Class of 2014 NOBO

[pops c]

Drought Maps Archives:
http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/MapsAndDa ... rison.aspx

Under the dropdown menu “Contiguous U.S.” select “Arizona”. Select last years date on the right side to compare maps. See how much better off we are this year; and it’s raining again!

Now, GET ON THE TRAIL!

[Pockets]

@azbackpackr

Thank you for the advice and nice to meet another tent-free aficionado! Hmmm... tent or not to tent. I would still bring my tarp for weather, of course, and it served me well for 5 months on the PCT in 2012 albeit rather drafty and less than ideal during the occasional rain/snow storm. Honestly I was less concerned about possibly spending a miserable night or two in some Spring weather than I was about having fist-sized scorpions feasting on my eyeballs as I sleep (my imagination can run away with me). You seem to have answered the scorpion question. Nice to meet you and I will continue to ponder the question. Thanks!

[Pockets]

@Sredfield
Good tips- thank you!

[pops c]

One thing to consider is the cold up North. I remember reading several Trail Journals of “fast packers” who started in March and contended w/ serious cold and storms north of the Mogollon.

I had a pretty leisurely hike 13.Mar - 02.Jun; a little snow and frost in both the south (200 mi) and north (~200 mi) ends of the Trail. Coldest night was about 20° a day or 2 south of Mormon Lake.

P.S. I really enjoyed the Gateway Communities, taking 2-3 days off at each. The people I met along the way are as fond a memory as the splendor of the Trail.

Most importantly: “Hike your own Hike” but please do not underestimate how wild and remote the AZT can be!

[Pockets]

@pops c
Ah, the cold in the North- that is a good point Pops and something to consider. Thank you.

[blisterfree]

Greetings mortal thru-hikers. It appears that Arizona's accumulating drought concerns of late are to be allayed in a serious way this coming weekend. Hopefully the local boots on the ground will be able to offer a few reports on rain and snow amounts as this storm goes down. In the meantime, the forecast calls for widespread 1" to perhaps even 2" of rain for the deserts, with snow above 7k (lower in the north) maybe on the order of a foot or two. Even better, this storm is just about guaranteed to happen, as it has been for nearly a week. You just don't see that kind of certainty in the forecasts across the region much anymore. So take heart! Salvation is at hand. :worthy:

[blisterfree]

Here's a Topofusion-generated mash-up showing accumulated precipitation from this storm, with the route of the Arizona Trail overlayed (red arrows). Looks like the heavier amounts aligned squarely with the trail corridor - how perfect is that?!

[pops c]

Looks like the heavier amounts aligned squarely with the trail corridor - how perfect is that?!

Got so excited had to bust out the banjo:



Class of 2013 post,
“A key variable may be keeping thru-hike itineraries’ flexible; as the needed precipitation may come late in the winter rainy season…”

NOW GET ON THE TRAIL!


AZT Challenge 43 = 7.5

[sirena]

@blisterfree

Nice map, Brett-I like it!!

[Clutch]

Clutch checking in here. I'll be starting my thru this week heading north. Anybody out there yet? Ever set a date Pockets?

[Pockets]

Hi all!
I was wondering- is there a list somewhere of trail angels and/or hiker-friendly places where a thru-hiker may be able to find showers/lodging along the way? Thanks!

[sirena]

I can hardly believe that the start of the Arizona Trail Trek is nearly here- just a week away!! Can't wait to get my feet on the trail!

Hope to see HAZers at the Gateway Community events and I've already had some sign up for the hikes and backpacks.

If you haven't checked it out yet, here's the website: http://www.aztrail.org/azttrek

See you on the AZT!

[natecolsen]

Hey there Sirena,
As you know, I'll be starting the trail on the 22nd this month and was just wondering about my logistical preparedness. While all food and resupply issues have already been addressed, my only lingering concern is about water. There are several water sources that have not been updated lately on the info sheet provided by the ata and with what little rain we've seen, I am a bit worried. I'm currently considering two caches at mile 236 and also 91 on fr231. Going north though I don't intend on cacheing due to logistical reasons, but have concerns of the stretches between flag-south rim and north rim-Utah. I was just wondering what your thoughts are on this. Alsoz it appears as though my itinerary is similar to yours. I am planning for 54 days plus 10-15 zero days. Thanks! Your thoughts are greatly appreciated!

