I’m contemplating a NB thru-hike of the AZT this spring. Can someone with experience on on the AZT share their opinion on a reasonable start date and the type of daily mileage an experienced thru-hiker can expect to log (i.e more PCT or AT’esque)? Thanks!
Matt
Matt
Your start date might depend on how long you expect the trip to take. You don’t want to get to the north rim too early. Then it depends on weather you want the North Rim to be open when you get there. It is easier to get camping in the Canyon when the North Rim is closed and you can camp on the North Rim (in the group site right on the rim) for free when the park is closed. But then there are no services so no food there is at least always water (find any ranger near the back country office). As a rough guess I would think you could do the whole trip in about a month (not rushing but steady) so you could start some time in early/mid April. There is a 300 mile bike race on the AZT starting April 18th http://www.topofusion.com/azt/race.php I am planning on starting with the race and then continuing on hope to cross the canyon before May 15th.
I have no experience with the other trails you mention but would think daily mileage could vary greatly. In sections that see a lot of use and get good maintenance you might do 30 or 40 miles a day. I haven’t been through the wilderness portions (no bikes allowed) but I hear there are a lot of down trees in the Sups and Matz. Also there are some burned out parts of the trail that can be ugly. My worst day on the 06 bike trip was 9 miles on the Highline Trail. The best days were 40-50 I did a lot of 20-30 mile days and had a lot of short days and finished the 811 miles in 30 days of riding.
Tim McCabe
Matt is talking about hiking while Tim is talking biking - very different types of mileage per day. I haven’t done the whole trail, only the section that coincides with the GET. It was easy to do reasonable mileage, with the caveat that in March the days are much shorter (dark at 6:00). We hiked between 15 - 20 mpd, but we aren’t particularly fast hikers. In the snow you’ll likely do less. The trail goes over some high peaks very early. The Rincons and Catalinas may have snow still in April. It depends on what kind of snow year it is.
As to timing, it starts to get very hot in southern AZ by early May. Some years much sooner. But the snow doesn’t melt until May in northern AZ. The north rim doesn’t open up until late May.
Ginny
Mid-March to late April or early May is the standard window for northbound thru-hiking. A later start reduces any snowpack concerns, but amplifies the likelihood of encountering prolonged heat in the low country that predominates in the journey’s first half.
Following this schedule in '04 I encountered snowpack in the Huachucas, Rincons, and Catalinas above 8k, which was manageable due to the limited miles at high elevation here, and then again on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, where it was deep and prevalent enough to warrant a roadwalk to Jacob Lake. I probably could have rejoined the trail again prior to Jacob Lake, as the snowpack did steadily diminish northbound from the rim, but the trail wasn’t particularly well marked back then. These days it may be better marked, but then again this year the snow may be especially noteworthy along the Kaibab Plateau.
In any case, given the choice between the inconvenience of occasional snow travel and the truly hike-sapping prospects of prolonged hot weather (and possibly drought), it seems prudent to choose the former, and thus to begin an AZT thru-hike earlier rather than later.
Incidentally, Chris Townsend chronicles his northbound thru-hike of 2000 in his book “Crossing Arizona.” Townsend began in early March of a drought year that saw one significant storm just prior to his start date at the border.
blisterfree
I started on 3 April of 2003 and finished May 17th. I would have liked to have started a week to ten days earlier. I hit a little snow at the start (Huachucas) and just a bit on the North Rim. I had pleasant weather for the most part. A little warm when I was at lower elevations down south but pleasant from the North Rim onward. I woke at or before daybreak and walked 12 or so hours a day. I am glad I didn’t start any later. Even a week or two can make a significant temp difference.
I used a tarp and rarely set it up. All but 4-5 nights were under the stars. I had five zero days (Patagonia, Phoenix (2), Flagstaff (2)). I didn’t have time to paln food ahead of time so had to use time in towns to get food sorted and recover. It was a tough trail since I had 150 miles that weren’t clear on the ground and no current guidebook was out. Things should be a bit easier now. I cached water at Highway 83 (north of Sonoita) where the trail crosses underneath and at Freeman Creek Road and needed both caches.
I can’t praise this trail enough. It was incredible. I encountrered drug smugglers (they smiled and waved), illegal immigrants who I cracked bread with, and was followed by a Border Patrol helicopter. It was all part of the adventure. The lanscape was incredible. I hope you have the opportunity to do it.
As blisterfree noted the book by Chris Townsend is a good story of the trail.
Sweetwater
As far as mileage on the AZT I easily hit 20 mpd and had many days that were around 25 mpd. I stopped little, had a lightweight pack (10-11 pounds without food and water).
Sweetwater
If nothing else I managed to get some responses coming in on this thread. But seriously you are never going to make big miles if you let a little thing like darkness slow you down. Well slower may be but not stopped nobody is cranking out big miles on a bike without riding in the dark. I should think that a small led headlamp would be fine for walking on a lot of the trail. Of course a GPS is always nice when traveling in the dark.
Sounds like early April is a good start date and if you are not out to set any records you can certainly enjoy the trail more if you have more time. I definitely have not rushed either of the bike trips I have done on the AZT.
Tim McCabe
But seriously you are never going to make big miles if you let a little thing like darkness slow you down.
But seriously folks…
I suspect Matt wasn’t asking about mileage potential with o-dark-thirty reveille and retirement. Granted, the snakes might like to know.
Are the AZT trail signs frequent and reflective yet? C’mon Tim - get out there and do a good deed.
Early April is late. A thru-hike is not a thru-bike. Gorp does not taste like PowerGel, for better or worse.
blisterfree
For the record, my above post included a number of vbg’s which for some reason did not post.
blisterfree
Walking through dense cactus in the daytime is hard enough. I would hate to try to do it in the dark!
Ginny
Andrew -
Southbound is typically an autumn thru-hiker’s direction of travel. Following a good monsoon season, one would have greater flexibility on start dates and could potentially head out from the Utah border in October when it’s cooler. In years where water is less available, starting in September would offer an advantage, as October and November are typically among the driest months in Arizona.
An excellent account of a southbound thru is here:
PS - FWIW, to build momentum and potentially membership, the AZ Trail website could probably stand to offer a bit more in the way of free, FAQ preparatory info for long-distance hikers.
blisterfree