Planning to Hike the AZT in 2016- Help Please

[Trew]

I would like to chat with someone who has hiked the entire AZT nobo. I am planning on starting on the AZT as early in 2016 as possible. I have the guide books. Maps are on backorder.

I have questions like, can I have the entire AZT loaded into my GPS?
Water challenges- do I have to really do the trail 2x- first time to spot water jugs?

I will be unsupported and hiking solo, probably. Is a late Feb start too early?

I would really like to phone chat with someone on their AZT hike. You can leave me a private message if you are interested.

I will be 67 the end of December. I want to get this trail done in 2016.

Suggestions, insights, comments, warnings, condolences, all are welcome.

-Trew

[Sredfield]

Posted elsewhere but here it is again, with updates:

My semi-standard "advice":

Study the ATA website and links, it has all the information you need.

Starting in February may put you a little early and you will likely encounter some pretty cold temps and snow north of Pine. "Typical" start time is mid-March.

Water sources are rated on the source page. The reliability varies according to the amount of moisture the area has received. As you hike it, you will gain an understanding of the reliability. In a wet year the 2's and many 1's will have water, in a dry year they probably won't. It's a rather subjective system, but seems to work. Note that 2016 is predicted to be an el Nino year, so water will likely be pretty good. NOTE that "water" means in whatever condition you find it-some of which will be the ponds that cattle stand it. This is Arizona, take what water you find.

Longest dry stretch seems to be south of the Gila River. Freeman Road cache is "usually" stocked but don't bet your life on caches. Cache your own before you start if you live in the area. Take care of your empty's, either leave them in the supply boxes or come back and get them. It's beginning to be a problem. Study the data book and water source information so you have an idea of where the next water is.

I carried a filter-many people do it with chemicals. Some of the water sources are pretty skanky, and will taste awful if you don't filter them.

Trail is mostly well marked, except for those places you hit while tired or distracted. The classic "lost the trail" situation is where it leaves a two - track road. Carrying and knowing how to read a topo map is a handy skill. Use a GPS or the phone apps if you know how. It's 800 miles long in very diverse terrain, you will likely get off trail a few times.

I used a 20 degree REI bag, took long underwear and a down type jacket for the first few weeks and the high country. Note the elevation, the trail goes over several "sky islands" in the southern reaches. The lower elevations will be much warmer than the tops of the mountains you will cross.

If you are expecting a manicured path through the park, you will be disappointed. AZ is a low population state, there isn't a huge volunteer base to build and maintain the trail. The agencies are under-funded for their recreation programs; the AZT gets more than it's share but it's a very small pot of money for trails. All that to say there are a few parts of the trail that are overgrown, washed out and generally hurting. Experienced hikers say that it is a challenge in most regards-logistics, route finding, distance, resupply, etc. But they also say that it is well worth it, and most of it is &*F*^$_ing awesome.

Take the gear you are comfortable with, light-heavy-whatever works for you. If you don't have this settled, no long trail is the place to do it. That said, I changed tents the week before I started, to a tent tarp and was quite happy with it.

I found my body wanted to go the extra miles (for me 25 mile days) but couldn't handle it and I wound up with a stress fracture. Had I taken a few more zero days I think I would have been fine. Point here is take it slow, a few days off beats a month or more off to heal up from an injury.

Study the ATA website, it has all the information you need. (I know, but it's worth repeating.)
Buy and carry the topo maps; the miles you hike while lost are hard ones.
Take more pictures.
Never leave a water source with an emtpy belly--drink till you slosh.
Look behind you once in a while--it's encouraging.
Once you get to the Mogollon Rim you have it made. (unless you are too early and there is 2 feet of snow on the level)
Don't quit in the rain, the sun's coming out.
The bypass around Flagstaff is incredible, and you can get to town easily from where it crosses the highway east of town.
Slow down, it's not a race. Soak it up.

That'll be $.02
Enjoy!

[Sredfield]

@Trew
I have questions like, can I have the entire AZT loaded into my GPS?

No, but buy the Garmin chip, the trail is part of the imagery so file size and number of tracks isn't a issue.

Water challenges- do I have to really do the trail 2x- first time to spot water jugs?

Probably not, but note the water cautions above. Study the data book and water source information. I cached at Box Canyon Road (probably not necessary) and Freeman Road. There used to be concern about drinking the Gila River water, probably not an issue for a day or two if you don't get the muddy bottom of the stream.

I will be unsupported and hiking solo, probably. Is a late Feb start too early?
Probably, if we get the el nino year.

[sandyfortner]

Buy the Arizona Trail map app - find the link on the AZT web page. $9.99 and well worth it as another source, assuming that you will have a smart phone with you on the trail. But - maps - never leave home without them! Feb. may be a tad early - in the first 10 miles you have to get up and over Miller Peak. You'll get a few days of lower elevations then Temporal Gulch - a little more desert then Rincons and Pusch. Those 4 areas are high and could likely be snowed in yet. Mid March may be better but be watching weather. As far as being unsupported - stay on the forum - you may find other thru hikers, section hikers and / or trail angels!

[rcorfman]

@Trew
I recently finished section hiking the AZT. I started the weekend before Thanksgiving last year and finished up the 25th of October. I started in Patagonia and went to Gabe Zimmerman TH, then jumped ahead past the mountains to the Black Hills where I continued by section to Sunflower. From there I went back to the mountains near Tucson, then continued north from Sunflower to the south rim of Grand Canyon. Then I returned to the start and completed the first three passages before completing the trail from South Rim to state line.

