Hiking 200 miles in late February

imported
#1

Hello. My name is Ben or “Moonshine”. My wife “Tigerlilly” and I have thru-hiked the PCT in 2008 for our honeymoon. For our PCT prep hike we did one week in the Supestitions.

We would like to backpack for 2-3 weeks from Feb. 15- March 5 (those dates are flexible) on the Arizona Trail.

Can you suggest some good sections that wouldn’t have too much snow at that time. We are looking for 200-300 miles of hiking (at 100 miles per week on good trail) in moderate to difficult terrain - with little to no snow.

Also we will be coming from out of state and do not have a car, so ease of access would be another factor.

Thank you for your thoughts…

Ben

Moonshine

#2

Any 200-300 mile desert section of the AZT is broken up by the Sky Islands (8000’+ peaks) and there may be difficulties with snow in that time frame. Not guaranteed, but possible. Skipping around Miller Peak, the Rincons, and Mt Lemmon would be possible but transportation would be more difficult. The nicest low desert stretches are 100 miles or less in length, like from Oracle (north of Mt Lemmon) to Picketpost. If you haven’t hiked the AZT route through the Supes, you could add 50 more miles that way, but with difficult transporation from Roosevelt Lake.

It might be a dry winter with hiking possible in the high country.

On our PCT prep hike, my wife and I hiked a week on the CDT in southern New Mexico. We faced the same issues there. Good luck.

Garlic

#3

I would start at the Mexican border. There should be shuttle/ cab possible from the airport. That’s what I used in 2009. It was mentioned on a website I think. Miller peak should be feasable with micro spikes. Mt Wrightson area could have some snow but again micro spikes should be enough. Unless they’ve just had major snowstorms but I doubt there will be problems. Hitching in AZ hasn’t been too problematic in my experience.

Apple pie

#4

Howdy Ben - You’d also asked elsewhere about the Grand Enchantment Trail. Phoenix to Safford might fit the bill, with the majority of that terrain likely snow-free during your timeframe. This includes a long section of the Arizona Trail between Rogers Canyon and the Black Hills, most of which is low desert. The only glaring exception would be the Pinalenos (Mt Graham) toward the end of this stretch, which is usually snowbound then, especially above 8500’. You might be able to persevere, with or without snowshoes, and the rewards for that effort could be significant as the views are spectacular along the main crest and in Ash Creek Canyon. Otherwise you could walk a dirt road (Tripp Canyon Rd) around the range to the northeast, remaining in the desert for the final push into Safford.

For more info about transportation to/from Phoenix/Safford, see the GET Town Guide linked via the main GET pages.

Don’t underestimate the need for some flotation in early season along the Sky Island ranges of southeastern AZ. Some years the snow is minimal or melts out early; other years you could be wallowing up to your hips in February or March. And conditions can change overnight.

On the AZT, Sky Island ranges of possible concern are the Huachucas, Rincons, and Catalinas. On the GET, mainly just the Pinalenos and, to a much lesser extent, Cottonwood Mountain in the Santa Teresas. Other portions of both the AZT and GET can also feature elevation-related winter conditions at that time, so you’re best bet would be to stick to the mainly low-desert sections of either and then decide how far you can go based on what’s brewing in the Sky Islands.

blisterfree

#5

I did the PCT in 2008 also (i don’t think we met), and i live in Tucson. Conditions vary so drastically from year to year, and the majority of years your February options are going to be limited to some shorter and less interesting low stretches. If you have the flexibility to wait and see, you could have a great hike. If you need to plan well in advance and want to avoid major snow, frankly i’d plan somewhere else than the AZT in February.

markv

#6

Bllisterfree, thank you for the good words. I just looked at your post and spent a good deal of time on your well-put-together GET website looking at the sections and resupplies between Phoenix and Safford. That is a pretty perfect distance for us.

So at this point we are considering 2 main options for this time.
1.) Starting at Section 2 of the AZT (skipping the Huachucas) at Parker Lake and heading north to Superior.

In this case we would fly into Tucson and get a ride on or about February 16 to the Parker Lake Trailhead

OR…
2.) Hiking from Phoenix to Stafford on the GET. - Also starting around Feb. 16

Here we would fly into Phoenix and walk east to Stafford and then get back to Phoenix (or the nearest town where we could rent a car). OR I suppose we could go westbound from Stafford to Phoenix but I suppose it is better to try to let the Pinalenos be later in the hike (maybe around the 1st week of March).

What do you think?

Really - we are okay with the cold and with bringing snowshoes and hiking in that way for either section. But our biggest concern (as expressed by the other posts) is losing the trail in the snow. We will not have a GPS, so we are looking for a trail that is relatively easy to follow. Of the two options above which would you say is better? I did notice that having the option to walk around Mt. Graham on Tripp Canyon Road was nice, as it would give us an “out”.

Another question would be water availability. What is your advice on this for both of the two sections. I know it depends a lot on the weather but what is an average year like?

Thanks Blisterfree. And thanks to all the others for the good advice - it helps us put together a fuller picture.

-Moonshine

Moonshine

#7

Moonshine-

Have a look at the GET water chart for an idea of what to expect in terms of water sources. If it’s a very dry winter, focus on the “3” and “4” sources, otherwise some or perhaps even many of the “2” sources may be flowing as well.

The form and function of the GET water chart was actually inspired by the Arizona Trail water chart developed by Fred Gaudet. The coding for water source probability is slightly different between the two, (see the fine print) but the purpose of the chart is the same and avoids the pitfalls of overgeneralizing about seasonal water availability. http://www.fredgaudetphotography.com/aztrail1.html

If you’d rather avoid snow, there are ways you could also do that along the Arizona Trail. Of course, anything goes in mid-winter, but most of the time, short of a very recent cold storm, the snow in that part of the state will be confined to the highest reaches above 7500-8000 ft. You can avoid this terrain by taking various detours. For example in the Rincons you could detour via Douglas Spring Trail, then hop cross-country north in open terrain to Mule Deer Tank (32.23789° N 110.62081° W; see USGS quads), there picking up a network of OHV roads to walk by scenic Chiva Falls, then pick up the AZ Trail again in Tanque Verde Canyon.

To avoid the snowbound crest of Mt Lemmon, you could hike Romero Canyon Trail from Romero Pass down to Catalina State Park, then take the 50 Year Trail north. Make your way toward Charouleau Gap, then 4WD and trail to Catalina Camp, up to Oracle Ridge and a resumption of the AZT northbound. There may be a formalized way of making such a connection but I’m not personally familiar with it.

Of course, if you’re mainly concerned with navigation, then you’d need to decide whether you’re more comfortable trying to follow the known quantity of the Arizona Trail in spite of any snow up high, or to walk bare ground to circumvent it in spite of the adventure and unique challenges that going your own way tends to present.

Incidentally, the most challenging stretch of the Arizona Trail in this region to navigate when snowbound is arguably from Manning Camp to the Saguaro National Park boundary in the Rincon Mountains. In particular the piece of trail around Italian Spring is highly unintuitive to follow due to a combination of burned terrain and circuitous sidehill traversing. Someone really should flag this area for the benefit of early season use, as it isn’t just the intrepid mid-winter explorer that often has to deal with snowpack here. It’s a springtime thru-hiker’s rite of passage. Of course, every one of them lived to tell, so far as we know. The difficulties tend to loom largest in the mind beforehand, secondarily in the field, but most are manageable so long as your trail sense tells you it’s safe to proceed. Otherwise, the worst fate in store would likely be an about-face, maybe a minor food crisis somewhere down the line, but nothing too perilous for the experienced long-distance walker.

blisterfree