Class of 2013 North Bound

[pops c]

Class of 2013; let’s start a discussion…

Trail Name:
Estimated Start Date:
Additional information:

Pops C.
01-15.March, (Depending on snow in the mountains)

Additional information:
To quote Ice-axe, “Train, lose body weight, lose pack weight.”

pops c

[blisterfree]

Consider me a desert rat who likes to sleep in a tent. It's not the scorpions or non-existent snakes that ruin my evening, but the ubiquitous, hyperactive moths that land in my dinner or in front of my reading material. Done in by the headlamp-attracted desert moths again. (Surely I'm not alone, am I?)

And then of course there are the ants. For crying out loud, Ed Abbey slept on a cot because of the desert ants. Yes, they're really that bad. ;) And a tent works just as well, I find.

Let's not forget about the flies, either. The droning, witless deer flies are up almost as early as the songbirds on warm spring days, all but ensuring the tentless humans will be rising early too.

I sometimes envy the ones who manage to clock out reliably at 9pm every night to wake up at dawn having somehow earned their beauty rest. Because only the well-rested can afford to endure that daily alarm clock named El Sol, harsh taskmaster of the desert horizon. In a tent I can keep him at bay for a while, at least. And lately, in a breathable white tyvek tent, I could conceivably sleep in through mid-morning, minus the sweat-lodge / greenhouse effect. Now THIS is living!

(PS - I'm pretty sure I enjoy the stars as much as the next desert camper, except when my eyes are closed and the brainwaves nodding toward the alpha state. )

[blisterfree]

Alright, I was being a little silly in the previous post. Actually I thru-hiked the Arizona Trail using a home-made rectangular tarp, which worked just fine when I needed protection from the weather or overnight dew. I'm not the soundest sleeper on the trail, though, and over the years I've come to appreciate the ability to improve my odds as offered by a tent. This is most applicable to the Sonoran desert portions of the trail, which is remarkably fecund in its insect life during the warmer months. The advantages of a tent would be less obvious, to me, above the Mogollon Rim. However, my hiking partner and I did manage to get caught in an epic blizzard on the Kaibab Plateau (late April), during which we each spent the night huddled miserably beneath our drafty tarps as the wind whipped spindrift onto our down sleeping bags. A tent would have served better, though at the expense of a memorable tale.

[azbackpackr]

I do enjoy the tent when there's actual weather! On the river trip I brought a USMC Eureka combat tent, a 2-person one. I set it up several times, to the great envy of those who only had tarps, since when we did have weather on that trip, it was windblown rain. I remained extremely dry and toasty, and barely knew there was any weather happening. For backpacking I have a solo free-standing tent. It stays home some of the time, other times it goes with me. I recently bought an MSR eWing but haven't used it yet. I need to get back on the trail!

[writeronthestorm]

So, is there a guidebook available to plan a thru-hike, or do most people just use the info from the ATA website?

[Sredfield]

The information on the website is the most current. Members can download a version of the guide book which is much better than the last printed version, but is not final. The topo maps and data book available on the website are pretty comprehensive; the guide book has some more detailed information if you want it.

12/9/12 I just learned that the on-line version of the guidebook-in-progress has been pulled down.

[pops c]

hey there! hoping to join you guys for a northbound attempt in spring '13.

what about for weather so we can bring adequate layers and bedding?

northbound/All-
I’ve been away from the computer for a few months, pleased to see the class of 2013 discussion is active.
The Rincon remote weather Station (AZT mile 142) has data covering the Southern region.
http://www.raws.dri.edu/cgi-bin/rawMAIN.pl?azARIN

The Rincon data is applicable to miles 0- 207 @ Oracle. Look back 3 years to get an average, also the 7 day forecasts are available (Bottom left menu).

I plan on starting w/ a 20 deg bag and 5R of foam. Maybe switch to 40 deg and 3R at Oracle (13 oz wt savings)? That said, I have zero experience thru hiking – but know I do not like being cold!

Pops c
AZT Dreamer - Class of 2013

[pops c]

Winter rains and Mt snows are off to a good start! 0.50”+ w/ more to come…

Link for totals:
Turn on radio buttons’: “Precip” & “24hr Precip” in menu on rt side

http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/mesowest/gmap.php?map=twc

[FromMEtoAZ]

I'm planning on starting from Tucson in the middle of Jan and hiking 200 miles North...Any suggestions on water, resupply spots, and other important facts that I might not know coming down from Maine?
How cold can i expect it to be?... And when people talk about "snow" how much are they talking about? An inch or two feet (in general)?
I really am looking forward to getting out on the trail and hope to see some of you out there enjoying the path!

[pops c]

ME to AZ-

A key preparation for thru-hiking was joining the AZ Trail Association (AZTrail.org).
As a section(s) hiker the info you need is also a benefit of ATA membership.

The AZT Trail Director told me a year ago (in regards to hiking the trail) “Plan, plan and plan some more”.

[blisterfree]

You could start north of Tucson, east of Tucson, or south of Tucson.

North of Tucson @ Tiger Mine Trailhead near Oracle - no snow of any consequence until perhaps Four Peaks / Mazatzals. Elevations are too low.
East of Tucson @ Gabe Zimmerman TH near Vail - currently a foot or more of snow at the highest elevations in the Rincons and Catalinas. Otherwise, ditto above.
South of Tucson @ the Mexican border - less snow at the highest elevations approaching Tucson, but still a fair bit in the southernmost ranges.

