to find an In-n-Out and indulge in some double-double goodness.

As lunchtime rolled around, we found the nearest location on the internet. We were astonished that the nearest In-n-Out would be a mere four blocks away. We committed the location to memory and headed out in our search for fast food. Though we held our course steady, the In-n-Out could not be found. We became so befuddled that Buddy and I eventually had to pull over for gas. Conveniently, this gave us the opportunity to ask for directions. This proved invaluable as we had underestimated the distance and the In-n-Out was off the road just five blocks away from campus. With renewed resolve, we rushed toward the fast food mecca and were greated by the fragrant aroma of ground beef on a griddle.

Lunch was as expected - unhealthy nearing toxic, yet unexplicably delicious. We left the In-n-Out and headed toward REI, where we would be gathering some last minute items for our evening hike and camp. Having slept on Paul's Therm-a-Rest pad last night, I was convinced that this was something I needed to have. So, I looked around for one and found a pretty sweet deal on a similar REI model. With purchase in hand, Buddy and I headed off to our first house showing just a couple of blocks away.

We arrived at a mediocre looking house just outside the ASU campus. From the road, it looked cozy and livable and we were eager to see the interior. That soon changed as we walked into the front common area and saw what appeared to be the aftermath of an undergraduate orgy. There were cups and bottles strewn across the floor. Dirt had accumulated in the corners as well as in random splotches throughout. Things only got worse as we travelled through the kitchen and dining area - dirty dishes, leftover food, and empty pizza boxes riddled the countertops and table. As we headed outside, the scene continued by the pool. We were, however, amused to find that parts of the patio furniture had been submerged in the pool. Needless to say, we both knew that this house was not going to rank highly on our list.

We left that property with slightly sunken spirits and hopes that the other houses would be significantly better. We headed a couple blocks south where another house was being renovated and was open for walkthroughs. We arrived in a small cul-de-sac and were in the company of other people looking at the house. The floorplan was slightly bizarre. The house is a four-bedroom, three-bath with one bedroom and bath being enclosed in a studio apartment setup in the back corner. Otherwise, the house was bright and looked like significant improvements were being made on the property. This was a great relief as we realized that there was hope in finding livable space.

The last property we looked at today was just a few blocks from the last. We were told by the real estate agent that there were renovations being done and we would be able to walk around while the workers were present. We arrived at 3pm and much to our surprise, the door was locked and nobody was at the house. So, we took a look around the outside and peered through the windows to get some previews of the interior. It looked promising. In addition, we spoke to one of the neighbors about the neighborhood and area and felt very comfortable knowing that we would be in good company in this community. So, without any way to get into the house, we decided to contact the realtor to set up a time for her to give us a tour and call it a day.

We returned to the Mesa campus and started working on tomorrow's schedule. Paul and Kristi researched the best options for hiking and camping tonight and eventually met us at school. We chose to hike up the Peralta Trail through the Superstition Mountains about 40 miles southeast of Phoenix. It was getting dark but we were optomistic about hiking under the near full moon. The trail spans about 2.5 miles and an elevation of about 1700 feet. This was promising to be a very exciting experience.

So, we left campus and headed out to the trailhead. The dirt road that led to the trailhead was not very well lit and had several suprises in store for us. The most notable was a corral jailbreak that led to a standoff between our car and a huge steer. After the cattle retreated, we were able to continue our trip to the trailhead. A mere four dollars allowed us to park and camp for the night. We packed our gear and snacked on some sandwiches before heading off onto the moonlit trail.

The first leg of the trail was fairly easy. It was mostly a well-trodden gravel trail that cut through the cacti and desert brush. The moon was more than enough to illuminate the path. As we headed deeper into the trail, some more significant brush appeared and some taller ground cover made the path somewhat more obscure. At one point, we wound up slightly off-course, climbing rocks and traversing streams. However, we managed to find our way through thick bushes back onto the trail. The next leg was more arduous with the ascent up the mountain becoming more apparent. In addition, we started seeing signs of the snow that had dumped over the mountain last night. About halfway up the trail, I started to get get winded and could feel my lungs burning up. Surprisingly, it wasn't so much the muscular fatigue as the cardiovascular. I needed to take a break. There seemed to be programmed rest points on the trail, where the view was breathtaking. I would periodically sit down to take a couple pictures of the amazing rock face that was set in front of the clear, starry night sky.

Nearly two hours into the hike, I was absolutely confused. Is it possible that we overshot our goal? Surely it wouldn't take us this long to get to our destination. In addition, the trail was becoming more precarious as it narrowed on the mountainside and ice laminated most of the rocks. Upon reaching an overhang with a significant flat, I thought that this would probably be the end. However, after a significant break, we decided to continue a bit further with hopes that the summit would be close. Fortunately, we were close. Within about 500 yards, we reached the top of a small mesa.

The view was amazing. There was snow everywhere and we were able to walk around freely without fear of tiny crevasses. We found places to set up camp and were quickly enervated by our surroundings. It was surreal. The air was fairly dry and almost warm. However, as the night progressed, the temperature would quickly drop to near-freezing. We didn't really have anything except take in our surroundings. I took several surreal pictures on a thirty-second shutter speed. We were surprised when we heard voices approaching our location around 1am. As it turns out, two girls have gone missing from a hike this morning. With that frightening bit of information, we decided to turn in for the night. Paul went to work boiling water to place in our Nalgenes. We have stuffed these rudimentary heaters into our sleeping bags in hopes that they would provide a source of heat during the frigid night. A simple and amazing plan that will hopefully keep me from losing my fingers and toes as we sleep in the wintery Superstition Mountains.