The Arizona Trail Association is sponsoring “An Evening on the Mountaintop” on November 12 at the Summerhaven Community Center on Mt Lemmon, in support of the trail. It’s sure to be a great event!
But did you know that the village of Summerhaven needs the support of the Arizona Trail community as well? The Mount Lemmon Post Office in town is slated to be closed as part of the federal effort to cut operating costs. However it’s not yet a done deal and we can save this valuable institution atop the mountain by speaking out in favor of keeping it open.
Please consider attending a meeting to be held this Thursday, October 27, at 5:30pm in the Community Center directly across the road from the post office. Postmaster Pamela, along with concerned members of the community, and hopefully some Arizona Trail users as well, will meet with a national representative from the US Postal Service to discuss the plan for closure and to air concerns over what that would mean for the town.
Pamela mentions that just showing up would be great, but if you could also say a few words about what the Mt Lemmon post office and Summerhaven mean to you, as an AZ Trail user, then that would be especially helpful. Have you received a maildrop resupply at the post office over the years? Did you mail out a postcard or ship home an unneeded item of gear? Some or all of these services could go away permanently if the post office closes and another business in town isn’t able or interested in taking up the slack.
The distance between the on-trail towns of Patagonia and Oracle is almost 150 miles. A resupply at the Mt Lemmon post office takes at least one full day off the food weight to be carried in this stretch. For a southbound hiker, it avoids the need to carry hardly any food at all on the long climb up Oracle Ridge.
There will also be a “nosh” at the event on Thursday night, and attendees are welcome to bring a light snack to share. It’d be supremely right to try and make this event if you’re also planning to attend the ATA gathering to be held at the very same facility next month. Pamela is hoping to see some of you there.
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