Night 14 and Day 15 - Has it really been 15 days?

Night 14 was spent in Tonto National Forest. We camped behind a guard rail after we had left Globe about 10 miles out. Never in my life my did I imagine that I would be sleeping by the highway, on gravel, behind a guard rail. It's what we have to do, as we are out in no-where land in the forest. I knew that night, that the next day was going to be tough. And to add to it, we had been climbing, off and on, the last two days. But I do what I usually do, that is, "get my mind right" about it. Wrap my head around it, know it will be okay, and that I can do it. It's so challenging sometimes, that I'm not really sure how 1) to get it done, and then 2) afterwards, that I got it done.
We began Day 15 early, so we could give ourselves plenty of time. The Canyon is not kind to runners, walkers or bicycle 's. Don't get me wrong, the shoulders are plentiful, the road is smooth, and the cars/trucks are good to us. It's just that's it's a beating on the legs due to the severe grades (up and down). And to the feet! It wasn't til we were about 20 miles into the day that we are upon Salt River Canyon. It teases you at first, little down, nice, little more down.....then BAM! The signs that say, "Check your brakes!", emergency pullover ramp up ahead, and all the things that make you realize you really should be in a car. I checked my brakes. (Thank you, FreeRide Bike Co in Mesa, for adjusting them!). Looks like I'm ready to descend. Switchbacks, severe downhills that don't stop for miles. I mean 7-9 miles. Crazy! It's hard to run it, and it's hard to walk it. About 2 miles before the bottom of the Canyon, we came across the accident site that we had seen emergency vehicles going to at 5am. They were still working on it. A 18-wheeler had blow a tire, and ended up catching on fire. It burned down to nothing! And was still smouldering (is that a word?), when I ran by. The crew recognized me from the morning. The dispatch guy says, "One of them are here, I need a escort ". And so they assisted me around this horribly burnt truck. Then I continued on my way to the bottom. I secretly wanted a ride back up. But that was not to be.
I'll make it short, and just say, I pushed my #%*+$& cart out of the Canyon. I did. All the way back up to 5000 ft. We did it! I was happy, proud and ready to take it easy for a bit.
Overall, it was a great day. I saw the Canyon up close, every angle, every smell, and every step. It's something I will never forget, that's for sure!
What a great experience it was!

We will camp tonight....more to follow on that adventure.

Gonna get to Show Low eventually - yay!

Hygiene Report:
Zero showering going on around here. I've brushed my teeth here and there. I'm looking forward to cleaning up. A couple days of "bush camping" makes me appreciate showers more and more. Sad, but I get used to being icky. It's just part of the deal.

Cyndi