AZT week 4 (10/13 - 10/19)

10/13 390. Mineshaft, amazing views, met Solo at night, the sign, halfway!, different plants each mountain face including a bit of snow on a shaded side. 

10/14 413. Saw a sleeping tarantula next to me when I woke up. G-whiz caught up to me. Got some trail magic at the underpass. Met a trail crew. Saw pheonix at night. 

10/15 Roosevelt Lake 441. Long ridge road walk in the morning. Hiked past the four peaks. Pushed in to get some food. Ended up night hiking by moonlight. I could see the glow of the bridge and dock lights. Stealth camped behind a hiker area.

10/16 451. Took a while at the marina in the morning. Ate breakfast, charged my battery, bought resupply, and jumped in the lake. On trail, I saw some javelinas? and some cows. Passed another hiker. Unlike the AT where I had to look down to check my footing, on the AZT I have to look down to avoid spiked plants.

10/17 470. Saw a kingsnake, met a couple weekend backpackers, climbed Montana mtn, met a group of weekenders yelling to scare off an animal they thought was following them.

10/18 Superior 485, hitched in, went to a dollar general just as a shoplifter was leaving. Stayed with the trail angel MJ, who is amazing and one of the trip's highlights. 

10/19 zero in Superior, 3 other hikers showed up. Had some good BBQ, and good rest.

This week has been a lot of mountains, and cat-claw. Also some of the best views so far. Tucson here I come!

AZT week 3 (10/5 to 10/12)

10/5 235 + 5 urban trail. It was a rainy day, so I started late in leaving Flagstaff. I waited out most of the rain and left around 11. There was so much mud on the trail, and it started up raining again while I was hiking. I ended up pitching my tent under a tree on some relatively solid ground.

10/6 253, double springs campground near Mormon Lake. Sticky mud trodding most of the day. 

10/7 271, resupplied and re-charged at mormon lake. I was there for about 3 or 4 hours. Saw a lot of cows today. Probably saw coyote tracks too. Passed a hiker I knew. 

10/8 295, blue ridge campsite. met a nobo, drizzle at camp, camped at another closed campsite. Feels a bit strange to be the only one up here, but the water is still flowing. I still feel like I'm carrying too much food, and can improve my resupply. I still refuse to calorie count, and I appear to be maintaining weight (although, now that I mention it, I haven't been able to check for a while) 

10/9 321. Climbed down the mogollan rim, 300, saw a rattlesnake, shooting star

10/10 331 Pine/Strawberry. Short popular hike to town, split a motel room with another hiker. The motel had themed rooms, and ours was Duck Dynasty themed.  Played pool at the bar next door.

10/11 347. Slow start, hitched back to Pine for breakfast, and had too much coffee. Road walked back a mile to the trailhead. Continued to go down in elevation. Much thornier brush to walk past. Water still frequent. At night it was drizzling a bit, and very windy. I saw a bunch of beetles, scorpions, and a big stickbug walking over my tent. The wind almost knocked my tent over a few times, and I didn't get much sleep. 

10/12 Chilson camp 370. Started with a descent to the East Verde River, and then a 3000 ft ascent to my first ridge of the Mazatzals. I crossed over, and was inside the range. The AZT isn't a ridge trail here, and mostly stayed to the west of the high ridges going north/south. There were several flowing springs, and amazing views. Stopped for a water break and a small nap. The trail was overgrown in a few places, but mostly easy to follow. There was an unmarked switchback, and I had to bushwack my way past it. Camped at a nice flat area. As I was eating dinner I heard an animal making sounds. I saw it from a medium distance, but couldn't fully identify it. Maybe a cat, or fox. Pointed ears and a black fuzzy tail. I haven't seen anyone else since Pine, but there are a lot of side trails through here that look like nice day hikes and overnights. 

I finally got off the plateau this week, which was a welcome change of pace. The trail has been flying by, and I'm almost halfway done. Superstition Mountains, here I come!

rejoining the equestrian route

AZT week 2 (9/29 to 10/4)

9/29 125 by wildlife tank. Plenty of elk calls to be heard. I saw horses, cows, and elk roaming around. I also saw a tarantula. According to a hunter, this weekend is the end of elk season, and the start of turkey season. According to another hiker, Juggie, its tarantula mating season.  The trail was nice and flat, with some last views of the grand canyon. I hiked the last few miles with Juggie, and we camped together near the water source. It rained a little more during the day.

9/30 Camped at mile 148. Mostly flat, saw more tarantulas. Gradual transition from pines to Junipers. Passed the old Moqui Stage Station, where people riding to the grand canyon could switch out horses over a hundred years ago. I took a slight detour to grab water from a tank, and there was a dead cow lying right next to the water. Luckily, there was another water source not far after. 

