Trail Humor with Boots McFarland

December Cartoons

Trails

Hiking

Join ALDHA-West!

The Arizona Trail

Chris Townsend

Last spring I thru-hiked the Arizona Trail, walking roughly 800 miles from Mexico to Utah. It's one of the best long walks I've ever done, a stimulating and inspiring hike through wonderful wild country. It's not an easy walk though due to the rugged terrain, lack of water and, in many places, lack of a trail but it is a fulfilling and exciting one.

The start of the trail is more brutal than any other I've hiked, a steep 4,800-foot climb up a steep waterless ridge on Miller Peak in the Huachuca Mountains. This tough ascent was made worse by the fact that the first big storm of the winter had dumped masses of snow during the previous two days so I had to break trail through knee deep snow on the last thousand feet of the climb. At my first camp, the highest of the walk at nearly 9,000 feet, I had to stamp out a platform and heap snow round the edges of my tarp to keep the cold wind out. A series of small but steep mountain ranges - the Huachucas, Santa Ritas, Rincons, Santa Catalinas - rise abruptly from the desert. These are known as "sky islands" and when they are seen from a distance soaring above the pale desert it is clear why. The route crosses each of these ranges, climbing through a series of different environments en route - Sonoran Desert up to 3,500 feet, semi-desert grasslands dotted with cacti and small shrubs between 3,500 and 5,000 feet, pinyon pine-juniper-oak forest between 5,000 and 7,000 feet, subalpine forest with tall pines and firs above 7,000 feet. (Above 11,000 feet alpine tundra is found but only one small mountain range in the north of Arizona, the San Francisco Peaks, reaches this height along the trail.) This means that the mountain summits are densely forested and that as you ascend the vegetation becomes thicker and taller and there are fewer views, a reverse of what is usual in many other mountain regions. It took me a while to realize that the most open landscapes and widespread views lay at the foot of the mountains not on their summits.

After 215 miles of sky islands the mountains fade away and there is a sixty-mile stretch of low, hot Sonoran desert to be crossed. Here I'd been warned there was no water so I accepted the offer from Jim Martin of the Arizona Trail Association to drive me round the dirt oads of the area so I could cache some water. I hiked this section with Jake Schas, the only other through-hiker I met on the trail, as we both had water cached at the same places. Although fairly flat the Sonoran esert was fascinating for the wealth of cacti, including the huge saguaros that can reach fifty feet high, and bird and animal life. The latter includes javelinas, a pig-like animal of which we saw several. Much of the walking though was on dirt roads and we had to skirt round private ranches on a few occasions. Ironically the Sonoran Desert crossing ends with the only erious river ford on the whole trail. The Gila River was deep, fast and muddy where we first reached it and it took an hour or so of searching before we found a wide section where the water rippled over rocks that looked safe to cross. Even so it was thigh-deep and powerful in the middle. On the far side of the Gila River lay the White Canyon Wilderness, a wonderful desert landscape of red rock canyons and cliffs and a real contrast to the flat lands to the south. The scenery here is some of the most impressive on the trail and it was invigorating and inspiring to thread a way through the canyons and climb over rocky ridges and passes after the plod along the dirt roads.

The area is small though and we were through it in two days to the next supply town, Superior, where I went back to solo hiking. North of Superior lie two very rugged desert mountains ranges, the Superstition and Mazatzal Mountains, that are lower than those to the south but much larger in area so the trail stays high up for longer. The scenery here was superb and the feeling of remoteness and solitude great but the walking was the toughest along the trail, both due to the rough steep terrain and the heat and lack of shade.

