HikeArizona.COM

I know I have a lot of time to figure this out but my brother and I are planning on hiking starting on September 1st until complete from north to south. Thinking of flipping cars every 90-115 miles and be able to hit a city at each point and we could also stash water/food along the trail for our next segment. at roughly 100 miles we hit grand canyon village, 121 Flagstaff, 117 pine, 113 roosevelt lake, 80 Sultanna, 113 catalina hwy, 98 Patagonia. Thoughts on this plan or experiences that may help. Thanks in advance.

In some cases the trail towns occur at more frequent intervals than your planned car meetup locations, so you could carry less food by just mailing it. On another, more accommodating trail you could plan to swap vehicles much more frequently, whereas on the AZT you're really creating another adventure for yourself on top of the hike. Storing food along the trail tends to be a dubious proposition, too, since the odds of it going missing for one reason or another are not necessarily in your favor. I wouldn't bury food, personally. Lotta work, not exactly LNT in the grand scheme.

If you're willing and able to walk between most of the standard resupply stops, and could perhaps break up a long section like Pine to Roosevelt by having friends drive up to Sunflower, then the next question is whether the vehicle swap idea is practical or if it just makes the hike "seem" easier in the planning stages. The thing is, it's as much a commitment to use vehicles starting at Utah, as it is to abandon the idea and thru-hike it in standard unsupported fashion. There's a reason more folks don't try thru-hiking with the aid of their own vehicles, but it's not for me to say whether that reason is valid for you.

Blisterfree sounds awfully negative in that last post, almost like he's biased against vehicles or something. What a thru-hiking elitist! Maybe someone else could chime in with a more positive, accommodating outlook. (Read: At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter which approach you take, as long as you're having fun and accomplishing something personally meaningful.)

I don't think he sounds particularly negative. I think he is saying it may not turn out to be as practical a solution as you are hoping it will be. I myself was surprised he wouldn't go for food caches. That's the way I always thought I'd do it, if I ever do it. I'd spend a week or so placing food caches in ammo boxes, hiking them in some distance away from roadheads (aka trailheads), although he has a good point that they might not be there when you get there. A person could spend a lot of time worrying about the food caches.

Another thing I'd do for sure would be to join the association and read everything there is on the subject. Some people are lucky enough to have a husband or friend willing to drive a vehicle and meet them at each trailhead for resupply, etc.

Thanks Gentlemen, I am not really thinking about doing a cache on food as much as water. At 15-20 miles a day we could easily carry a 6 day food supply and restock from our vehicles every 100-120 miles.

Spiced Rum wrote:Thanks Gentlemen, I am not really thinking about doing a cache on food as much as water. At 15-20 miles a day we could easily carry a 6 day food supply and restock from our vehicles every 100-120 miles.

Sounds reasonable, all except for the "gentlemen" part. ;) ;) Another good thing to find out is what places there are where the "trail angels" put out water.

@azbackpackr
Sorry "and Ladies"

Spiced Rum wrote:@azbackpackr
Sorry "and Ladies"

Don't bet your life on any Arizona "angels."

I still say blisterfree sounded like a pious jerk in that first post. ;)

Your plan to leapfrog cars should work well. You could even do the leapfrog more often, as the distances of many of the passages can be completed as dayhikes. Lots of the trailheads have reasonable parking, are OK for camping, and even have pit toilets for your early morning convenience!
Most of the Forest Service roads are car friendly.
Contact me if you need more info @ igellen@comcast.net

@igellen
Thanks I appreciate the info Igellen

If starting southbound before monsoon season has fully ended, be cautious about parking on dirt roads (good gravel roads being an exception) as these can become muddy and impassable, potentially stranding a vehicle until conditions dry out again. This is especially true on the Colorado Plateau, or roughly north of Pine. Watch for roads with deep ruts from previous vehicles, as this may be your best warning to consider the weather forecast prior to your intended exit.