10/1 173, met trio, met photographer and two farmers (not hiking), met two bikepackers, reached the san francisco mountains, passed by many cows and fell asleep to the sounds of moo-ing, and maybe some coyotes.

10/2 2 miles of urban + 194. Woke up to the sounds of cows mooing at the sun. There was an annual 10k, 25k, 50k, and 50 miles biked race taking place on the AZT. Stumbled across it and chatted with people at a water station. I also met some nobo sectioners, going up to the grand canyon. I grabbed water at a spring near a historical mormon shack. Even though the trail climbed around 3000 feet, it was graded so gradually, with so many switchbacks, that it got a bit annoying. The bike-grading was very different from the AT, which often took the hardest path up a mountain and got there more directly. Near flagstaff, the trail splits into the Urban route, and the Equestrian route. I took the urban route which goes straight through the city, as opposed to going around. I camped just outside the city.

10/3 Flagstaff Near0, found a cheap motel to stay in, but they had check-in at 3pm. For most of the day I was walking around with my pack. I did laundry, got food, and took in the city. When I finally did get into my room, the shower was broken, so I got a free upgrade to a better room. 

10/4 Flagstaff zero, I took another day to rest before leaving. I stopped by an outfitter to replace my socks and pants that were finally falling apart after ~2400 miles. A lot of resting, and catching up on calories. I met a triple crowner, who was stopping by flagstaff for a few nights while riding around with an amtrak rail pass. I had run into him at trail days in May.

As I write this, its raining again! This record setting monsoon season is still going, and might even continue later. Monsoons typically have most of the rain in July and August, but this year its continued later. https://new.azwater.gov/news/articles/2021-30-07

sharing water with some cows

Climbing up into the mountains

AZT Week 1/ Week 22

9/22 I camped just past the confluence and into buckskin gulch, 7 miles. Gentle hike in along the mostly dried up Paria river. Still some mud patches to step in. Walls of the canyon slowly grew longer as I went down towards the longest slot canyon in America, maybe the world. Got dropped off by 'trainwreck' who is section hiking the AZT, and offering shuttles in between hikes. She was very friendly, and even took me to grab fuel and lunch before hitting the trail. At the BLM ranger station, I was told that I might be the first person to go through buckskin gulch from White House to Wire Pass as an approach trail for a SoBo AZT hike! 

9/23 camped at the first water tank on the AZT, 18 miles in utah, 4 on the trail. Last night there was a loud group of campers that came up the canyon to stay near me and kept me up till midnight. I broke camp around 6:30 and set off up the gulch. The canyon was full of mud, and pools of muddy water. The ground wasn't flat, so I was using my poles to tap ahead for higher ground. The deepest pool I went through was mid-chest high water, but I'm sure that if I'd misstepped I would have been fully submerged in the cold water. At one pool, my phone fell into the water. Luckily, I was able to recover it after sweeping for it by hand for five fretful minutes. As the canyon was finally widening, and after a boulderfield, I finally saw some day hikers. One, Quicksilver, was from near the AT and gave me my first trail magic out west, a hard cider. I had a short roadwalk to the Arizona Border and AZT terminal monument. The beginning of the AZT is a climb up to the Kaibab Plateau, which was through a burn area from a few years ago. Glad I took on the challenge of the canyon, but not sure I would do it again. It was a trying day, and I'm excited to be back on trail.

9/24 Camped at Jacob's lake, 27. After some very refreshing sleep I went on to have a great day hiking. Mostly flat, going from junipers to pines as I gained elevation on the Kaibab Plateau. The Magnum fire last summer burnt through much of the trail in this area, so I took a dirt road bypass for 8 miles. The bypass also had burnt trees, but was cleared. I filtered some water from an open reservoir not on my map, and stopped to take a small nap. I hitched into Jacob Lake and grabbed a little food, and some great cookies. I stayed at a campsite nearby with showers and laundry. 

9/25 Camped near a water tank, 48.

Took a shortcut back to the AZT, and had to bushwack a little to get there. Passed a bear box with some trail magic in it. It rained for 5 minutes at night, and luckily I already had my fly up. Mostly flat hiking today, so I've been using different muscles from the constant climbs of the AT. 

9/26 North Rim 76. More plateau. Tower/trail high point, and a cloudy day. Decided to push for a longer day (28 miles) to reach the north rim campsite, which I felt in my knees. A group of bike-packers went past me going nobo. It drizzled faintly a few times, but no rain. Met some other hikers at the campsite, and we talked around a fire for a while. 