More storms will probably come through between now and your planned departure.

Winter hiking in southern / central Arizona, on average, means snow and cold up high, mild daytime temps down low, and cold nights just about everywhere. The majority of the AZ Trail in this region is at lower elevations, with the exception of the Sky Islands and Mazatzals. Don't underestimate winter conditions up high, but neither should you come prepared for an Arctic adventure. (Leave the ice axe at home, but bring microspikes perhaps; snowshoes are typically overkill south of the Mogollon Rim near Pine. GPS can be useful in following snow-covered trail; GPX tracks for each passage are one of the many privileges of ATA membership.)

Water info here:
http://www.aztrail.org/watersources.html

Resupply info here:
http://www.aztrail.org/thru-hikers.html#resupply

That was easy. Now go do it!

[The_Eagle]

GPS can be useful in following snow-covered trail; GPX tracks for each passage are one of the many privileges of ATA membership.)

GPX track are available for every Passage right here on the Hike Arizona Web Site. They are free to all! Spring and water source locations are downloadable as waypoints with the GPS Tracks, as well as recent observations.

[blisterfree]

Thanks for the friendly reminder on that. Does Joe or his army of trusty coders regularly maintain the database to reflect changes to the trail route, per ATA's ever-evolving website? It's sweatshop work, I tell you. By the way, if there's any perceived conflict of interest here, I imagine it's been squared away in a smoke-filled room somewhere, though there could still be some concealed hand-wringing going on whenever this topic rears its head now and again. What to do...

[The_Eagle]

This site is user driven. As users hike newly rerouted passages (ie. AZT#16 & AZT#17) most have been downloading the information to the site. Once it's been confirmed it is a rerouted passage, it is marked as "Official".

[Grasshopper]

As users hike newly rerouted passages (ie. AZT#16 & AZT#17) most have been downloading the information to the site. Once it's been confirmed it is a rerouted passage, it is marked as "Official".

I was just viewing AZT #16 on HAZ and there presently exists an ~one mile delta TH start difference between our present 5/26/12 "official" GPS Route listing vs the most recently completed GPS Route posted from 12/12/12.. http://hikearizona.com/map.php?QX=2363

[blisterfree]

Aye, so the choices are thus to either rehike the passage and record the latest track, or avail oneself of ATA's hard earned handiwork via their membership pages. Come to think of it, no conflict of interest at all if contributing data to HAZ purely by the sweat of one's brow.

The larger point I'd make, echoing Pops, is that it's great for AZ Trail hikers to support the trail as much as possible, which is what HAZ regulars here do in their own great way, and also what anyone planning to hike/ride the trail ought do for the sake of the maintaining organization via membership to ATA. Both efforts support the same cause as well as each other.

[CannondaleKid]

Speaking of supporting the Arizona Trail Association cause...

After spending yesterday helping with trail maintenance on passage 21 I thought of something I'd throw out as somewhat of a challenge to HAZ'ers who have hiked or plan on hiking all or part of the AZT.

:SB:
If we soon will or have taken advantage of all the hard work put into creating and maintaining the AZT, why not show our appreciation by giving a small part in return. Whether you spend a few $$ to join and/or volunteer even one day on one of the trail maintenance events, it would be very much appreciated by the Arizona Trail Association and all future users of the trail!

How 'bout it HAZ'ers?

[Sredfield]

Thank you Mark! And to make it easy for anyone accepting the challenge, there is a work event every Thursday at Sunflower-a quick jaunt up the Beeline. They usually meet up at Bushnell Tanks road at 8:30, knock off by 2 or 3. I try to attend and am happy to take riders.

[restlessadventurer]

Hi everyone,

I thought I'd intro myself. I'm Glenn aka Hardcore and am planning on doing the AZT next year. I'm planning on starting late February. I think I've found all the std planning resources and joined the ATA. Before I go printing too much out, does anyone know if there will be any updates to the guidebook/databook/maps before Feb?

Thanks,
Glenn

[te_wa]

you live in aurora? let's trade~! i'll do the CDT in late June (one of these years lol)

send a PM to SRedfield (Shaun Redfield) for AZT info.

[Sredfield]

Hi everyone,

I thought I'd intro myself. I'm Glenn aka Hardcore and am planning on doing the AZT next year. I'm planning on starting late February. I think I've found all the std planning resources and joined the ATA. Before I go printing too much out, does anyone know if there will be any updates to the guidebook/databook/maps before Feb?

Thanks,
Glenn

Welcome Glenn. As you probably are aware, 800 miles of trail is a living thing, it changes all the time. But there are no significant changes planned between now and then, and the ATA keeps the data book pretty current. The printed guide book is way out of date so do not rely on that, carry along if you like but there have been a lot of trail completed since that was written. There was an electronic version available on the ATA website a few weeks ago, but it's been pulled down because final editing for a new version has begun. I pity the poor who gets to do that--a gazillion details to get right and a million reviewers-what could go wrong with that plan?

I hiked it three years ago and carried the topo maps and the data book, plus my own notes as to distances planned, water sources, resupply, phone numbers of places I thought I may need along the way etc. (Verizon coverage was surprising.) The extra-size and extra battery for phone proved a good idea. Same for the camera-take more pictures.

Godspeed!