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The original was posted on /r/arizonatrail by /u/threeplacesatonce on 2025-05-29 03:39:41+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/arizonatrail by /u/bendtheknee33 on 2025-05-18 17:35:59+00:00.

My daughter is homeschooled and wants to hike it this fall and is really gun-ho about it. With work, I can not join her the whole time, so she wants to go solo for most of it.

She's reminded me that she has already:

• Logged hundreds of miles backpacking.
• Done 2 short solo backpacking trips (one 2 night and one 4 night).
• She has her wilderness first aid certification,
• Has taken a wilderness survival and navigation courses
• Knows Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
• She has the Garmin In Reach Mini 2 and the iPhone 16.

Safety is my number one concern. Accidents happen, sickness happens, getting lost happens, animal and human attacks happen.

I've thought how could If she does this, how can I best mitigate any dangers, and have thought of a couple of options.

1. Have her join another person(s) planning on hiking the AZT and have her tag along. Pros: Safety in numbers. Cons: Don't want another thru hiker to ever feel like my daughter might be a burden. (My favorite option)
2. Take 2 weeks off work and hike with her. I'll follow her down for resupplies and join her on the weekends. Create a detailed itinerary + daily check-ins. Pros: She gets the sense of independence and saying she accomplished it solo. Cons: Safety.
3. Tell her to wait until she's older. Pros: I'll feel better. Cons: She'll be upset with me.

Thoughts?

UPDATE: WOW! Lot more support than I thought. I feel a lot better now. Some great ideas and motivation to move forward. Hopefully we'll have a update this fall.

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The original was posted on /r/arizonatrail by /u/Difficult_Hippo_9753 on 2025-05-14 16:19:40+00:00.

I recently came across a AZT blog and right there in the pics shows this person soaking their feet in bathtub spring and other water sources this year. Lucky for me they were behind me. Why??

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The original was posted on /r/arizonatrail by /u/Necessary_shots on 2025-05-08 21:49:28+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/arizonatrail by /u/pappyhawk7 on 2025-04-11 22:28:54+00:00.

Yo! Happy to be living in Page. AT2020, PCT2022, CDT2024. If anyone needs support near the northern terminus let me know. I'd be happy to help.

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The original was posted on /r/arizonatrail by /u/bentbrook on 2025-03-12 00:08:31+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/arizonatrail by /u/dyslexic_arsonist on 2025-03-10 17:24:10+00:00.

Hey hikers, I'm a former AZT hiker and I'm camping/working around oracle for the week. if you need a shuttle, or any help hit me up. DM me and I'll give you my contact

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The original was posted on /r/arizonatrail by /u/Difficult_Hippo_9753 on 2025-03-07 23:49:51+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/arizonatrail by /u/numbershikes on 2025-02-26 11:43:15+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/arizonatrail by /u/Additional-Money2991 on 2025-02-23 03:06:17+00:00.

Hey y’all, just wanted to give the heads up that during a section hike (heading south for 36 miles from Picketpost Trailhead) myself and several others in my group became extremely sick after drinking from the Gila River. We all used either a Sawyer Squeeze or the Befree water filter. A hiker a week prior to us had the same experience and another hiker we passed while on trail (and were able to connect with after) had the same symptoms. Throwing up, diarrhea, chills, body aches, exhaustion. Peak of illness lasted approximately 1-2 days. Hiker who became sick the week before us said she passed it on to her partner after arriving back home.

Be safe out there!

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The original was posted on /r/arizonatrail by /u/Difficult_Hippo_9753 on 2025-02-11 14:26:26+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/arizonatrail by /u/SunrisePapaya on 2025-01-29 00:41:39+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/arizonatrail by /u/fallout_koi on 2024-12-28 17:35:22+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/arizonatrail by /u/bsil15 on 2024-11-27 14:41:32+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/arizonatrail by /u/numbershikes on 2024-11-23 09:53:20+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/arizonatrail by /u/Whatthematteryou on 2024-10-30 00:57:07+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/arizonatrail by /u/ValueBasedPugs on 2024-10-11 18:15:23+00:00.

So I've sort of kept this bottled up for a while but I feel like it'll be therapeutic to say it out loud. Downvote if you want; I do realize this is my personal opinion, not some sort of objective fact.

Here it is: the northern AZT is very poorly thought out.

It starts with a poorly-chosen route up the Rim. The Washington trail follows an awful set of telephone lines up a dry, rocky trail while See Canyon and Tonto to the east are both verdant green and follow perennial rivers. A pointed decision was apparently made to miss Fossil Springs by traveling a little bit further west. Then the trail stays east, missing West Clear Creek, Wet Beaver Creek, Sedona (WTF!!!). And what does it do instead? A careless beeline to Flagstaff where the highlight is, of all lame things I would never hike outside the AZT, Mormon Lake.

