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I am very interested in hiking the AZT, but I feel that I am not experienced enough. I dont think Ive ever hiked more than 15 miles in rugged terrain before, except in 1983 in the military, where we did a 30 mile road march. But my biggest problem, is I would most likely have to do it alone, as none of my friends, nor my 3 kids are hikers really. So I guess I could say this AZT is on my bucket list, as it would take me at least 6 months or longer to prepare for something like this. But I had several questions that are bugging me. First, how on earth do you carry enough water to make it 800 miles? Or 400 miles if you do it in 2 segments? or do you just carry some sort of water filter system? I do not drink tap water at home, and have not for over 40 years, and would not want to start now lol. Also, how many extra cell phone batteries do you need to bring along? 3 or 4? And for me, since I am not that experienced, I am positive I would bring a gps, as well as maps, and most likely would still get lost. But I am fairly determined that I am going to do this one day..just dont think I could get prepared soon enough to do it in march/april..Just not sure if I would be ready that soon. Im 6ft2 180lbs, healthy as I can possibly be. But still, 800 miles, even 400 might be a tad too much, until I get the legs into hiking shape for sure. And just wondering how big of a backpack one would use for this kind of hike...lots of things to plan for thats for sure.

For water, people filter or use chemical or UV treatment. Sometimes you are drinking out of muddy cow tanks. Tap water is a treat. I think carrying enough water for 1 or 2 days would be enough of a challenge. I don't know how much of the trail has cell coverage. I'm planning on hiking the AZT myself, and I'll only take the one battery in the phone. I don't plan to use it much if at all and if I leave it off it holds a charge for a good long time. Maybe I'll mail ahead a charger to myself. I'll be using a 65 L pack. A better question is how small of a backpack you can use, and still carry what you need to be safe and whatever degree of comfort you need. You don't have to start with the whole trail. Try a 50 mile segment and see how it goes.

Remember that fully utilizing a GPS requires a learning curve, steep in some spots. It's not something most people get proficient at in a weekend.

w h a wrote:For water, people filter or use chemical or UV treatment. Sometimes you are drinking out of muddy cow tanks. Tap water is a treat. I think carrying enough water for 1 or 2 days would be enough of a challenge. I don't know how much of the trail has cell coverage. I'm planning on hiking the AZT myself, and I'll only take the one battery in the phone. I don't plan to use it much if at all and if I leave it off it holds a charge for a good long time. Maybe I'll mail ahead a charger to myself. I'll be using a 65 L pack. A better question is how small of a backpack you can use, and still carry what you need to be safe and whatever degree of comfort you need. You don't have to start with the whole trail. Try a 50 mile segment and see how it goes.

Thanks, you answered what I needed to know for now.

@azumpire
Unfortunately, that 30 mile road march in 1983 probably wont be of much help to you on the AZ Trail in 2014-15...Take it from a former 11B, road marches do not correlate well into backpack trips, one can certainly build some endurance with road marches, however, even in a 30 mile road march you probably gained about 500 feet in total elevation tops and maybe not even that much, not to mention a military road march is done under very controlled conditions with limited variables. For example, you marched predominantly on a flat surface, or built up shoulder of road, with negligible navigation, and a convoy of vehicles probably supported the movement, provided water, and picked up stragglers.

Now you carried a rifle I assume, and a pack, so you are certainly capable of a physically enduring challenge, but its almost irrelevant in comparison to backpacking in particular, undertaking something, like, the AZ Trail. Although, I have not hiked much of AZ trail, I know for instance that just the section through the Supes would probably require around 2000-3000 feet elevation gained just to complete..now multiple that by a lot! and then wake up every day and do it over again...Now if you had just spent 12 months patrolling eastern Afghanistan in full battle rattle...I would say the AZ trail would be, like, a trip to Camel Back Mountain and not to worry about the physical challenge...

However, none of this should deter you, and you seem to have it figured out, as far as time needed to get prepared, asking questions, getting in shape etc..just research, research, and research, go on some over-night hikes, then maybe add in a 3-5 day hike, start to find out what you need, what you like to eat, etc...then maybe consider knocking out large sections of trail over a few years, or just be hooah and tackle the trail all at once, and learn on the fly, either way good luck..wish I could get some time off for that trail...

In military terms, a backpack is less road march and more LRRP ...

@kingsnake
yup and less than one percent of HAZers will know what LRRP means...

@friendofThundergod
I had to look it up...Long-range reconnaissance patrols

kingsnake wrote:In military terms, a backpack is less road march and more LRRP ...

I do realize that the 30 mile road march is absolutely nothing compared to what the AZT will require. And also, it was about 30 years ago that I did that road march lol. Im 50 yrs old now and will most likely try to do the AZT in 4 sections when I get ready to do it and 200 miles per outing. But yea, the only thing Ive been doing so far is the 4 mile thunderbird mountain loop, which is really is not even 1% in comparison to AZT Im sure.
I do remember do the East fork trail in the white mountains about 11 or 12 years ago. It was one of the most amazing hikes Ive done since I moved to AZ in 1992. Really not sure what hikes to do out here to prepare me for the AZT in the future. Maybe the Superstitions? And one other thing, Ive never owned a GPS, and not sure how long it would take to learn one of those lol

azumpire,

I put the AZT on my bucket list a couple of years ago, and so far, I've only hiked 5 segments. So, a little at a time is one way to tackle it.

