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We've dropped Dan's car at the end of our route at La Posta Quemada Ranch five miles away by the trail and about 15 miles by car.  Here we are at the Gabe Zimmerman Trailhead on Marsh Station Road.  It is a cold morning  with a ripping wind.

We gaze at the southern end of the Rincon Mountains.  There are a few scattered homes and ranches, but something on that hilltop that looks like a castle!  Just wait until we get closer to get a really good look.

And here's the trailhead with the memorial to Gabe Zimmerman, who lost his life to the gunman who shot into the crowd at the Gabby Gifford gathering in 2011.

We'll cross under tracks, both new and old.  It really looks as though we're a long way from our destination.

The trail is an easy single-track as we head for Davidson Canyon.

We drop down into the Canyon and watch for trail signs.

There's the sign assuring us we're on the right track.  Now we just need to watch for another to guide us out of this cool little canyon.

A lot of bird calls; it is obvious this a watering hole for a good deal of wildlife.

"Watch out for falling rocks" -- a sign advises to not walk under the trestle when there's a train on it.  

And there's the sign indicating the route out of the canyon.

We'll hike up and out  and onto a straightaway portion of the trail.

And watch for a rather obscure trail marker.  I can tell you now that we missed this one, turned right instead of left and probably put on an additional  half mile before we figured out we'd gone the wrong way.  On our backtrack, there it was, hiding in the shade! We'll watch a little more carefully from now on.  

A busy intersection!  Marsh Station Road, train tracks, and the AZ Trail!

We were a little curious about warnings that rocks fall off the tracks when a train passes until we observed numerous rocks on top of this protective canopy.  

We start heading northward with the Rincons peeking up on the horizon.  The AZ Trail goes up and over them, but for today, we'll just finish this little five mile segment.  And here comes another little side canyon.

Dan is easy to spot as we gaze back.  The day is warming up.  

The hike out of that little canyon convinced us that this was the place to take off a few layers, have a drink of water and a snack. There is little shade now, but the wind is still whipping.  We walk along, contouring a few hills until around a bend came this fellow-

We've met some interesting characters in our years hiking, but "Sky" ranks as the most poignant of all encounters. He was carrying a camera and sporting dreadlocks and beads in his beard, so we knew there must be a story.  After the usual exchange of greetings, he told us he'd hiked most of the AZ Trail over the years, other than those years he was dealing with bone cancer.  Very matter of factly, he remarked that he intended to hike as much as he could--until he couldn't.  In remission, but not for long, he was recording his section hikes for his grandson.  I asked if he had a trail name and that's when he smiled and said "Sky".  He used to hang glide and loved to soar so high that his companions could no longer see him against the blue sky.  To "sky-out" was the term used when one disappeared into the blue.  He spoke frankly about knowing the cancer was going to finish his life, but until then, he'd hike Passages 7 and 8 as much as possible. 

We chatted a bit more, wished each other well, then watched him hike away until he disappeared into a wash.  His steps left small puffs of dust drifting above the trail and some kind of shimmering magic in his wake.  We just stood there on the trail for a moment, feeling that there was something important about this brief encounter.  His words and attitude about life lingered for the rest of the hike.  We still have more of Passage 8 to do.  Maybe we'll see him again.

The trail undulates up and over dry hills, and we're getting the feeling we'll soon get a view of the ranch, our destination.

Did I mention there were a few interesting things along the trail?  We could see this castle perched on a hill way in the distance when we fist started out.  At this point in the trail I could zoom in with my camera.  You can read more about it by clicking here.

And finally, up and over a saddle, and there's the ranch where we left Dan's car.  It's all downhill from here!

And here's the sign from the start of the previous segment.  We've finished a total of 8.5 miles of Passage 8 on the AZ Trail.

A little tired but with a nice feeling of accomplishment.  After enjoying lunch under the mesquites, we'll get in Dan's car, then drive back to the Gabe Zimmerman trailhead to get our car.  Any day outdoors is a good day!