Twig Adventures

Category: Arizona Trail

GET Day 6: Angels Day

Arizona Trail, Grand Enchantment Trail

Tuesday Mar 23rd, 2021, 0610-1730Old Florence Road crossing to HWY 77, mm 12324 miles In the middle of nowhere, we still had a pretty eventful day. First up was a pass by some neat boulder outcroppings. Our notes informed us that these are similar in composition to the ones found on the south side of Mt Lemmon in the Santa Catalinas, more than 70 miles to the south. So how did they get here? Life’s mysteries. We took a break to clamber over some of them, making silly shadow puppets with the rising sun. Next we came to Freeman Road, where notorious Trail Angel Sequoia was set up in his RV. He’d been doing trail magic for spring AZT hikers[…]

Read more

GET Day 5: The Big Hill

Arizona Trail, Grand Enchantment Trail

Monday Mar 22nd, 2021, 0630-1730Gila River to Old Florence Road crossing, mm 9927 miles The morning was pretty chilly, so I was glad to be hiking the winding but easy trail built above the valley. It did a lot of seemingly silly ups and downs, but this helped warm cold, sore muscles in the morning. It was still another 6 miles to the bridge over the river. Last time, I avoided some of the meandering trail by just walking the railroad tracks along the river. This was probably cheating and I would have felt lame doing it a second time. Plus the views up high were nice, except for the open pit copper mines that were really prevalent in this[…]

Read more

GET Day 4: White Canyon & the Gila

Arizona Trail, Grand Enchantment Trail

Sunday Mar 21st, 2021, 0700-1800 Picketpost trailhead to Gila River, mm 72 24 miles MJ was up at 5 am getting coffee and omelets made for several of us hikers. Then she had us to the trailhead by 7 am. She really is amazing. After more reluctant goodbyes, we began the winding trail in the cool of the morning…a far cry from my afternoon start in 2019. The tall mass of Picketpost provided shade well into the morning, making for an easy climb into the canyon. This stretch headed into the White Canyon Wilderness area, which gave the Superstitions a run for their money in terms of scenery. This was one of my favorite stretches on the AZT. We had[…]

Read more

GET Day 2: Montana Mountain

Arizona Trail, Grand Enchantment Trail

Friday Mar 19th, 2021, 0615-1900 La Barge spring to Montana Mountain mm 33 23 miles We got an early start to enjoy the cool morning hours of hiking. It was a bit too cool, as my toes stared to go numb from the condensation on the grass. We left trail 104 Lost Dutchman for Red Tanks Canyon trail. The going got a bit rougher as we headed up a steep, narrow canyon clogged with vegetation and boulders. We really had to look for the cairns and got off track a bit as the scant trail climbed high above the wash. Thorny plants grabbed at our legs and arms. This trail was not equestrian-ready but it sure was beautiful! We came[…]

Read more

2019 CDT & AZT Gear Summary

Arizona Trail, Continental Divide Trail, Long Trail

This is a summary post on my gear and stats from my 2019 thru-hikes, combining both the CDT and AZT, since I didn’t change a thing about my gear in between. In fact, I’ve barely changed a thing from my previous 3 thru-hikes. I carried a bit heavier gear in 2019, mainly because I expected some rain and colder conditions. I wasn’t wrong about this. The CDT is high-elevation and therefore a colder and somewhat wetter thru-hike. The AZT was dry but also quite chilly at times, given that we were above 8000 feet during many parts of the trail and also approaching the end of October / beginning of November. I needed my 22 degree quilt and women’s Thermarest[…]

Read more

2019 Trail Angel Recognition

Arizona Trail, Continental Divide Trail

This is a special post to recognize the many trail angels and trail magic that made my hiking so memorable and cohesive. I’m truly blessed to have had so many positive interactions and made many new friends. I’m amazed and humbled by the kind souls that exist out there. Someday I’ll write a book honoring trail angels and this year gave me so much material to work with. I’ve listed the trail angels and their magic by state. I don’t expect people to read every bit of this post but at least scroll down to the bottom just to realize the sheer magnitude of this kindness. I’m so sorry if I omitted anyone or their contributions, and that I didn’t[…]

Read more

2019 AZT Summary and Stats

Arizona Trail

For links to each of my daily posts, see here. I thru-hiked the Arizona Trail for several reasons. One, I said I would when I first learned about it while visiting my friend Jon near Phoenix at the end of 2018. And secondly, I wanted to hike from Canada to Mexico again in one season. I finished my thru-hike of the CDT going southbound through Montana/Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, and half of New Mexico…long story, see my CDT summary. I finished this journey by hiking all the way south through Arizona. The official CDT is a 3100 mile trail but in reality/practicality, it’s about the same length as the PCT (on account of all the popular alternates). By adding the AZT,[…]

Read more

AZT Day 34: The Hiking Season That Finally Ended

Arizona Trail

November 9th, 2019Bathtub Spring mm 780.5 to USA-Mexican Border mm 788.6Distance in miles: 8.10605-1220 This post is about my last day on the AZT and of a very long 2019 hiking season. Between the CDT and AZT, I calculated that I hiked around 3,500 miles. This is not including all the day hiking and short segments I did in Florida and Colorado, which probably brings my total to around 3,800 miles. I will follow up with summary posts but in the meantime, enjoy this last day, as I did. It was very quiet overnight and I had one of the best night’s sleep, ever. I was right about the condensation, though. My tent hadn’t been so wet inside and out[…]

Read more

AZT Day 33: Feet Dragging

Arizona Trail

November 8th, 2019Canelo Hills saddle mm 761.8 to Bathtub Spring mm 780.5Distance in miles: 18.70605-1540 What to do with a whole day on the trail when you have less than 20 miles to hike? Go on a side-trip. I found a good one…a lake and marina store were just off the trail 6 miles ahead. I could get some easy water and extra snacks. I traveled down from the saddle and past a few creeks. The temperature was perfect for a leisurely morning stroll. It felt weird to be going so slow, after pushing pushing pushing for months. I guess I earned a break but I really like moving all day and getting somewhere. It just became habit. I took[…]

Read more

AZT Day 32: Canelo Hills

Arizona Trail

November 7th, 2019Patagonia mm 737.4 to Canelo Hills saddle mm 761.8Distance in miles: 24.40910-1750 I was packed early, so as not to alarm anyone that might be out for an early morning stroll. I took advantage of the public restrooms in the park, which were nice. I headed to the Gathering Grounds for breakfast once again, having biscuits and gravy. Then I got another plate of french toast. Both were delicious. I of course saw Deb and Brent again, also having breakfast. They had been stewing all night about quitting their jobs and becoming thru-hikers. I’m a bad influence. I also failed to mention that thru-hiking ruined me from caring about much of anything else in life. Two thru-hikers come[…]

Read more