In the southern Mazatzals I had the hardest days of he whole walk on the approach to Four Peaks Mountain. Between the Superstitions and the Mazatzals the trail dips briefly back down to the Sonoran Desert at Roosevelt Lake. It then climbs steeply back up for some 6,500 feet for about 22 miles. There are no water sources on this ascent. I set out carrying one and a half gallons of water, having already drunk as many soft drinks as I could in the store-cum-snack-bar at the lake. The sun was high and hot and the trail ran straight towards it up a bare ridge with no shade anywhere. Even with my sun hat on and my umbrella up I was soon overheating. The water went down alarmingly fast. Eventually trees started to appear; black skeletons of trees as the whole mountainside had been burned. (I later learned the fire had been in 1996 and had burnt 60,000 acres). A sign warned of flash flood damage and sure enough the trail soon became washed out into deep V shaped ravines or loose scree and earth slopes, making the going very difficult. A tangled mass of bushes, the first regrowth after the fire, added to the arduous nature of the climb. After 13 miles and 4000 feet of ascent I camped for the night. I had just one and a half quarts of water left. When I left the next morning on the ascent of 6612-foot Buckhorn Mountain I only had a pint of water left. The climb was a desperatelyhot sweaty scrabble up steep, loose ground and through sharp spiny undergrowth that scratched my legs and tore at my clothes. It took one and a half-hours and a great deal of water loss. My mood was one of aggravation and worry but when I reached the top this was swept away as a magnificent bald eagle, its white head shining in the sunlight, swept over the ridge just fifty feet away. >From the summit the remnants of the trail were easier to follow as they ran along Buckhorn Ridge towards the impressive face of Four Peaks Mountain. Finally, late in the morning the trail improved and I speeded up and soon afterwards, unexpectedly and wonderfully, I found a tiny flowing creek, snowmelt from the north face of Four Peaks Mountain. The feeling of relief was enormous and the water tasted marvelous.

Beyond the Mazatzals the nature of the trail changes again as it reaches the Mogollon Rim, a long rocky escarpment that stretches for hundreds of miles across northern Arizona. The Rim is the southern dge of the vast Colorado Plateau, which stretches north into Utah. Most of the Plateau in Arizona is between 6,000 and 8,000 feet high and forested, ostly with Ponderosa Pine. With a good trail in the trees, little ascent and fewer views I sped through this area, soon reaching the town of Flagstaff and then the San Francisco Peaks, highest in Arizona. These were still snow-covered and I abandoned my attempt to limb Mount Humphreys, the highest summit at 12,633 feet, when I reached 10,800 feet Fremont Saddle as the snow was deep and the slopes were getting steeper.

Further forest and open grassland walking led rapidly to the stupendous, awe-inspiring Grand Canyon. The trail crosses the Canyon by way of the popular Bright Angel and North Kaibab Trails. To camp in the Canyon a permit is required. Permits are limited and not surprisingly those for campsites along the trans-canyon corridor routes had long been gone. However I was able to get a permit to camp along the Clear Creek Trail on the Tonto Platform on the north side of the Colorado River. This involved 1500 extra feet of ascent and five more miles of distance but it did mean I could camp alone in the canyon and wake to the silence and glory of dawn in this magnificent place.

The 5800-foot climb out of the Canyon through Bright Angel and Roaring Forks Canyons is long and steep but the overwhelming beauty and grandeur of the scenery makes every step worthwhile. In fact on this crossing the hardest walking was on the more gentle rails at the bottom of the Canyon due to the heat, which was 95F in the shade. This made the air feel heavy and thick and I walked at half my normal speed and still sweated heavily. When the trail steepened it was in the shade as it was late afternoon and I felt cooler and fresher and was able to walk more quickly.

Beyond the North Rim the trail returns to the forest for the last 85 miles, only leaving the trees at the very end as it descends into beautiful Coyote Canyon with the red rock cliffs of Coyote Buttes rising above, a superb finish to an excellent walk. I hiked much of this last section with Jake Schas, who I'd met up with again just south of the Grand Canyon, and we finished the trail together.

Statistics

My hike took 53 days, of which 7 were layover days, giving an average of 15 miles per day. The shortest day was 5 miles, the longest days (3 in all) 27 miles. I made the ascent about 93,000 feet, an average of 1740 feet a day. The most ascent in a day was 5800 feet and there were 5 days when I did over 4,000 feet.

Maps

I used topo maps and Forest Service maps. Many of the topos I printed out from the Topo! Phoenix, Flagstaff and Central Arizona Wilderness Areas & Topo! Grand Canyon, Bryce, and Zion National Parks CDs. You can download the AZT route from the Topo! website so it's on the maps when you print them out. 1:24,000 topos are essential for finding some of the water sources.

