Well, it is the AZT (for now)

2023 Thru-Hiking, Here We Come!

For anyone who is actually following, I have had more twists and changes than a bowl of spaghetti concerning which long-distance trail I am going to hike on.  I was pretty certain it would be the AT, then I got a very good PCT reservation time and got what I thought was a great start date, April 10.  That was until Mother Nature decided to dump and dump and dump snow on the Sierra Nevada. The southern Sierra is currently at 224% of its normal to date and is at 166% of its April 1 average.  That’s a lot of snow and my April 10 start date will likely deliver even me, slow as I am, at Kennedy Meadows when the snow is still way beyond butt deep.   Postholing up to my groin is not my idea of fun at age 63.  I am not a fan of snow-packed bits at this age or any age although that is a theoretical stance.  I’ve never really given it a try.

For now, I have decided to hike in my own state and take a crack at the Arizona Trail*.  I moved to Arizona in 2004, and the AZT was not complete at that time and was off the radar for the vast majority of backpackers.  Even 5 years ago, it was often a novel trail that many ignored, wrote off, or just were unaware of.  It is pretty much on the list right after the Big Three these days along with the CT and similar trails of “medium length” (if you call 800 miles medium length).

The AZT is a beautiful and challenging trail.  A friend thru-hiked it NOBO a couple of years ago.  Her best quote, “I never expected to get so much snow dropped on me”  and that “it was a lot harder than I expected”. She is an experienced backpacked and loved almost everything about the AZT.  It has a lot of steep climbs, the desert can be hot to very hot (I’ve seen over 100 degrees on St. Patrick’s day in Central Arizona), and the mountians can be cold with snow storms.  Rattlesnakes are plentiful but they tend to avoid people if you give them space.  Bears are in AZ but not a real presence on the trail.

The current conditions are not a whole lot different in Northern AZ than they are in the Sierra Nevada.  There is snow, and lots of snow, record-level storms’ amounts of snow, on the North Rim of Grand Canyon, and it currently is very cold.  Two days ago, an additional foot fell and Flagstaff is still digging out.  See https://cdec.water.ca.gov/snowapp/sweq.action for current CA snow conditions.

Here is the difference.

• I live in Phoenix, so changing itineraries is not a big problem unlike being 600 miles from home to Kennedy Meadows.
• The ATZ is not highly regulated like the PCT is, so there is no rule of having to say ontrail or within so many miles of the AZT.
• Trail towns, resupply, and road crossings are much easier and more closely spaced on the ATZ than the PCT so bypassing and then going back to hike the areas missed is significantly easier on the AT.
• Going to an alternative route on the PCT can be difficult to impossible is that alternative means getting a permit for the Sierra well into the hiking season.

What the disappointment is in this plan, and this is a big one for me, is that I’ve lived here 18 years and hiked here for 18 years.  I know the Sonoran Desert.  I know many of the trails in Northern AZ.  I’ve hiked in Grand Canyon. Yes, Arizona is breathtakingly beautiful.  The AZT covers unique ecosystems – the Sky Islands in Southern Arizona, the Sonoran Desert, and the largest Ponderosa Pine forest in the world.  Oh, before I forget, it goes smack dab through the middle of Grand Canyon – one of the Seven Wonders of the World.  However, the beauty of the Sierra is, in my view, impossible to beat.

So for now, it is the ATZ.  If conditions change or I get a good plan for an alternative route rather than a traditional NOBO from  Campo (does that still exist on the PCT with year after year of fires?), I will flip over to Campo and head north toward Canada.  However, for now it is the AZT.  If I decide not to go, I will turn in my PCT permit early enough that someone will be able to snag it.  In either case, I am a winner.

Pay It Forward, Backward, or in Any Direction.  Just Pay It – The Arizona Trail Association

I decided that every post of mine will have a short promotion of an outdoor or environmental group that is meaningful to thru-hikers and other long distance hikers.  Today I will feature the Arizona Trail Association.  This organization runs on minimal staff with little overhead and has a single focus on the AZT.  I have been a member since I moved to Arizona.  Consider supporting the ATA financially or with your volunteer time.  The AZT would not be here if it were not for the ATA.  It is that simple.

P.S.

*Before I finalize my plans, I am going to contact the PCTA to see their current recommendations.

 

Photo by author.  View of Four Peaks from Central Phoenix after the latest storm on 2/14.