How quickly you hike the segments all depends on your wallet. If you've got the money and can afford to take the time off, get in shape and do it. There are volunteers here that can help you. Just ask.

I'd encourage you to read my triplogs on the AZT. You'll learn what NOT to do! (It's always better to learn from somebody else's mistakes!) Biggest thing (for me) was boots. Saving my money and getting a good pair of boots made all the difference. (Now, if I can just remember to tape my heels before I start, I'd have it made! ;) )

A GPS isn't too hard to learn. Read, and read, and re-read the manual, use MapDEX (thanks, Joe! You're AWESOME!) to build a little hike around-the-block, and use your GPS to follow that route. Then, try a short route (1-2 miles) on South Mountain (or wherever!), and learn from that. It's best to learn how to use the GPS, when your life doesn't depend on it! I have a Garmin Etrex, and it wasn't that hard to learn.

Water? Yeah, water is an issue on the AZT. Another poster mentioned cattle tanks - he's right on. Places where 20 miles with no water at all are common, especially if we've had a dry spell. Lots of people cache water for themselves, and the AZT passage stewards help by caching water for "public" consumption.

I'm almost 57. For me, my biggest limitation is - strength and endurance. Start now to build your leg strength and your endurance. Exercises, running, biking, short hikes with some hefty altitude, whatever. You'll need it.

The best gift I got from my kids this Christmas was: two gift certificates for a free ride to or from a AZT trailhead. I can't wait to "spend" them!

Have fun and keep asking questions!

garyc57, where can I go to find and read your triplogs? And thanks for the excellent informative post. Doing it in segments is probably the only way I can do it, since my wallet is not that great.., but enough to do 100 mile segments at a time... just seems like doing the entire trail in one 45-60 day shot would be an experience of a lifetime, but I dont know if I will ever be able to do something like that, because of work/money.. etc. 100 mile 5-7 day segments might be what works best for me. But still have to do a great deal of preparation to even do segments, which is fine by me.

gary's triplogs ( click on journal to read )

or

select any AZT segment then click on triplogs

azumpire wrote:just seems like doing the entire trail in one 45-60 day shot would be an experience of a lifetime,

It is.

You have studied the Arizona Trail Association website haven't you? Between that and the enhancement, encouragement / moral support you get on HAZ, you'll have everything you need to know, some maybe not as easy to find as you would like, but it's there.

@Sredfield
Hey out of curiosity, without running or killing oneself, in good shape and with a decent skill set what is the quickest one could expect to do entire AZ trail in and still enjoy?

No one keeps "official" records but I understand one of the quickest was ~21 days, by a young guy with lots of support who ran it. Someone may correct me on the number of days.

Typical is 40-50 hiking days.

The less attention paid to time and distance the better though I (now) believe--enjoy it.

joe bartels wrote:gary's triplogs ( click on journal to read )

or

select any AZT segment then click on triplogs

Thank you for these!!! Will go thru them all

Sredfield wrote:

azumpire wrote:just seems like doing the entire trail in one 45-60 day shot would be an experience of a lifetime,

It is.

You have studied the Arizona Trail Association website haven't you? Between that and the enhancement, encouragement / moral support you get on HAZ, you'll have everything you need to know, some maybe not as easy to find as you would like, but it's there.

Yes, Ive gone thru quite abit of it, maybe not everything, but alot of it, and multiple times on some. Will keep studying it too

@Sredfield You were right on the number of days, but wrong in that he was entirely unsupported and walked to all resupply points. Here's the journal:

http://krudmeister.blogspot.com/2011/05 ... ecord.html

Here's his last adventure:

"This extreme outdoorsman literally traveled from his doorstep in Reno to the shores of the Bering Sea in a 5,000 mile trip by foot, bike, and canoe. In this case, Bradley's quest was multifaceted: He didn't do it just to see if he could do it ( an admirable impulse all its own), but also to catch a longing glimpse of wilderness and human communities that are facing grave unprecedented impacts from global climate change. The sights, sounds and in some cases, tastes ( oh, you'll see what I mean) of his quest make for a gripping read. "

sirena wrote:@Sredfield You were right on the number of days, but wrong in that he was entirely unsupported and walked to all resupply points. Here's the journal:

http://krudmeister.blogspot.com/2011/05 ... ecord.html

I was thinking of a young fellow--20-21 or so, who ran most of it, and his father was his support. I believe he was at one of the Mormon Lake Lodge events 2-3 years ago.

100 miles per week is a solid pace for a first-time thru-hiker, or really anyone who wants a healthy work-life balance out there. There may be arguments in favor of hiking higher daily mileages between the more distant trail resupplies, like Superior/Roosevelt Lake to Pine, or on days featuring sporadic / distant water sources, mainly for the sake of reducing food / water weight. The rest of the time it's a case of choosing your habits to suit your style. Speed records impress but you have to enjoy the duress.

I worked for a number of seasons as an editor to a certain ultralight backpacking guidebook author who had developed and refined a system of equipment and techniques that culminated in the current speed-record craze in long-distance hiking circles. The intention was always to maximize the efficiency and enjoyment of the walk, but through the author's own example of conflating enjoyment with maximum daily mileage potential and foisting that concept on the public, there is now a crop of folks who neither know why they're hiking so fast nor that it isn't necessary or even advantageous, per se. The advantages go to the ones who walk to the beat of their own drummer. They're the ones who are happiest out there, not the ones looking over their shoulders or checking the internet for fastest known times.