Resupply

There are plenty of resupply points along or close to the trail. I mostly bought my food as I went along and had no problems finding lightweight items though the choice was limited in some places. I had a running supply box so where I could only buy more of an item than I needed for the next stage I sent the surplus on ahead.

In these notes on supply points the mileage given is from the previous supply point. Note mileages are only approximate!

• Patagonia - 58 miles (from the start). 1 hotel (quite expensive). Grocery store. An excellent natural food store. Cafés/restaurants. Post Office. Laundromat. Nice little bookstore called Mariposa Books.
• Benson - 70 miles. All facilities. Benson is 6.5 miles east down I10 from Mescal. The AZT from Cienaga Creek to I10 and then on to Miller Creek in the Rincon Mountains hasn't yet been built. I followed powerlines from Cienaga Creek to Mescal then took a taxi into Benson, as I didn't fancy the hike along I10.
• Summerhaven - 71 miles. Post Office, Grocery store. Café. I didn't resupply here, as it was only 17 miles to Oracle. I descended to the town on the old AZT. The new AZT goes over Mount Lemmon and bypasses Summerhaven.
• Oracle - 17 miles. Motel. Post Office. Grocery store. Cafes/restaurants. These facilities are a long way apart! No stove fuel. No bank. I descended Oracle Ridge all the way into Oracle rather than following the AZT, which goes round the town.
• Superior - 80 miles. Motel. Post Office. Grocery store. Bank. Cafes/restaurants. No stove fuel. Superior is 4.5 miles east along US60 from the AZT at the Picketpost Trailhead.
• Roosevelt - The town of Roosevelt, which has a PO and other facilities, is a long way off the trail on a road with little traffic. I didn't go there, which meant I carried heavy 9 days supplies from Superior. Roosevelt Marina, which is a mile or so off the trail, has a small fishing store with a snack bar and minimal grocery supplies. Stove fuel was available here.
• Pine - 151 miles (from Superior). Motels. Grocery stores. Roadside stall selling wide variety of dried fruit. Cafes. Laundromat. Post Office. Bookstore.
• Mormon Lake - 73 miles. Limited grocery store but enough for 2 days supplies. Post Office. Bar/restaurant. Campground.
• Flagstaff - 40 miles. Everything you could possibly want but being in such a big place is a bit of a shock! The Post Office that handles General Delivery is quite a way from the center.
• Grand Canyon South Rim - 107 miles. Groceries. Cafes. Post Office. Campground. Hotels. Laundromat. Lots and lots of people.
• North Rim - 22 miles. Campground. Hotel. Small store. Restaurant/snack bar. Laundry. Everything was still shut when I was there on April 26.
• Jacob's Lake - 56 miles. Small store. Snack bar. Will hold parcels.

Water

Water is the big variable and the big potential problem on the AZT. Basically, there isn't a lot. I was lucky as I started just after a big storm put down plenty of snow on the highest summits with heavy rain lower down. This filled up many water sources. Even so I carried more water more often than I've done on any other hike. 1 gallon was normal and a few times I carried 3 gallons. It isn't necessary to cache water in advance except for one section, despite the advice that is sometimes given out. You do need to know where all the potential sources are. Here are the water sources I found. Those with an asterisk are ones that should be reliable most years.

