Day 12: Tooth of Time Ridge [7.7 miles]

Darkness still gripped the meadow when we awoke at 4:45am to hike up Shaefer's Peak and the Tooth of Time. Although we knew we wouldn't see sunrise on the Tooth, we hoped to see the sun as it rose in the sky over Shaefer's Peak. We packed quickly and had a cold breakfast, our last on the trail. We had been told to wait until we could see our feet in front of us before hiking, so we got started shortly after 5am. Unfortunately, in the darkness of the camp, we left behind one of our bear bag lines.

Everyone still felt a bit groggy, so there wasn't much singing as we quietly climbed up the switchbacks to Shaefer's Peak. When we reach the start of the summit climb, we grabbed some snacks out and dropped our packs. Without weight on our backs, the trek up to the summit was easy, and we arrived in time to see an orange ball of fire glowing in our faces. The view over the southern side of the ranch was spectacular, and Alex and I paused to take in together how far we'd come over the past 10 days.

Back on the trail, our spirits rose with the sun, and it almost felt like we were running to the Tooth of Time. The ground grew rough and rocky, with unstable boulders rocking beneath our feet. By the time we reached the Tooth, nothing but granite could be seen all around. Putting down our packs, we looked up and saw huge slabs of rock stretching upwards. No trail could be seen, just a scramble over haphazardly leaning boulders. Despite our eagerness to reach the view at the top, we had to follow a line of other troops picking their way over the stones. When we reached the peak, we gathered around to enjoy our lunch and the 360-degree view of our entire journey. Looking back towards Mt. Baldy, our first tough climb of the trek, we were amazed to see it was a barely-visible bump on the horizon.

The trail descending the Tooth of Time Ridge gave us views of the Base Camp which were tantalizingly close, yet the hike seemed endless. As we left the higher elevations we could feel the hot desert climate once again asserting itself. The trees fell away, replaced by yucca and cactus. It was with weary legs and quite a bit of relief that we came upon the "Welcome Back" gate at the edge of camp. We had completed more than 80 miles on the trail, and we were ready to enjoy the benefits of civilization once more: showers, clean clothes, and hot food.

After returning our gear and cleaning up, we rushed to catch the bus to Cimarron for an afternoon of restaurant food and souvenir shopping. It felt great to stroll around with no load on our backs and to sit down to a hot cooked meal in a proper chair.