AZT Day 8 – The 7k climb to an Airbnb
I’m writing this in a real bed. After a shower and a few hot meals. It feels nice not to worry about the basics and to have running water.
AZT Day 7 – Navigating a chilly morning and Mt. Mica
5:00 came quick at Grass Shack. It was cold. The two water bottles I left outside the tent were frozen.
AZT Day 6 – Saguaros, real food, and a missing resupply
8 hours of sleep. This was the first night I didn’t wake up multiple times. And I felt fresh. It’s crazy how your body can go from being sore to normal after a good nights sleep.
AZT Day 5 – The biggest rattlesnake in Arizona
I’m laying in the middle of the Arizona desert. My body hurts. I’m exhausted. I hiked 30 miles today. What the heck was I thinking?
AZT Day 4 – Sliced finger on a windy day
5:00 came early. I didn’t sleep well but rolled out of my sleeping bag and got ready. It had to be a big day.
AZT Day 3 – Town Day!
Town day! I huddled in my sleeping bag at 5:15 not wanting to move. It had only been 2 days, but the thought of real food got me going real quick.
AZT Day 2 – The Staring Cows
I met more cows than water on day 2.
My body wanted to crash on night one. But I had a hard time falling sleep.
AZT Day 1 – Finding the trail and Mt. Miller
I’m wiped. My watch shows 7:30 pm. Today was wild. I planned to do 13.2 miles and ended at 20.7 with 5x more elevation than any of my training hikes.
Arizona Trail Gear List
All the things I stuff in my backpack, except food and water… and the occasional shower. My base weight (weight carried in the backpack – food and water) is around 16 pounds. My target base weight is sub 15, so I’ll get rid of stuff that I don’t use! I recommend all the gear except for […]
Preparing to Section Hike the Arizona Trail
On January 9th I moved my PCT start date from May 28th to April 3rd. The date change is amazing for multiple reasons, like avoiding the desert heat in Southern California and giving myself an extra month to finish before Washington is covered in feet of snow. The issue is with my number one Chicago […]