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Hi--I am hiking north on the AZT starting in Tucson in March. I am putting a water cache at the Old Florence Road north of Freeman Road. Where else have people put caches or felt they needed to have a cache? Thanks.

I've seen them just north of Road 62 down by Patagonia, at Road 418 north of the Peaks, near Missouri Bill Hill a bit farther north, and some north of the canyon but I don't recall where. Keep an eye on the weather as you go, and after you get started you can gauge the reliability of the water source ratings in the data book against what you find, you'll develop a better comfort level.

There's some likely water in the initial miles out of Patagonia (beyond the high-grade road walk). Then you can pick from Enzenberg Canyon, Bowman Spring, Scholefield Canyon (a few tenths up the wash for pools), the Lake, Twin Tanks, and Cienega Creek, some of which are almost bound to have a bit of water in early spring except in an unprecedented drought. I don't think we're there yet. In fact, I hear Cienega Creek currently has a deep, yards-long pool with minnows right where the AZT crosses. That should be there to one extent or another into March at least.

Rincon Creek can be a heartbreaker. I wouldn't count on it. Until SNP decides to renovate Hope Camp with a nice solar well, there are at least two canyons the AZT crosses beyond the Quilter Tr junction that often have water in spring. The second one (beyond the junction from Madrona) might be more reliable (big pools in spring 2010). If you see water here, good chance of seeing some at Grass Shack too.

North of GC you can normally melt some snow during thru-hiker season. More problematic could be from the San Francisco Peaks north to GC, though it's not normally a big deal in a season of average moisture, esp. if you're ok with drinking tank water. Snowbowl definitely has water inside the main building, but access could be an issue outside of ski season.

I just finnished my thru and the only place I cached H2O was at Cedar Ranch north of Flag, and I'm glad I did. I got very good water at Alfa Fia tank and then none until Russell Tank. Russell water was just fine, not muddy. It looked like quite a few people had cached at the Cedar Ranch trailhead - maybe a candidate for a more permanent or supported water cache?
There was a lot less water available north of the grand canyon than I expected. Snow yes, water not so much.

HikingDude wrote:I just finished my thru and the only place I cached H2O was at Cedar Ranch north of Flag, and I'm glad I did. I got very good water at Alfa Fia tank and then none until Russell Tank. Russell water was just fine, not muddy. It looked like quite a few people had cached at the Cedar Ranch trailhead - maybe a candidate for a more permanent or supported water cache?
There was a lot less water available north of the grand canyon than I expected. Snow yes, water not so much.

Congratulations on finishing! That's super! :worthy:

HikingDude wrote:I just finnished my thru . . .

Bravo! Congratulations! Tell us about it.