[pops c]

@natecolsen

Nate-
My thru-hike pack was rated @ 52 #s. On 3 occasions it was loaded over 50 #s and I estimated as high as 54 #s leaving Jacob Lake.

Fyi: Over 50 #s was not fun, but I slowed down and enjoyed the scenery even that much more. At 36 #s the pack was not a burden. Upon entering a Gateway Community I was @ ~ 20 #s.

I’ve pasted in a quote by Blisterfree below; info I used and vetted in 2013.



Re: Class of 2013 North Bound
by blisterfree » Jan 03 2013 12:56 am

Here are some tips on water management I've published elsewhere:
Minimize base packweight as much as possible, in order to more comfortably carry larger, heavier loads of water when necessary.
Never reject the idea of carrying more water just because of its extra weight, and remember that this weight will decrease steadily as you hike toward the next source. Plan to carry what you need to be safe and happy farther down the trail.
Thoroughly re-hydrate at every water source before walking away from it. Drink much more than you think you need. Consider lingering for a while so that you can hydrate steadily over a period of time, which is more effective than quickly chugging 2 quarts and moving on.
When practical, try to cook and camp near water sources. This will reduce your use of carried water as well as total time spent traveling between sources. Avoid cooking or camping too close to fragile sources that wildlife and stock also depend on.
Unless you are very confidant in the likelihood of your next potential water source, always assume that it may not be flowing. How much water would you need to carry if hiking on to the next probable source? Consider carrying this much water from the outset.
Drink regularly throughout the day, rather than rationing your water supply (except in emergencies). Water can't do you any good if you don't consume it, and a pack laden with unconsumed water will only increase your water needs through exertion. Drink and walk. Walk and drink.
Use maps and field observations to determine where other water sources may exist that are not directly along the route. The presence of cattle or fresh dung is a sure sign of water, likely within a 1 mile radius of your location. In an emergency, use a small monocular to scout for windmills, tanks, or areas of lush vegetation on the horizon.
Carry several smaller water containers rather than one or two larger containers. Not only will you lose less water if one container should fail, you'll also be able to better distribute the load throughout your pack.


And finally, tips on other stuff, mostly of equal relevance on either an AZT or GET hike:
http://simblissity.net/get/planner-precautions.shtml
You & 3 members like this... unlike it



pops c
AZT Challenge 43 = 7.5

[blisterfree]

@Pops - Thanks for digging up that blurb for me. BTW to folks at large, these Gateway Communities are also known as trail towns. Nothing to be intimidated by, and no these aren't the top secret locations where Gateway PC's were manufactured back when they were priced at $1000 a pop.

@Sirena - Best of success on the AZ Trail Trek. What a remarkable undertaking!

@natecolsen - The good rains of last week will continue to manifest on the ground for a few weeks, I'd think. Seasonal cumulative precipitation is an indicator of drought and potentially the severity of the upcoming fire season, moreso than an indicator of water source availability, which is more heavily weighted toward whatever precip may have fallen recently. Manmade sources like windmills, pump-fed troughs and so forth are more unpredictable in terms of whether you'll find them on and running or off / disabled. So if you can get a bead on the status of these before arriving in said areas, all the better. Don't cache out of sense of vague unease though; it's a fair amount of effort and expense driving around and there's no guarantee it'll be there, or intact, when (if) you arrive. If caching, the best bet is to further grubstake the existing cache boxes, such as Tiger Mine Rd TH, Freeman Rd TH and Florence-Kelvin Rd TH. Those cache boxes are located where they are for a good reason, ie strong consensus.

