AZT: Flagstagg to Grand Canyon
Published:
For veteran readers of the blog, I’m trying something a bit different; my spring break blog posts will summarize multiple days of my trip, informed by my daily journal. On the PCT I found myself not writing things I was thinking and feeling because I knew it would end up on the internet, so this is my current idea of a solution.
If that was too much inside baseball for you, then please enjoy
AZT Day 1
After an eventful sequence of Ubers and flights, I finally arrived in Flagstaff, where Bailey awaited me (where else?) at the China Star Super Buffet. My careful readers will recall that I met Bailey on Day 6 of the PCT when he took my photo at Eagle Rock. We became quick friends
We ended up hiking together for only eight more days, but we stayed in touch and, when I found out he would be hiking northbound on the Arizona Trail during my spring break, I was quick to invite myself for a section. Because I was joining based on timing and not the specific stretch of trail, I went in totally blind. In particular, I didn’t know that the 130 mile stretch from Flagstaff to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon was a barren wasteland, devoid of water and, with few exceptions, interesting scenery. More on this later.
We got on trail from the chinese buffet and hiked fifteen miles through a burnt out forest to our camp. The miles just disapeared as we talked incessantly, catching up on a jam-packed eleven months apart. Bailey assured me it would be quite warm when I got on trail (in constrast with the rest of his AZT hike), so I forwent a down jacket, a hat, and a warm sleeping pad… Temperatures were in the teens that night, so, compounded with my lack of adjustment to the altitutde, I had a long night. Apparently I complained a bit too much in the morning, because while we were eating breakfast Bailey told me I should write a book about it.
AZT Day 2
Today had even less interesting topography, with two thirds of our almost thirty miles consisting of dirt road winding through private property, notably the Babbitt Ranch, where the trail actually avoids the public land, something I had never seen on my land ownership map layer. A gear shop owner in Flagstaff later explained this to me as Babbitt’s attempt to protect the AZT from the evershifting patchwork of public land statuses that plague conservative-controlled states hellbent on extracting and developing at the expense of their citizens. Thanks Babbitt!
The day started frigid and ended in the eighties with a blistering sun, but the walking was so relaxing—and we still had so much catching up to do—that I barely noticed any difficulty despite not having walked thirty miles since January. Aside from a long stretch through an active pile burn and a few stretches of lingering snow, the trail exemplified what my rose-colored glasses obstructed from my PCT memories: through hiking can be super boring. We ended at a nasty cow tank a mile off trail, but we were happy to have water, dinner (cold-soaked rice and beans with fritos and salami for me), and some rest. Another cold night.