Even when there's a cool landmark, it gets avoided. The southern AZT takes you over the Sky Islands (Mount Lemmon is a big highlight but gracious they're all awesome). Northern AZT goes around the San Francisco peaks, skipping the Weatherford Trail, Lockett Meadow, Inner Basin, and the highest peak in Arizona! Walnut Canyon is treated more like an obstacle than a beautiful canyon replete with astounding evidence of Arizona's indigenous history. It's like the AZT designers don't think there's anything worth doing or seeing north of the rim except the Grand Canyon. And after that? They skip the Vermillion Cliffs and one of the world's longest and deepest slot canyons. Instead, the trail ends at some random campground.

I understand some of the considerations. Going cool places like Sedona adds miles. Going into Walnut Canyon or up Humphrey's Peak adds difficulty. Buckskin Gulch can be temperamental and add logistical challenges and potential safety issues. But with the lovely treatment southern Arizona gets, it's bizarre to me that the northern AZT is so bad that it's talked about as "get it over with" mileage, essentially punctuated by the Grand Canyon. When people say "I want to come to Arizona for a section hike", nobody talks up the northern sections outside the GC.

It's still a wonderful thru hiking experience. The north can be a testament to the beauty of vastness at times, quietness and solitude at others. But fuck if it isn't poorly designed when you consider the opportunities it avoided.

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The original was posted on /r/arizonatrail by /u/harrisonfm22 on 2024-08-29 19:39:32+00:00.

Wendy Lotze, the longterm coordinator, is stepping down sadly. Anyone who's done volunteering on the trail knows she has been an excellent asset to the trail and a great person to work with. She'll be missed (but will still be stewarding Section 17!).

That said, AZTA is looking for a new Volunteer Coordinator per my link above if anyone browsing here is interested in working on trails and outreach as a fulltime job.

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The original was posted on /r/arizonatrail by /u/ellemisimich on 2024-08-13 15:39:23+00:00.

Hi! I'm looking for a fellow female hiker that wants to start the AZT in March. Anyone else looking to go but has been held up bc they would like to have a partner rather than hike alone? I realize this is a far fetch & have been told to "find a group on trail" but I am a planner and would feel better starting and finishing with someone in advance. Im willing to collaborate but also would like to complete in less than 8 weeks. 15-25miles a day. Sending good energy out there to find the right person!!

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The original was posted on /r/arizonatrail by /u/hadfunthrice on 2024-05-23 21:39:50+00:00.

She did the entire trail UNSUPPORTED, that is, she set out from Mexico with all her food and did not resupply at all during the entire hike. It took her a bit over 24 days. Nice job Anish!!

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The original was posted on /r/arizonatrail by /u/jumberclottery on 2024-04-20 22:47:39.

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The original was posted on /r/arizonatrail by /u/boofytoon on 2024-03-26 21:40:12.

Hey hope all you AZT hikers are doing well!!

Ive hiked about half the AZT and am currently living near Vail area.

Feel free to shoot me a DM if you need any logistics help. I'm a school teacher in Tucson so am free to help weekends, mornings, afternoons. Shoot me a pm and I can help out if needed.

Stay safe out there!!

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The original was posted on /r/arizonatrail by /u/SouthWestSpicy on 2024-03-16 05:47:02.

Howdy hikers!

Pima County is having a small rabies outbreak, specifically near Saguaro National Park East. Of course, the chances of hikers seeing rabid animals is extremely low. But we should all be alert anyway. Rabies is fatal without proper treatment.

The most recent cases both involved coyotes attacking horses close to the park. The lab released the test results for one of them just this week.

Not long ago a man was scratched and bitten by a bobcat in the park. The animal wasn’t tested but the behavior was highly suggestive it was rabid. That’s not a surprise though. Last year a rabid bobcat was collected from the Vail/Rincon Valley area.

Most years we seem to get a rabid skunk or two. A couple of years ago a thru hiker was bitten by a rabid skunk in his tent on the AZT. While that case wasn’t in Pima County, skunks are common visitors to camps and campgrounds in the Catalinas. I’ve seen handful in the daytime but only 2 or 3 at night. They walk like drunken sailors naturally and you can’t tell if they’re sick by looking at them.

You should not see a fox. If you do and it isn’t running like hell away from you, be concerned. I’m pretty sure both of the recent positive coyotes were infected with the gray fox variant.

Lastly never handle bats. Bat bites are often so small they can barely be seen with the naked eye and could seem insignificant. However, a majority of recent USA human cases were the result of exposure to bats. Last year Pima County had 25 confirmed rabid bats. Report any contact with bats to the local epidemiology department for help determining if you need to seek post exposure treatment.

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The original was posted on /r/arizonatrail by /u/partypopper69420 on 2024-03-20 06:43:36.

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The original was posted on /r/arizonatrail by /u/Diligent-Mammoth3861 on 2024-03-04 03:22:29.