Starting the AZ in May

[DavidS]

So I'm considering doing the Arizona Trail this year but the earliest I can start is mid May, which will put me finishing at the end of June..... I was hoping to get some opinions on how difficult this would make it in terms of heat and water supply, as I have not been able to find much info on anyone hiking it that time of year.. Any response is appreciated, thanks!

[Sredfield]

@DavidS
More heat, less water. Just how much depends on the trend for the year, which is predicted to be warmer/dryer than last. But what do they know. My personal choice would be to wait till I could do it at the optimal time of mid-March. I finished in early June 2010 and it was getting pretty warm.

[DavidS]

@Sredfield I agree I probably should just wait to start. I think my main concern would be that many of the water resupply points would be dried up? Also did the heat keep you from putting in as many daily miles towards the end of your thru hike in 2010?

[Sredfield]

The heat just makes it all rather unpleasant, and dangerous in the lower elevations. Doing it in optimum temps makes it wonderful. And you are right about the water, they dry up as spring fades into summer. One can't say if the sources you need will dry up, but the odds get worse as things get warmer.

[sandyfortner]

Another option is to flip. Do the desert as soon as you arrive in May - that would still be warm/hot, but early morning and evening hiking would work. Then do the sky islands, then the plateau. But, since we're a short trail (compared to the Triple), that's a lot of shuttling for an 800 mile hike. Better to do it as a thru-hike when you can hit the spring or fall prime season. But I wouldn't recommend a thru-hike that starts that late. Takes the joy, and safety, right out of the hike.