ARIZONA TRAIL THRU-HIKE
APRIL 2-MAY 15, 2022
787 miles from Mexico to Utah
Mexico Border, April 2, 2022
Utah Border, May 15, 2022
Many months have passed since I completed my hike across Arizona, yet I often think back fondly on my six weeks out there. Whenever I share stories about my hike with others I immediately light up, and secretly spill that it has been my favorite hike thus far (shh don’t tell the AT). Although, I do tend to love every trail and every place I visit the most when I’m on it, it’s hard for me to pick favorites. But my time on the AZT was magic, could not have gone any smoother in terms of logistics, and guess what, I didn’t plan a thing. After adventuring for a decade I’ve come to ‘wing’ things, instead of meticulously researching and planning-I don’t like to do that anymore. Since I'd lived in Flagstaff and had already biked 300 miles of the trail I knew pretty much what to expect. But of course, hiking in the desert is different than all the long trails I have hiked out East and abroad. I knew water carries would be longer and heavier, so I tried to lighten my pack by borrowing lighter gear from a friend and by mailing my stove up the trail. I knew the sun would be intense so I wore long sleeves and a wide brimmed hat, as well as getting up earlier to start hiking around 6AM before it got super hot. I knew the trail wouldn’t be as crowded as more popular trails, but I was surprised to see so many people. In my opinion the trail is too short to really have a trail family to hike with, but I did hike with others from time to time and see friends while in towns. My encounters with others elevated the experience, from trail angels like Gary in Kearny and MJ in Superior to meeting a local runner, Diana, on the trail in Flagstaff who joined me for a zero day at the Grand Canyon and then picked me up at the Northern Terminus. From taking new friends Trash Pockets, Circles, and Steggie out to pizza and a brewery in Flagstaff to eating two meals at Jacob Lake Inn with Ultra Violet and Bowie a day before finishing, I had a blast meeting these new friends.
I fell in love with the Sonoran Desert, so much so that I got a saguaro cactus permanently inked onto my skin. Whenever I passed hedgehog cactus I spoke tender words of endearment, when I came across a prickly pear blossom I gasped; the diversity of cacti was astounding. I imagine to many people’s surprise, the trail was the most colorful I had been on, due to the wildflowers blooming. Since I am not super familiar with desert ecosystems it was both educational and sensual to move through it. I felt honored to come across the rare gila monster near Mount Lemmon and hear elks bugling up on the Colorado Plateau. The diversity of biomes the trail goes through is also remarkable, from Sonoran Desert up to the Mogollan Rim, past alpine by the tallest mountain in Arizona, and down into the Grand Canyon. Don’t even get me started on the Grand Canyon…I fell into it’s vortex and just less than a week after finishing I found myself back in it hiking from rim to rim to rim (more on that here).
All in all, the Arizona Trail was magical, and I would be so lucky to be able to hike under the Saguaros again one day.
This was not my first time on the Arizona Trail. Back in 2014 when I was living in Flagstaff I intended to bike the trail and interview hikers I met along the way for my masters thesis about thru-hikers’ relationship with nature and environmental behavior. However once on trail I quickly learned that I was not a good mountain biker and ended up pushing the bike up the mountains and walking it down the steep rocky descents. I also had to detour wilderness areas and I never came across anyone on trail, cause it was May. I ended up only biking 300 miles of the trail in different sections across the state and vowed to return one day to hike it. I still interviewed Arizona Trail thru-hikers for my thesis but I had to change how I found them. My time spent living in Flagstaff was one of the best times in my life. I was thrilled to be back and finally get to hike across Arizona. It was better than I could have ever imagined.
GEAR LIST
