Arizona Trail

Recently we hiked a 70 km (43 mile) section of the Arizona National Scenic Trail. The complete trail runs almost 1300 km (800 miles) from Mexican border to Utah. We went from Roosevelt to Superior (just west of Phoenix). It was a great hike - dry and rocky, but with some nice canyons and beautiful scenery. There were quite a few flowers blooming.

We took four days to do this section but it probably would have been nicer to take an extra day. It took us 26 hours of hiking (5 hours on the first and last days, and 8 hours on the middle days). The first half was quite rough and rocky and had a lot of up and down climbing up to our high point. The second half was better trail and mostly downhill and went quicker..

One of the complications was that the only reliable water (according to the guidebook) was about half way, at Reavis Creek. So we started out with enough water for two days, hoping we wouldn't get to halfway with minimal water left and not find any! And then from halfway we again had to carry water for two days. As it turned out, there was water at a number of intermediate points so we didn't have to worry. (But that might be different other seasons or other years.)

the view down to Theodore Roosevelt Lake near the beginning of the hike

Shelley on the trail

sunrise from our tent at our first camp

second camp at Reevis Creek

soaring raven

butterfly feeding on ocotillo blossoms

See all 65 photos as a slideshow or overview (sorry I didn't narrow it down more!)

See also Shelley's blog post