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| Backpack | 43.98 Miles |
6,986 AEG |
| | Backpack | 43.98 Miles | 2 Days 6 Hrs 53 Mns | | |
| 6,986 ft AEG | | 35 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | Mom and I went for a backpacking trip of the AZT passage 34 last weekend. With the recent hurricane, we figured things had cooled off enough for it to be enjoyable, but we wouldn't have to wait until later in the fall when nighttime temperatures drop a little too low for our preference.
The goal: Complete passage #34 of the AZT.
Slight hiccup: Shultz Tank is not accessible by car right now. With the trailhead closed, the closest access point is Little Elden day use area, which adds about two miles to the hike.
Photography: Excellent on this hike! I'm so glad I brought my Nikon and didn't just rely on a cell phone.
The details for those who are interested!
Day 0: Drove up after work on Thursday, found a nice quiet place to camp off FR418 near where the AZT takes off north for the Babbit Ranch segment. The stars were phenomenal and I enjoyed taking night sky pictures of the Big Dipper.
Day 1: Drove around to the Little Elden Springs parking lot and began our backpacking trip. We opted for hiking on the road up to Shultz tank. Figured it would be a bit quicker, and we had just hiked the trail section a month ago when we did passage 32 up to Shultz tank. Half a mile into the hike, I realized I forgot my Nikon in the car. Dropped the pack and ran back to get it while mom kept hiking. I'm so glad I went back for it! Shultz tank was a highlight in the beginning. Even though it's not a real "lake" it is truly gorgeous, especially with the still water and nice reflection of the peaks! After that, the hike started into a pretty good uphill climb. If you've done much hiking in the ponderosa forests of northern Arizona, this section of trail isn't much different. Utter bliss. The serenity of the forest couldn't be matched. Eventually, after a long while, we got to Alfa Fia Tank, which was our approximate destination for the night. We set up the tent quickly due to an impending thunderstorm (which ended up hitting a few miles east of us, so we didn't get so much as a drop!) then proceeded to filter our water from the tank. Nice quality water that tastes great! My filter was running slow, so it took well over an hour to get the water we needed to make it to the next resupply box at Kelly Tank, where we had previously stashed 3 gallons of water and some food for our trip. Towards the end of day two, a most hilarious event occurred. We had been sitting beside the tank looking out across the meadow towards the setting sun, while eating our dinner. After being there 10+ minutes, some deer came ambling along and joined us in the meadow. They were no more than 15 yards away. About 10 minutes later, some archery hunters came along and started to stalk the deer. The hunters would make about 3-5 yards of progress, then the deer would move 3-5 yards. Then the hunters would keep chasing, and the deer would keep moving. All the while, they were just out of range. Apparently one of the hunters took a shot but missed. All the way across the whole meadow (several hundred yards) this continued. The deer definitely have a keen sense of when they're "safe" and when they're "too close" to the hunters. Of course, they didn't mind being close to us and could also sense that they were safe with us.
Day 2: Today was the best day of the hike. From the aspen forests near Alfa Fia tank to the amazing views of the peaks, we were in for a treat. You'll have to check out my photoset to see the details. The AZT joins up with a 4x4 road at some point and after that it is on roads for the rest of the passage. Not ideal, but enjoyable enough. The sunflowers that started today and continued through tomorrow were one of the highlights! We couldn't find an "ideal" place to camp. The options were on the shoulder of the road, or...after a lot of searching, we went down into the valley and found a nice small meadow and a few pine trees. It ended up being a really nice campsite, but it definitely wasn't obvious at first. Temperatures were a little warmer tonight, with lows around 55. We had heavy condensation in our REI Flash Air 2 tent, despite having the vents at the top open. I need to experiment with pitching the rain fly a little higher, or rolling up the rainfly on nights when rain isn't expected. Interestingly, there was not a drop of condensation the first night at Alfa Fia tank, so something with the dew point, temperature, or wind was different enough that we had condensation one night but not the other.
Day 3: Today we had about 11 miles to go, all on gravel roads. Not the most interesting section, but certainly not the most boring either. Hiking away from the peaks, we always had to remind ourselves to look back and enjoy the view. We also spotted Cape Final on the North Rim, which was pretty exciting!
After a long hike, we can say with confidence this is one of our favorite passages on the Arizona Trail! The forests are amazing, the scenery is stunning, and there are abundant opportunities for flora, fauna, and photography.
Till next time,
Hike on! |
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Wildflowers Observation Moderate
Abundant wildflowers, lupines, paintbrush, and others |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
Route 
as we made our way south of the White Horse Hills and toward Kelly Tank. We would encounter a few thru hikers and bikers along the way and for the rest of the hike. Hopefully they will all be able to deal with the cold temps coming into AZ in the next couple days. There was a very interesting erosion area at the tank.
along this part of the route due to the broken soil; thus a lot of pictures. I really put my phone camera to work and I would give it a grade of C, the windy conditions didn't help. Google Lens didn't do a very good job either and apparently dealing with seed headed flowers is not in its wheelhouse. I was still surprised to see so much Lupine blooming (meadows of it; altho not quite to the level of 2018 but that was the beginning of Sept) and still lots of Prairie Sunflowers and Asters. Of course, the Fetid Goosefoot was showing off with it's great maple like colors. 