9/27 Bright Angel Campground, 90. The day started leisurely, as I waited for the backcountry permit office to open. The North Rim camp host gave me a ride over, and the office was able to set me up at Bright Angel Campground. The NPS staff in general was very helpful, and supportive of thru-hikers. The Grand Canyon, after seeing it last night, was even more spectacular in person. The first two miles down were shared with mules. For one of the most well-known trails, hiking the "Rim to Rim" didn't feel overly crowded, and the trail was well maintained. I ended up at the campsite around 3, with enough time to hear a geology overview from the NPS staff, and to soak my feet in the Colorado river. There were a bunch of people at the bottom. Some had rode mules down, and there was even a bag delivery service and private cabins at Phantom Ranch. It reminded me of huts in the White Mountains. All the campsites were separated, and there wasn't much of a communal spirit. At night, I was able to watch lightning from up on the rim, and there was even some rain.

9/28 South Rim Campsite, 99. Woke up early, not by choice, and decided to make the most of it by hiking before the heat. I passed a lot of day hikers, and had a more direct trail up, rather than following a stream. I decided to take the day as a near-O at the south rim campground to let my feet rest, charge my battery, and get resupply before the 100 mile section to Flagstaff. There was a whole family of elks around the campsite. 

Flagstaff here I come!

Arizona Trail Announcement

I'm happy to announce here, that I'll be hiking the Arizona Trail starting on Wednesday 9/22!

Acording to the National Park Service:

"Intended to showcase our country’s spectacular natural resources and beauty, National Scenic Trails are routes of outstanding recreation opportunity. These routes are primarily non-motorized continuous trail and extend for 100 miles or more. The routes traverse beautiful terrain, and connect communities, significant landmarks and public lands."

The Arizona Trail is one of 11 of these federally recognized trails, and the 2nd alphabetically after the Appalachian Trail. It goes 800 miles from Utah to Mexico through the state of Arizona. I'll go through the Grand Canyon, the Superstition mountains, Saguaro national park, and more! Unlike the AT, the AZT is dry, sunny, open to bikes and horses, and best hiked in the spring and fall. 

I've been saying all along, that I'll hike until I don't want to hike any more, and I still want to hike! I picked the AZT for a few reasons. I heard about other AT hikers that had done the AZT as a followup to the AT, and it was recommended by them. As I was hiking, a common conversation was other long trails that could be thru-hiked. I met several people who had done the AZT, and I started feeling drawn to it. I began planning in my head while hiking, and it seemed like more and more of a good idea. 

The timing worked out well, as the best time to start is late september to early october. It has been a wetter than usual monsoon in Arizona, so water conditions were looking good. I wanted to get out of the green tunnel, and explore different types of terrain. The AZT is known for passing through a wide variety of ecosystems from Mountain forest to open Desert and everything in between. I was also just over the humidity, mud, and rain of the east coast. I wanted to go somewhere dry, where I could sleep beneath the stars. 

The AZT is significantly less travelled than the AT. Especially with a southbound fall start, there will probably only be around 50-150 people thru-hiking (or thru-biking). I'm ambivalent about this. It definitely helps with some of the crowding problems the AT had, and gives more of a wilderness feel to it. On the other hand, it will be more lonely and the trail towns less used to hikers. It also means a higher risk of not encountering another hiker if I need help. I'm looking forward to the challenge of it, and I see it a way of seeking out a way to cover some of what I had expected but not found on the AT. Before starting the AT, I had expected it to be more psychologically challenging. The many support networks, frequent towns, and amazing trail culture kept everything flowing so smoothly that at times it felt like an extended party rather than a wilderness experience. I knew some of that going in, but the scale of it still surprised me. After adjusting my expectations, and enjoying the AT for what it was, rather than what I wanted it to be, I had a great time. I see the AZT as a way of capturing some of what I was looking for and didn't find. I'm embracing the more challenging aspects of Arizona, and picked the trail because of them. 

I'm going to be starting just north of the Arizona border by hiking in Buckskin Gulch, one of the longest slot canyons in the world! I'll continue to update here with pictures, storys, and my progress. I put my updated packing list up on the sidebar. Thanks for reading

Week 21/Katahdin Photos

Pictures from my last week on trail, 8/30 to 9/5, featuring the hundred mile wilderness and Katahdin. 

Setup for a 50 person breakfast at Shaw's Hostel. One of several tables.

My hiking pole tips after 2100 miles

Sunset in Monson, ME

College group was out on trail too.

I had 5 days of food

Thanks ATC

Last firetower on the trail, and it was topless

I climbed it anyway

Pitcher plants in a bog

Good to know

My first Glimpse of Katahdin

No bugs, no bug net needed

featuring the foot of Down-Over

Grouse watching me

I didn't see any moose, but I kept looking out for them at ponds

Out of the Hundred Mile "wilderness"

Checking in for a campsite

Baxter State Park

Stopped near here for lunch

Yes, I would definitely call the AT a nature trail

Starting my final Ascent

Poles stowed so I could use my hands climbing

Finally there

At the top with Slash (who also gets photo creds)

Glad I didn't have to hike down in the rain

More pics from the summit