Escape from Tucson: Day 3 – Friday (late afternoon)

I was able to actually sleep for several hours, then I just laid around under my woodland digital camo pattern poncho. If I pay attention to how I string the poncho up it actually blends in really well with this area. I lay some brush along the sides to give the camo some depth and it really works well. Since I am down low in a canyon I thought about being seen from above so I laid some lightweight grasses and brush twigs on top hoping to stay unseen from anyone who might be above me looking down.

After I woke up I sat here and looked over my list again and added Paracord to it. Actually, I doubt I would find 550 Paracord but any string or light rope will work. For now, a gun and food are at the forefront of my mind. I also thought about really planning each night’s travels in as much detail as possible. It will keep my mind active during the day but it will also force me to pay attention to what I am getting myself into each night. “Fail to plan, plan to fail.”

Tonight I am going to break my journey into parts:

1. 9 – 10 miles. That brings me just west of Benson Municipal Airport. I can’t imagine that there is much of an operation there but I don’t want to take any chances. I will carefully check it out before I get too close.
2. 5 miles. That brings me to a spot where the tracks pass under I-10. Fortunately it is between two wide-spaced exits. There doesn’t appear to be any development in the area as well. I will be cautious.
3. 1/2 mile. That brings me to the edge of Benson, AZ proper. That is where the little town should have homes, people, barking dogs, etc. I will have to hold up there. I want to go through town no earlier than 2:30 am. I am hoping people, everyone, will be dead asleep at that time of night.
4. About one mile. The tracks go straight through the middle of town for about a mile. I want to get through town quickly but not be moving so fast that I draw attention to myself.
5. 5 miles. That gets decent distance between me and town by morning. The tracks turn north to follow the interstate. But, I don’t want to be anywhere near the interstate if I don’t have to be. I will cut cross country directly east and pick the tracks up again. They are heading south at that point winding its way through the low desert hills. I am not crazy about cutting across country but I doubt I will get lost…it is due east to hit the tracks again. I really doubt I can miss train tracks even in the middle of the night.

That is a total of about twenty-one miles in one night. That is a pretty decent little hike. I doubt I realistically could go further, I don’t want to push it. I will already have been keyed up getting through town, I don’t want to burn out by pushing myself too hard. It looks as if there is a gap in the steep hills that the tracks run through. I might use that to hold up in for the day. Should be some shadow to help keep the sun off me during the day as I rest. There sure aren’t any trees anywhere to be found, I mean none!

Something I hadn’t thought about before were trains. Yeah, I know…stupid. Here I am walking along one of the busiest sets of tracks in the country and I hadn’t thought about trains on the tracks. I’ve driven I-10 dozens and dozens of times and I’ve seen trains less than 30 minutes apart at times. Why should now be any different? I think that could be a two-edged sword. The trains will potentially have supplies but they will also have people. And I can’t imagine the train folks not having guns on them. Or, there might already be looters picking them clean. And looters could/would mean danger. I will just have to play each situation as it comes up. But, I have to remember the number one threat I am facing right now is the threat/risk of violence. Which is basically true for any emergency, disaster, or grid-down situation.

I’ve still got a couple of hours before I can take off so I think I will just lay back and rest. About an hour before sunset I head out I will go fill up my water bottles at the stock tank about half a mile away. What I really have to start thinking about is food. What am I going to do about food?

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