@Pockets - I know what you're saying, man. The AZ Trail may not be quite like the PCT or AT in that regard, and part of the Gateway Community thing is, er, tacitly symbiotic, so don't think you're getting a cold shoulder here; it's just the nature of the beast, the AZT is still fairly new to the world. Best bet may be to wing it with an earnest demeanor and perhaps a knock at the door of some likely locales. Many towns will have a place of worship or two, for example. An RV park or campground here or there. The first Benson exit off I-10 E has a truck stop (from the AZT at Three Bridges / Marsh Station Rd, hitch east)... And doesn't Summerhaven have a community / rec center of some kind? I vaguely recall seeing showers off the men's restroom area while finishing off my Cookie Cabin pizza box out of the cold wind one early spring day. Or was that a figment of my hiker imagination?

[thalweg]

I just finished the southern third of the trail south to north. Started Feb 26 and finished March 13 at the Gila River. Mostly solo, with friends joining from the Catalinas to the Gila. 20 miles a day is a nice challenging pace for me, more than that and my feet seemed to suffer, and you might end up hiking in the dark. Sirena caught me asleep at the end of passage 3 after trying 26 miles Nice temperatures overall, maybe a little hot for me already. 6 inches of snow in the Rincons but none on the trail in other ranges. I had many days without seeing other hikers, or anybody really. Lots of friendly people in the towns. Try El Mariachi Blanco pizza at Velvet Elvis in Patagonia (also USPS me a large order please). There is a new restaurant (Sawmill) in Summerhaven.

I found the water source cheat sheet to be very helpful and accurate. That said, I did not check every source, just the ones I needed. I would downgrade Rincon Creek on that sheet though, it looked very sandy and dry without any water that I could see. Cowhead Tank at the bottom of Camp Grant wash was good to fill some of that gap between Oracle and the Gila, as well as a bit from the resupply boxes, which had about 5 gallons of unmarked or 2013 marked water.

My biggest problem on the trail was with blisters and sore feet. I started in boots, then switched to trail runners in Patagonia. Both were a size too big and broken in, but my feet swelled so that I was rubbing on the sides and even losing toenails on the end! I even had to cut the shoe by the pinky toe so that it would not continue to get crushed. I had 3 different insoles in my box, but ended up with the crappiest thin ones as they provided the most volume. Part of the problem was overheating I think, from boots and doing liner plus hiking socks. A friend brought some lighter running socks, and the cooler temp along with taking the shoes off at breaks made a huge difference.

If all goes well I will be back from my river trips April 9 and restarting the trail at the Gila River heading north to Utah. Hope to see you out there, I have not met any thruhikers so far! Although caught wind of perhaps three.

Cheers,

Scott
Thalweg at gmail

[natecolsen]

Thanks for the great information everyone!!! I've been doing some last minute resupply changes and have decided to cut some luxuries from my base pack as well (I heven't let go of the Dslr, lenses, or tripod yet...). I'm feeling better about water sources now, especially after having reworked my itinerary a bit and slowing my originally planned pace. Otherwise, I'm feeling good and can't wait to hit the trail. See you all out there! Or here.... Most likely just here, haha.

[sirena]

Made it to Patagonia! Here's an update on how things are going with the Arizona Trail Trek so far:

http://desertsirena.wordpress.com/2014/ ... patagonia/

Sirena

[blisterfree]

Anyone planning on heading out to refresh the water cache box at Freeman Road (and/or Florence Kelvin Rd)? Word on the street as of March 16 is the Freeman cache is down to 3.5 gallons. Heading north, the 100 gallon stock trough is reportedly sand with a small amount of stagnant water, while the source in Ripsey Wash is a pittance of stagnant in the trough and 10 min / liter flow from the hose (the cliff source is mud). The Flo-Kel cache had about 4 gallons on the 16th.

Ain't gonna cut it for the balance of the season, is it?

As an aside, the condition of the water sources in this stretch doesn't seem to comport with the fairly decent amount of rain that's fallen within the past few weeks. Either the problem may be one of cumulative drought now affecting even short-term water availability here, or the sources just increasingly suck on account of neglect or whatever. Maybe both?

[Sredfield]

I heard Trough Springs south of Picket Post is dry as well.

[wha]

What's the road like to Freeman cache? Either direction small car accessible, or better to take a jeep?