Check out the distance/elevation stats to decide what's good for you. In my personal backpacking experience, what I consider some of my hardest days, with a full pack, were 2100' gain in 8 miles, a steady uphill, and 1000' in 1.3 miles with seven more downhill miles after that pass. I know it's har...

Ummm...have you who don't use developed campgrounds forgotten about trailhead parking fees? They will be free no more. In the Pacific Northwest, many camps with only pit toilets (not even trash cans) are serviced by private concessionaires. Many's the time I've begun a backpack by spending a night i...

Thanks for the links. BTW What do you consider difficult?

Greetings all! I am new to this forum and relatively new to desert backpacking, having only spent one week in Cedar Mesa, UT. Most of my experience is in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest. I am scheming on a long weekend backpack to AZ during wildflower season. I will be flying in and out of Ph...