2020 Mar 15-Apr Arizona Trail

  •   Category Price Weight
  • Clothes, Worn $99.95
    3.37 lb
  • Sleep $569.00
    2.23 lb
  • Clothes, Carried $378.74
    1.13 lb
  • Electronics $50.00
    0.99 lb
  • Shelter $124.00
    0.87 lb
  • Pack $1.00
    0.72 lb
  • Water $34.00
    0.49 lb
  • Ditty $15.45
    0.27 lb
  • Kitchen $2.99
    0.18 lb
  • Toilet $1.00
    0.17 lb
  • Navigation $0.00
    0 lb
  • Total $1276.13 10.41
    lb
    • oz
    • lb
    • g
    • kg
  • Consumable 0.26 lb
  • Worn 3.37 lb
  • Base Weight 6.78 lb

Prev: 2019 Oct 8-20 New England Trail

Next: 2020 May 11-Sep PCT

Results

I was satisfied with my gear choices, though I made one big mistake: I didn't test my footwear enough before I left.

I had used and enjoyed Altra Lone Peak 3.5s and assumed Altra Timps were just like them but with a bit more padding. Unfortunately my Timps absolutely destroyed my feet and left me in substantial pain during the first week to the point where I had to get different shoes mailed out. Luckily these new shoes (LP4) fit my feet much better and I was able to continue...

...Unfortunately the LP4 resulted in another problem: they are fine for ~15 mpd, but my feet could not comfortably sustain 20 mpd in them and I ended up with a stress fracture in one foot after 500 total miles and I had to bail out. Lesson learned: my big flat feet need a lot of padding, even with a 7 lb baseweight.

The MLD poncho tarp was OK as a shelter, I like tarps but it is quite minimal and riding out a storm in one wouldn't be pleasant. As rain gear I didn't care for it due to the sides being secured only with a few snaps -- I wouldn't use it in windy and exposed areas though it'd be better in more sheltered environments. I've since switched to a Gatewood Cape.

Cold-soaking was fine, but I would have enjoyed cooking more -- a peaceful coffee break in the morning and a morale-boosting hot meal at night, especially when it was cold, and it was quite cold anywhere at altitude.

I liked the Nero pack and it held my ~7 lb of baseweight, 2 liters of water and up to 6 days of food (120 miles from Roosevelt Lake to Pine) just fine. Though I do wish it had just the tiniest bit more of a hipbelt "wing" like the older MLD Burns. And the straps were nice and wide but not quite as thick as they could be.

The Trail:

Apparently the trail has changed a lot in just 1 year -- the southern terminus is currently closed for Trump-era wall building, Mt Lemmon had a major fire and that section is closed...

Bus

Angel

Uber

Coronado NM

Miller Peak

Patagonia

Tucson

Saguaro NP was gorgeous at the lower elevations, I loved the huge fields of cactus near the bottom and some of the rock and water formations on the way up were out of this world. At higher elevation there was still ~6 inches of snow and Manning Camp was cold and dismal. I bagged Micah Mountain peak and made it through the park and down to lower elevation so I could sleep warmer. It was a long day!

Tucson (again) -- I ended up double-dipping Tucson, which I completely did not expect.

The weather on Mt. Lemmon was overcast, cold and very windy, especially in Summerhaven. Spent most of my time there huddled in the vistor center bathrooms or across the street at the post office. Just barely escaped a storm by leaving very early in the morning, the hikers who left later got battered pretty good on the way down -- the trail from Summerhaven to Oracle leaves you exposed on the ridgeline for much of the duration.

Oracle

I was really looking forward to the Superstitions but I ended up hating them -- they're all burned out and there was a lot of erosion near the rivers making the trail hard to follow. There was very little shade during the day and it was cold at night. I saw a few other dayhikers and 1 very over-prepared section hiker but overall a bleak and lonely section.

I really liked Pine, I was relieved to arrive there and the guy at the gas station was very nice, and Pine had my favorite laundromat of all time; I ended up taking a zero in Pine to rest up (my foot was hurting me) and spent the day hanging out at the laundromat and walking back and forth to the supermarket across the street for more and more food. I camped just outside the edge of town on the side of the road, hidden behind a rise, sleeping under my tarp on soft pine needles.

It was very cold up on the Kaibab Plateau north of Pine, I got rained and snowed on off and on for 3 days and the mud was thick and would accumulate on the bottom of my shoe with every step. My foot pain increased and after having to stop early each afternoon to rest it I ended up calling it just after mile 500. Ugh. A disappointing end, but I loved the trail I saw and the people I met and I learned a lot.

I will give this another go.

Research

Research suggests AZT NOBO starting mid-March has sunny, exposed, hot days and clear, cold nights; conditions are overwhelmingly dry with infrequent short-lived precip. Expect temps 20F-90F (-6C-32C). Be prepared to walk through snow at higher elevations. Expect regular pre-dawn/night hiking due to only 12-13 hours of available sunlight. Harsh sun, nasty and unreliable water, spiky flora and rocky, dusty, hard-packed earth. Be prepared for water carries of up to 20-25 miles. Every single trip report talks about how cold the Kaibab Plateau is, so be ready for that. Trail is reportedly clear and well-marked, with a handful of exceptions.