I cached water for the 62 mile trip from Patagonia to Gabe Zimmerman. I didn't need to and it was a wasted effort, though convenient to have. I also cached water at the Freeman Rd. Trailhead for the 56 mile section through the Black Hills and Tortilla Mts. That helped but I would have been okay without. I didn't cache water for any of the other sections and never had any trouble, water wise. I did pay attention to where the water sources were and made sure I had enough to get to the next. That was a priority. I actually met Sandy Fortner when hiking north of Four Peaks. She gave me water but in the end it was a nice convenience only as there was water all over the place due to rains the previous week. I also got a gallon from Border Patrol once. Again, that was a convenience since there was plenty of water available along the trail.

I think whether you can load the whole AZT onto your GPSr may very well depend on what GPSr you have. I haven't tried, but I believe I could get it all the waypoints on my Oregon 450T. I know I could get all the tracks on it. I depended on my GPSr while on trail, especially through passage 3 which was very difficult for me to navigate due to the overgrowth. I caught myself getting off trail several times with it and was very glad I didn't need to depend on paper maps to figure that out.

Good luck with your hike!

[Trew]

Rcorfman, I appreciate the response. The AZT shouldn't be that much more challenging than the CDT in NM- I am hoping.

I have a Garmin eTrex 30 and I believe it has enough memory to load the entire AZT into it. I just need to know where I can do that. I am not a techie type guy and have entered routes manually into the GPS but it is very time consuming. I wonder if there is a memory chip with the AZT already on it.

I have the CDT for NM in my GPS right now, but that is easy enough delete to get the space back.

[Trew]

I live in Florence, not far from PicketPost TH. I have actually been thinking about hiking from Mexico up to PicketPost starting early as possible from Mexico, then take a week off at home, then have someone drive me up to the end point on the Utah border and hike sobo back to PicketPost and end there- close to home.

But I may just do the entire AZT nobo.

I do appreciate the suggestions. I am copying and placing in a notebook.

-Trew (also known as No Hurry)

[Trew]

Buy the Arizona Trail map app - find the link on the AZT web page. $9.99 and well worth it as another source, assuming that you will have a smart phone with you on the trail. But - maps - never leave home without them! Feb. may be a tad early - in the first 10 miles you have to get up and over Miller Peak. You'll get a few days of lower elevations then Temporal Gulch - a little more desert then Rincons and Pusch. Those 4 areas are high and could likely be snowed in yet. Mid March may be better but be watching weather. As far as being unsupported - stay on the forum - you may find other thru hikers, section hikers and / or trail angels!

No Smartphone. Just a Garmin eTrex 30 is all I have. It does have the entire AZ topo loaded into it. Would I already have the AZT and not know it? I was looking for a route that would stay highlighted on the GPS.

-Trew (and sometimes No Hurry)

[jonathanpatt]

As mentioned above, Garmin sells an Arizona Trail-specific map you can load onto your Garmin device, with a routable trail: https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/maps/on ... 34600.html

[Trew]

GOT IT!!! exactly what I was looking for. Just placed the order. My confidence level just soared immensely.

[heyyou]

Since you are hopefully training for your hike, why not try the notorious tough sections for practice? Getting better at loading and using your GPS might be considered as part of your trip preparations.

Just after a winter storm, the lower elevation dirt roads dry out in a day, then you usually have about four more good days before the next storm starts. Unless you like spending days in your shelter, head out of the mountains when you see cirrus clouds on your training trips.

[nonot]

You could download the trails map at the link in my signature, if you don't want to fork out the money for the official map.

[Dave1]

I have used "The Eagle"'s tracks that are posted on HAZ for most of the segments I've done and they've all been accurate. He also posts water sources and other POIs on his tracks. Garmin may have those on their tracks too but I would trust The Eagle's over them. I doubt anyone from Garmin has ever hiked the AZT. If you put the tracks together in Route Manager just make sure they're less than 10,000 points if used on a Garmin.

[CannondaleKid]

@Dave1 In general I agree with your assessment of Garmin, but for this AZT chip, I was under the impression the ATA and Garmin worked together to create it in the first place.

Still, if you have a SmartPhone, the app is only $9.99. And based on my hike along AZT #22 with Courtney watching her make use of the app, like seeking out water sources, I'd say it is well worth the cost.

[Sredfield]

@CannondaleKid
How does the battery hold up using this app? My S4 Iphone does not have the battery life to deal with constant navigation chores, such as with the Theodolite app.

[SpicedRum]

Just finished the Trail going Southbound. We did cache water at a few spots but really didn't have to. Water was the worst in Northern AZ actually. I used the Guthooks APP on my phone and nothing else. Incredible APP that shows you everything you need to know. If you still want to talk to someone let me know.

[ttretta]

@CannondaleKid
How does the battery hold up using this app? My S4 Iphone does not have the battery life to deal with constant navigation chores, such as with the Theodolite app.

I have a Galaxy S4 and use the AZ Trail App. I absolutely love it. To preserve battery life, I leave the GPS off and the phone in airplane mode, and then turn all on to do periodic checks of the GPS track if I lose the trail, or am looking for water stops. My battery lasts all day, and I carry a portable charger to recharge overnight.

[CannondaleKid]

How does the battery hold up using this app?

Sorry, not having personally used the app I can't say.

The person to ask would be Courtney once she reaches Utah, since she is the one to tell me about it. She had not actually had a chance to use it on the trail until we left Sunflower.

[sandyfortner]

@CannondaleKid
How does the battery hold up using this app? My S4 Iphone does not have the battery life to deal with constant navigation chores, such as with the Theodolite app.

I leave my Samsung 5 on airplane mode while out. I use the phone as my only camera and also to check the AZT app for navigation and use hardly any battery at all. Just be sure that you have downloaded the "off line maps". Was out 4 days and still had plenty of battery left. Took over 100 pics too!

[SpicedRum]

My Android will last 4 days easily in airplane mode and I carry a recharge battery for it also.