• Mexican border to Patagonia
  • *Bathtub Spring Miller Peak.
  • Sunnyside Canyon Miller Peak Wilderness. Many small pools.
  • Scotia Creek Canelo Hills. A few pools & short sections of running water.
  • Parker Canyon Canelo Hills. Creek running.
  • Dirt tank below FR4633A Canelo Hills. Full but dirty
  • Canyon beyond FR4633A Canelo Hills. Many pools.
  • Canelo Pass. Canelo Hills. Clear pool by roadside.
  • Redrock Canyon. Canelo Hills. Dirty pools. Flowing creek in places.
  • *Red Bank Well. Canelo Hills. Clean water from stock tank inlet
• Patagonia to Mescal/I10
  • Temporal Gulch Santa Rita Mountains. Many pools.
  • *Bear Spring Santa Rita Mountains. Many pools .
  • Big Casa Blanca Canyon Santa Rita Mountains. Creek.
  • Gardner Canyon. Santa Rita Mountains. Pools.
  • *Kentucky Camp. Santa Rita Mountains. Spigot.
  • *Cienaga Creek. Empire-Cienaga. Creek.
• Mescal to Oracle
  • Ash Creek. Dirt road from Mescal. Pools.
  • Miller Creek. Rincon Mountains. Small pools.
  • *Manning Camp. Rincon Mountains.
  • *Italian Spring. Rincon Mountains. Large unnamed pool. About 2 miles from Saguaro National Park boundary.
  • The Lake. Redington Pass Road. Dirty pond.
  • Agua Caliente Creek. Santa Catalina foothills.
  • Molino Basin Campground. No water supply but host gave me some.
  • Sycamore Canyon Reservoir. Santa Catalina Mountains.
  • *Hutch's Pool. Sabino Canyon. Large deep pool.
  • Wilderness of Rocks Trail. Santa Catalina Mountains. Creek.
  • *Summerhaven.
  • Creek. Bottom of Red Ridge Trail.
• Oracle to Superior
  • Nothing between Oracle and the Gila River. There are some stock tanks that may have water in them near to possible routes. However some local ranchers are opposed to the trail and don't want hikers taking water from these tanks. This was the only place I cached water - 2 lots of 3 gallons. This was done with the assistance of Jim Martin of the Arizona Trail Association who drove me round in his pick-up.
  • *Gila River. The problem here could be fording it!
  • Walnut Creek. White Canyon Wilderness.
  • *Walnut Spring. White Canyon Wilderness. Artesian well.
  • *Alamo Canyon Windmill.
• Superior to Pine
  • Whitford Canyon. Superstition Mountains. Intermittent creek.
  • Reavis Trail Canyon. Superstition Mountains. Creek.
  • Rogers Trough Trailhead. Superstition Mountains. Creek.
  • Reavis Valley. Superstition Mountains. Creek.
  • Pine Creek. Superstition Mountains. Creek.
  • *Walnut Spring. Superstition Mountains.
  • *Cottonwood Canyon. Superstition Mountains. Creek.
  • Thompson Spring. Superstition Mountains. Creek.
  • *Roosevelt Marina.
  • Creek at junction of Four Peaks & Alder Creek trails.
  • Shake Spring. Four Peaks Wilderness. Creek.
  • *Pigeon Springs. Mazatzal Mountains.
  • Boulder Creek. Mazatzal Mountains. Pools.
  • Cat Springs. Mazatzal Mountains. Creek below springs.
  • Thicket Spring Trail. Mazatzal Mountains. Pools.
  • *Bear Spring. Mazatzal Mountains. 400 yards off trail.
  • Brody Seep. Mazatzal Mountains. 400 yards off trail.
  • North Fork. Mazatzal Mountains. 400 yards off trail.
  • Horse Camp. Mazatzal Mountains. 400 yards off trail. Creek.
  • Hopi Spring. Mazatzal Mountains. 400 yards off trail.
  • Brush Spring. Large pool.
  • *East Verde River. Mazatzal Mountains.
  • White Rock Spring. Whiterock Mesa.
  • Dirt tanks. Hardscrabble Mesa. Several of these.
• Pine to Mormon Lake
  • Bear Spring. Below Mogollon Rim.
  • Pine Spring. Below Mogollon Rim.
  • Poison Creek. Below Mogollon Rim.
  • Bray Creek. Below Mogollon Rim.
  • East Bray Creek. Below Mogollon Rim.
  • North Sycamore Creek. Below Mogollon Rim.
  • West Chase Creek. Below Mogollon Rim.
  • Chase Creek. Below Mogollon Rim.
  • East Verde River. Below Mogollon Rim.
  • General Springs Canyon Mogollon Rim. Creek.
  • *East Clear Creek. Mogollon Plateau. Sizeable creek.
  • Elk Tank. North of Blue Ridge Campground. Dirt tank.
  • Gonzales Tank. Mogollon Plateau. Dirt tank.
  • Pine Springs. Mogollon Plateau. Dirt tank.
  • Several dirt tanks between Pine Springs and Mormon Lake.
• Mormon Lake to Flagstaff
  • *Horse Lake. Anderson Mesa.
  • *Vail Lake. Anderson Mesa.
  • *Prairie Lake. Anderson Mesa.
  • Dirt tank. Anderson Mesa about a mile west of observatory.
• Flagstaff to the South Rim
  • Schultz Creek. Some water in upper creek.
  • Schultz Tank. Near Schultz Pass.
  • *East Cedar Tank. ¼ mile off the trail in CO Bar Ranch area.
  • *Russell Tank.
• South Rim to North Rim
  • *Water stations along Bright Angel Trail.
  • *Indian Gardens
  • *Colorado River
  • *Phantom Ranch
  • *Bright Angel Creek
  • *Cottonwood Camp
  • North Rim to Utah border
  • North Kaibab Trail 101. Small ponds, occasional creeks.
  • *Crystal Spring. Below East Rim View. Wildlife tank 7 miles north of Telephone Hill
  • *Jacob Lake. Summit Trick Tank. A mile off the trail but the only water I found between Jacob Lake and the finish. And there is no water at the finish. There was only a tiny bit of water in the tank.

