So, I am sure this may be posted somewhere else but I couldn't find it. If you had to hike somewhere for the rest of your life OR you had 4 more hours to spend hiking in your life. (I know I am a nerd....) WHERE IS THE BEST PLACE TO HIKE IS ARIZONA?!
-JANELLE :A1: *Note added: I have always been to shy to post a topic, however that night I had a little too much wine and decided to go for it. I REALLY thought I had deleted it but apparently not. I was glad to see the responses and I added my favorite place too!
Last edited by Hikergirl81 on Apr 23 2009 11:52 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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davis2001r6 wrote:I stay away from Sedona as much as I can. Sure it's "only $20" for a pass. But guess what, $75? for a NP Pass, AZ State Parks Pass, Catalina, Madera Canyon, Red Rock, Tonto Pass, West Fork....all those little passes and fee's add up to a lot of money. Sedona is a tourist trap in my book, having to pay money to park on the side of the road to take a picture is ridiculous.
You can get a multi-agency pass for $100 that covers all of the fee demonstration areas, etc. I was really glad they did this, BTW...
Jeff MacE wrote:You can get a multi-agency pass for $100 that covers all of the fee demonstration areas, etc. I was really glad they did this, BTW...
The problem is that you sometimes run into people who claim that it doesn't, and that their pet local fee isn't covered. The first one that comes to mind is the Tonto Pass. I've heard people that should know better claim that you need a Tonto Pass to park at any Superstitions TH, regardless of what other passes you have or what the actual Tonto Pass regulations are.
Are any of these passes good at the West Fork of Oak Creek? They make a big deal about a Red Rocks Pass not being enough there. You would think it was private or something.
No, many are usage fees. I'm not sure the pass covers parking fees, but if the fee is being charged by the FS or NPS I'll go out on a limb and suggest that it may...
Red Rocks Pass (or interagency pass, for that matter) doesn't cover Red Rock Crossing, West Fork, Slide Rock, or Grasshopper Point because those fees are going to a private concessionaire to access the parking there. If you park on the side of the road (legally) you can walk in fee-free.
"The only thing we did was wrong was staying in the wilderness to long...the only thing we did was right was the day we started to fight..."
-Old Spiritual
My book, The Marauders on Lulu and Amazon
Well JP, I think you just got hijacked. Now back to the question.
My choice would be a remote section of the Grand Canyon. Yes, there are many other places in Arizona that I think are awesome and love to visit again and again but I would pick a less traveled route in the GC.
Good choice if you still have the knees for it! I hiked S. Bass a year and a half ago, which is NOT considered a remote corner by many Canyon regulars. BUT, it was a regular hiking trail (easier on my old knees) and we saw no one. Plus, if we'd had more time (ah, there's the rub) there were many easy routes to hike along the Esplanade, Tonto Platform and lower platform. Anyway, it was one of my favorite hikes in the Canyon so far. Someone had told me "South Bass? Oh, there's nothing down there but an old boat!" Yup that's true, just an old boat down there. Nah, don't bother going there! ;)
There is a point of no return unremarked at the time in most lives. Graham Greene The Comedians
A clean house is a sign of a misspent life.
I'm still having a hard time deciding where it would be if it could only be Arizona, and only one hike...
"The only thing we did was wrong was staying in the wilderness to long...the only thing we did was right was the day we started to fight..."
-Old Spiritual
My book, The Marauders on Lulu and Amazon
For this same reason I have not yet discovered this primo AZ hike either, but then there is a whole lot of square miles I have yet to experience in this amAZing state. My best guess is that this "one and only hike" will actually end up not being in AZ but in MT on Crocodile Ryan's upcoming Aug'09 "Glacier National Park" backpack trip.
jhodlof wrote:Are any of these passes good at the West Fork of Oak Creek? They make a big deal about a Red Rocks Pass not being enough there. You would think it was private or something.
The Grand Annual $40 Red Rock Pass allows access to Crescent Moon (RRXing), West Fork, Grasshopper Point and Banjo Bill. Except you can easily park on the roadside or a nearby trailhead using a regular Red Rock Pass and walk in. You're supposed to pay $1 if you walk in, but never bother. Just don't let the people in the booth see you!
One thing is for sure, there are a lot of hikes out there that never make it to this board. My son, for example, hikes with his job off-trail, taking troubled teens on long backpacking trips. He regularly sees big waterfalls with swimming holes that I have never seen discussed anywhere. I think people who find these off-trail places, and put in the time to drive 5 hours on a 4WD road to get to where they start bushwhacking for a couple days to get there, don't want all of Phoenix to know where they are. Fine with me. I have some idea of places he goes, mapwise, but haven't actually been to them. He says they virtually never see another hiker, except near the roads.
There is a point of no return unremarked at the time in most lives. Graham Greene The Comedians
A clean house is a sign of a misspent life.
Yeah, there are tons of places that haven't been talked about on here, which is fine. I have a feeling that some of these places hardly anyone who "hikes" visits some of these remote areas.I am thinking primarily of the Navajo Nation (outside of heavily visited places like Keet Seel, Rainbow Bridge, Canyon de Chelly, etc.). Specifically places like the Chuskas, Lukachukais, Black Falls, Rotten Bananas, etc.. You can hike on the Hopi reservation with a guide, but I have rarely heard from anyone doing so. And that's just my area of the state; I don't even have an idea what is relatively "unexplored" in the rest of the state.
"The only thing we did was wrong was staying in the wilderness to long...the only thing we did was right was the day we started to fight..."
-Old Spiritual
My book, The Marauders on Lulu and Amazon
I'm sure many of us know of places we will never post. I know of one on the backside of the Catalinas that would be great to show other hikers, but is also in prime ATV-thrashing territory. Beta leaks out on it and it will probably be history (And I'll have various local conservation groups hunting my head ).
For me it depends on the time of the year, day/night of the week. But tonight its the desert foothills, heading shortly to spend the night out on the desert.
I was glad to see the responses and I added my favorite place too! 
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