My GearMy pack weighed 17 to 28 pounds, depending on how many days of food and miles of water I carried.
For the last 10 days, I left my cook kit behind to lighten my load and only ate cold food, replacing the dinner with 2 Snickers bars. I hiked along the 800-mile Arizona Trail from March 17 to April 28, 2012 traveling from the Mexico border near the Coronado National Monument to the Utah border about 40 miles west of Page, AZ. I hope you enjoy the tale, learn a bit about planning your own hike, and pick up a tip or two.
Miscellaneous Items I made a bunch of miscellaneous items of which you can see a few in the picture, including:Sun Shield - simple white cotton cloth attached with velcro to my BSA hat so I can use it or not. My Backpack Yes, Mom, I made it myself!With very little seam ripping and only two permanent alterations (mistakes), I created my lightweight, frameless pack based on the G4 pattern. There is quite a bit of stress on the pack where the shoulder straps and waistbelt connect to the pack since this is where all the weight hits. My Quilt Heavy zippers, squished insulation, no wriggle room - who needs it?I made my own sleeping quilt to save weght, room, and expense - even my wife was impressed at how nicely it turned out! My shelter is a simple 60-inch wide sheet of silnylon with side extensions and end flaps sewn on. Electronics My gear included quite a bit of electronics which most thru-hikers don't bother to carry. Don't know when I'll be back again.They say every journey begins with a single step, but this one began with a couple long plane rides. Tip: [You shouldn't expect to complete a thru-hike with someone, unless you're married to that person. So, after about 6 months of planning, purchasing, making, and practicing, it's time to actually start the adventure.
I walked 44184 steps and covered about 22 miles today.Got picked up in Tucson at 5am and drove the 100 miles to Coronado national monument. We started hiking to the Mexico border which is the start of the AZ Trail and about 2 miles south of the parking area.
We started north at about 9:30am and made it up the very rugged first 6 miles to the top of Miller Peak. Got started hiking about 7:30am and put in about 3 hours before I heard thunder and then saw some lightning a bit later. So far on this trek, I've camped out once and stayed in a hotel twice - not what I was expecting but a way to ease into the trail.
Patagonia is called an Arizona Trail Gateway Community which means it's an interesting little town right on the AZ Trail. At the high point on the mountain, there was still a couple inches of wet snow and absolutely no footprints ahead of us so we knew we were the first ones out of Patagonia.
At the end of the trail, at the Gardner Canyon Road trailhead, we found Brad the Dad and Case the Dog and made a quick camp. After Kentucky Camp, water we saw no other water sources until late in the day while crossing Schofield Canyon.
My umbrella really made it nice for me, keeping me in the shade and not needing head, neck, or hand protection. We hiked through La Posta Quemeda ranch by Colossal Cave and camped at La Sevilla picnic area - running water and toilets! We were in no hurry to leave La Sevilla since it was so convenient with water and facilities, so we didn't leave until 2pm.
My umbrella is amazing to keep me cool out here.Tonight marks one week complete and a bit more than 125 miles which is almost 18 miles per day. This was my Saturday sunrise, what was yours like?Started at 3000ft on the desert floor and climbed over Mica Mountain at 8600 feet.
The unreliable water at Grass Shack camp was a stream that was flowing very strong, probably due to the recent snow. We made it outside the north park boundary and camped in Tanque Verde canyon, just shy of Italian Trap trailhead. The plan we were going with was to hike together to Summerhaven and then get a ride to Tucson for a zero day.
As I looked over my maps, I noticed that Molino Basin campground was just over the hill and right on the road from Tucson to Summerhaven.
Colton agreed so we contacted friends, arranged a ride, and were in Tucson before the sun went down. Here's Phil from FL and Colton from AZ, chatting on the trail while HikingDude from MN snaps the shot on our first day of the trek.It's pretty cool how folks from all over can meet on the trail in an environment that pretty much equalizes social standings. These restrictions may not be accurate, check the current fire restrictions with your National Forest before you go camping by clicking on the forest name above.
I will be providing breakfast and dinner for you guys for the 3 or 4 days that i am with you so plan on that. This was farther than I had planned to go, but I felt terrific - no real pains, blisters, or soreness.
Ventilation - I envisioned pitching the tent high and having the sides 6 inches off the ground. Weather - I was not too concerned with rain or snow on this trek (but I should have been) so each end is not very secure against blowing precipitation. Water Prefilter - I invented a very cool setup to prefilter very dirty water so it would not gum up my filter so much.
ncG1vNJzZmirY2Ourq3ZqKWar6NjsLC5jpuYnKOTpMKvwNFtsK1nkae2u7vNmmShoZueu6h5xp6Yq2WcnsC1ec6fZaGsnaE%3D