Gear

Some of the brand names will be unfamiliar, as they are UK ones.

• Footwear - Brasher Supalite boots weighing 2lbs, probably the lightest leather boots available. These were great at repelling cactus spines and keeping out sharp stones and were cool enough in all but the hottest weather. I wore them for around 600 miles and they were still in good condition at the end. Teva Terradactyl sandals (23 oz). I hiked about 200 miles in these in the hottest weather. They were okay but did cause blisters on the outside of each heel where the plastic D rings rubbed. A pair each of thin and medium weight CoolMax socks (1.5 and 3.5 oz). I found the medium weight ones actually worked better in the heat as they didn't get sweaty very quickly. Using CoolMax was an experiment. I think wool would have been better.
• Pack - I still haven't found a lightweight pack that will handle 50lbs + comfortably (and I knew I'd carry this amount when I had lots of water) so I ended up taking a heavy 6.8lb Gregory Shasta.
• Shelter - A tent seemed overkill for the AZT so I took a tarp (Kathmandu Trekking Basha-Tent) made from silicone elastomer nylon. It weighed 28 oz and was very roomy. A groundsheet, stakes and guylines added another 15 oz. For poles I used my trekking ones. I only used the tarp when it was windy, raining or snowing, sleeping under the stars most of the time.
• Sleeping bag - A down bag (Rab Micron 400) with 14 oz of 750+ fill power goose down fill and a total weight of 31.5 oz. No zip. Kept me comfortable in temperatures ranging from 21 to 66 F.
• Kitchen - I like hot food in the evening and a hot drink in the morning so despite expecting generally warm weather I carried a stove, a new Optimus Nova multi-fuel model (17.8 oz with windscreen). It was excellent, lighting more easily than similar stoves I've tried, simmering well and packing very small. For cookware I had an Evernew quart size Titanium Pan (5.3 oz), a stainless steel 1 pint Cascade Cup (4 oz) and 2 Lexan spoons (1oz).
• Water Containers - In case of leaks and to make packing easier I carried eight containers rather than a couple of large ones. These were 4 1-quart Platypus bottles (4 oz), 2-2.5 quart Platypus bottles (2.7 oz), a 4-quart Ortlieb Water Bag (3 oz) and a quart Nalgene Bottle (5 oz). The last was taken because the wide mouth made it easy to fill from small seeps and trickles. It proved worth the weight. I didn't need all the other bottles and ended up sending three of the quart size Platypus and the Ortlieb ones on ahead in my running supply box. I hate filters and have never carried one on a long hike. For this walk I used AquaMira water purification (2.8 oz). I drank spring water and creek water high above cattle or habitations without treating it. Water from cattle tanks, lowland creeks and murky pools I treated. I also carried an Ortlieb Coffee Filter plus some filter papers (2.8 oz), not for making coffee but for filtering out visible sediments.
