well ... did my 2 hikes in the Sups.... originally was ta start prepping for the pacific Crest Trail in Cali... but thinking maybe do some of the AZT since its close and local
I have looked at some of the Maps/sections but no clue on a good place to start.. so Ill tell ya my Stats and Ideas and Im sure you all can recommend some ideas for me.
Thinking 3 days 2 nights... old Dog cant stay home alone to long and Wife works 12hr shifts
Water availability would be nice.. But can bring it if needed
I usually do 6-8mi a day, can do more or less depending on trail conditions and elevation gains.
Planing a drop off of my Car at end spot.. and my Wife dumping me at the Trail start..
New pack was great, Exos 48.. New Shoes getting replaced .. New Tarp tent probably coming leaning towards This Skyscape Trekker https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0oOiromkd8. But now I may get the Big Agnes fly creek ul1 or UL2.. Longer Sleeping Bag as well, well Maybe.... ok my new addiction is getting spendy....lol
rcorfman wrote:That's passages 16 & 17. It's about 37 miles so at your pace you may want to do it in 3 days and 4 nights.
yes, that's roughly 12 miles/day. my apologies to OP for overlooking the hiking style he enjoys. it is fairly rugged, to boot. from white canyon to the gila is fairly bland, maybe just do picketpost to white canyon (where you will find a reliable spring).
there's always the GET.. safford/morenci trail. 3 days, 2 nights. this is a tiny section of history and cool geology, in part a battle of ecology/"progress" pieced together by BlisterFree and it runs from central NM to the first water t/h. btw, what the heck is BlisterFree doing? http://hikearizona.com/decoder.php?ZTN=3069
@Stavman
Here are a few sections that you can look at for the AZT for March. Hope Camp to Italian Trap in Tucson 21.6 miles passage 9 and beginning of 10. Should have plenty of water due to wet/snow winter. Top of Rincon would have to check but could still have snow. Next Gordon to Summerhaven passage 11 & part of 12 also Tucson. 20+ miles water all along trail top of Mt. Lemon possible still have snow. Next Rogers Trough to Roosevelt Lake N. of Superior. 29 miles to Vineyard TH across Roosevelt bridge. Water will be available along trail. Last Twin Butte to Washington Park Payson/Pine area. About 29 miles. Water along trail. This takes you thru city of Pine and ends at Washington Park NE of Payson. Can be done in many days or few days depending on how you split it up. Hope this helps and if you have not checked out the Arizona Trail Association website please look there also. For a small donation that is tax deductible and goes to help maintain the AZT you will have access to the databook with all the water sources, mileage, and more along the AZT.
te-wa wrote:from white canyon to the gila is fairly bland
BTW, passage #16 of the AZT no longer passes through White Canyon Wilderness... hasn't for a number of years.
Also, the new route is far from bland, and a favorite of mountain bikers... speaking of which, we met three groups of mountain bikers on AZT #16 yesterday.
te-wa wrote:there's always the GET.. safford/morenci trail. 3 days, 2 nights. this is a tiny section of history and cool geology, in part a battle of ecology/"progress" pieced together by BlisterFree and it runs from central NM to the first water t/h. btw, what the heck is BlisterFree doing? [ description ]
How is the Road up to There. I have a Honda Pilot, I assume it would be fine, wouldn't It
Not sure what road Chums went in, but I want to say no on the Honda Pilot, I have been there several times and even taking the nicest stretch of road to the TH, seems like it could be problematic...Solomon's Pass is a bit of a climb and a borderline high clearance road..
regarding the safford-morenci as a end to end...i remember the western t/h was dirt, but not in any condition requiring a big truck. we did the trip in a stock tahoe. of course things may have changed over the years.
the eastern t/h is reached by paved road.
i'd be interested to hear more about the loop you have in mind, and the road conditions.
Starts from the Western Side on West Bonita Rim Road.. Ya Id like ta confirm the Road as well... Big Red would be Fine but Rather not Take him into the Boonies... he is Kinda Old...LOL