“The Arizona National Scenic Trail stretches 800 miles across the entire length of the state to connect deserts, mountains, forests, canyons, wilderness, history, communities and people. This non-motorized trail showcases Arizona’s diverse vegetation, wildlife and scenery, as well as unique historic and cultural sites…. Starting at the U.S.-Mexico border, the path climbs and descends from one “sky island” mountain range to another, gaining and losing thousands of feet in elevation and traversing biomes ranging from desert to boreal forest. Continuing across the Sonoran Desert, the route crosses the Gila River, winds through the Superstition Mountains and the Mazatzal Wilderness on its way to the Mogollon Rim and majestic San Francisco Peaks. The trail north takes travelers across the Grand Canyon through billions of years of geology. Topping out on the North Rim, conifer forests dominate the Kaibab Plateau, eventually giving way to red bluffs dotted with sagebrush as the trail nears the Utah border on the edge of the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument.”
– Arizona Trail Association
The AZT was my first long hike, selected from the Wikipedia list of long-distance trails for multiple reasons: 1. I had never seen desert before and was interested in hiking through a new ecosystem; 2. I figured it would be relatively idiot-proof for a beginner backpacker, having no problematic snow or fords or prolonged periods of rain; 3. I wanted a long but not outrageously long adventure. I was seeking adventure because, like many others, I had been inspired by someone else – no, not Cheryl Strayed, but Tim Cope, who spent three years travelling on horseback from Hungary to Mongolia and produced the fantastic documentary On the Trail of Genghis Khan.
Seven years after my hike, the trail isn’t what it used to be. This is the refrain, I think, of all long-distance hikers who hiked a trail before it became popular and wax nostalgic for the solitude and the need for self-dependence that one finds before hiker numbers increase. However, the AZT is a stunning trail, and I highly recommend it to backpackers who are willing to carry water and not bathe in stagnant puddles!
The journal below was written during my hike in 2013.
ARIZONA TRAIL JOURNAL
Day 1: Penchant for the Dramatic
Day 2: Introduction to the Gates
Day 3: Incompetence Preventing Littering
Day 7: Climbing Ditch Mountain
Day 13: Collectable Action Backpack
Day 15: I Thought That Other Hikers Didn’t Exist
Day 16: Results Are Always More Favourable When Polling Only Oneself
Day 18: Progress as Slowly as Possible
Day 19: Trail Angels Extraordinare
Day 20: All Your Fears Are Lies
Day 21: Widdle Bit Afraid of the Dark
Day 33: New Wildlife Viewing Goals
Day 39: Path of Most Resistance
Day 45: Camping + Lack of Sunburn + Dinosaurs
Day 49: Onto the Colorado Plateau
Day 50: No Babies for You Here
Day 53: Arrival at Mormon Lake Village
Day 55: Flies Coming out of the Woodwork
Day 58: Ambiguous Forested Area
Day 60: Can a Cannibal be Likeable?
Day 67: Getting Stuff Accomplished
Day 71: I Could Leave Today or I Could Never Leave
Day 77: Civilization Is in the Other Direction
Arizona Trail website, managed by the Arizona Trail Association: https://aztrail.org/
Arizona Trail journals: http://www.trailjournals.com/journals/arizona_trail