• Clothing - I hiked mostly in nylon shorts, which had zip-on legs (total weight 8.8 oz) for cold weather, spiky vegetation and in camp. I also had a nylon shirt (12-oz) with a wicking treatment that I wore every day. I used this because it had large breast pockets in which I could carry maps, mini binoculars and other items. For cool winds I had a Pertex nylon windshirt (6.2 oz - Karrimor Vector). Warmwear was a Polartec 100 Microfleece sweater (13.6 oz - Craghoppers Airglow) and a Marmot down vest (14.6 oz). I also carried Helly-Hansen Lifa long pants (3 oz) but never wore them. Rain gear was a Gore-Tex Paclite smock (15 oz - erghaus) and an old pair of polyurethane coated pants (4 oz). I never wore the pants and I could have done with a lighter jacket as it was only needed five or six times. Other items were Capilene briefs (1.5 oz) and Marmot DriClime long sleeved wicking top (5 oz). The latter was worn in camp when the nylon shirt was soaked in sweat. I wore a cotton Tilley Hat (5.8 oz) when hiking and had a fleece hat (2-oz) for campwear. I also had some thin polypro gloves (1 oz), which I hardly ever wore.
• Umbrella - GoLite Dome (9-oz). I'd never carried an umbrella before but having portable shade in the desert seemed a good idea. It worked well but would have been better if I'd covered it with mylar. In open country it was easy to use but often the terrain was too rugged to hike over while holding an umbrella.
• Trekking Poles - I like trekking poles, especially when hiking over rough terrain with a big pack. I used Brasher Guides (20.5 oz), which were excellent. The top of the handle can be removed to reveal a camera screw underneath o the pole can be used as a monopod, a useful extra feature.
• Miscellaneous - Petzl Micro Headlamp with spare AA batteries (9.5 oz), candle (3 oz), Silva Type 4 compass (1.4 oz), safety whistle (0.5 oz), first aid kit (2.5 oz), gear repair kit (7.4 oz), Suunto Altimax altimeter watch (2 oz), Silva Alba Windwatch (1.8 oz), Swiss Army Knife (3 oz), Sirius 8x21 binoculars (5.3 oz), wash kit (toothbrush, paste, tiny bit of soap - 3 oz), sunscreen (3 oz), dark glasses (2.5 oz), toilet trowel (2.3 oz), loo paper (1 oz). 144 page notebook & 2 pens (7.6 oz). I filled 1.5 notebooks. I also carried a paperback to read in the evenings plus various natural history guides.
• Camera Gear - Canon EOS 300/Rebel 2000 + Sigma 24-70 lens. 23 oz Ricoh RDC-5000 digital camera. 14.6 oz Ricoh GR1s compact camera. 6.7 oz Cullman Backpack Tripod 21.5 oz. Camera Care Systems Kangaroo Case 14.6 oz. 20 rolls film 20.0 oz. All three cameras were carried in the case, which was slung across one shoulder. I took 50 rolls of film in total.
• Total Weight - The basic weight without camera gear was about 33 lbs. Of this about 5 lbs was being worn or carried (clothes, boots, trekking poles) giving a pack weight of 28 lbs. The camera gear weighed 6.27 lbs, of which .5 lbs was carried in the pack. I reckon the pack averaged about 30 lbs without food or water. The most it weighed was about 70lbs when I carried 3 gallons of water and six days food. The average was probably around 40 lbs. Of course it could vary widely during the day as I often picked 1-2 gallons of water in the afternoon and then hiked on to a dry camp. I could have carried a little less by having a lighter pack and lighter rain gear but there's nothing I'd have been happy to do without.

Chris Townsend
Mountain & Wilderness Writing & Photography. Auchnarrow, Grantown-on-Spey, Moray, PH26 3PL
Tel: 01479 873275
Fax: 0870 164 1841
Email: Chris@auchnarrow.demon.co.uk
www.auchnarrow.demon.co.uk
www.redstart.net/Chris_Townsend/index.html
www.bluedome.co.uk/arizonatrail/index.html