(Legend: Blue – 2019; Red – 2020; Green – 2021; Yellow – 2023; Purple – 2024;
Gray – not hiked – Click an icon to read more )
Miles
Hiking Days
Average Miles Per Day
There are 11 designated National Scenic Trails in the United States. These include the famous Pacific Crest Trail in the west and the Appalachian Trail in the east. Also on the list is the Arizona Trail (AZT), running 800 miles in a north-south direction from the Mexican border to Utah. The Arizona Trail traverses through a wide variety of terrain, passing through Saguaro National Park near Tucson, before continuing north into the mountains. The path also travels through the heart of Grand Canyon National Park, taking hikers rim to rim.
We have always been intrigued by rim to rim hiking through the Grand Canyon, so we put ourselves into the Phantom Ranch lottery (14 months in advance), hoping to stay in the historic accommodations at the bottom of the canyon in May 2019. To our great surprise, we were able to get spots in the hiker dorms on our first choice date.
With that reservation in hand, we hiked the northern 200 miles of the Arizona Trail, beginning in Flagstaff, Arizona, and ending at the Utah border. We had such an amazing time on the trail that we decided to come back in the future to trek other sections.
Watch a short overview of our 2019 trek, focusing on our time in the Grand Canyon:
In 2020, with the world engulfed in the pandemic, our overseas trekking plans were affected. However, since the Arizona Trail is within a day’s drive from our Southern California home, we could easily plan a hike with little notice. So we waited for a window of opportunity that allowed us to trek with little personal interaction. This allowed us to complete another 104-mile section (110 miles total), from Pine to Flagstaff, in October.
We continued our Arizona Trail hiking with a 72-mile section through the Mazatzal Wilderness in May 2021. Located in Arizona’s transition zone between the desert and Colorado Plateau, the wilderness featured a variety of flora as the heat was on with warm temperatures.
In February 2023 we trekked 60 miles in the Sonoran Desert to the Gila River.
We added more miles in 2024 with a 42.5-mile section hike through the Four Peaks Wilderness.
We have now hiked about 65% of the Arizona Trail and will look for other opportunities to complete more miles in the future.
Read more about our journey below:
This Year We are Trekking the U.S. West!
Sandy introduces this year’s adventure – 1,000 miles of trekking in the Western United States on the Pacific Crest Trail and Arizona Trail!
Use It or Lose It: Preparing Our Gear for Trekking the U.S. West
As we prepare for our Trekking the U.S. West adventure this summer, we have been focused on our gear. Taking into account the lessons we learned from hiking the PCT three years ago, we have strived to review every backpacking item to lighten our load. If we aren’t going to use something extensively, it stays…
The Dry and Winding Road: Beginning the Arizona Trail
During our first week hiking along the northern-most section of the Arizona Trail, we passed through a ranch area along winding dirt roads. It is a relatively dry terrain, and much of our daily distance was dictated by the availability of water sources.
What Goes Down Must Come Up: Trekking Rim to Rim along the Arizona Trail
After six days and 103 miles of hiking the Arizona Trail from Flagstaff, Arizona, we arrived at the Grand Canyon’s South Rim only to be confronted with an adverse weather report. Once we hiked down, we had to come back up. The question was where – the South Rim or the North Rim?
To the Red Cliffs of Utah: Completing the Arizona Trail
When we emerged from our rim-to-rim trek through the Grand Canyon it was cold and windy, and there was too much snow on the ground for us to hike on the Arizona Trail (AZT). We had 76 more trail miles to reach the red cliffs of the Utah border and a shuttle pick-up there in…
Trekking the U.S. West Summary Videos
In 2019 we undertook our latest adventure: hiking in California, Arizona, and Washington in what we called Trekking the U.S. West. During our three treks, we hiked 550 miles. At the conclusion of each hike we made short summary videos.
Up and Over the Rim: Section Hiking the Arizona Trail
Arizona is known for its saguaro cactus desert in the south and its rugged Grand Canyon in the north. Between these two areas lies the Mogollon Rim. It was also the location of our latest trek, covering a 104-mile section of the Arizona Trail.
Arizona Trail Section Hike Summary Video
In October 2020 we undertook our latest journey: a 110-mile section hike in Arizona from Pine to Flagstaff. Take a look at a short video of our six-day trek.
The Heat is On: Section Hiking the Arizona Trail’s Mazatzal Wilderness
The Mazatzal Wilderness is located in Arizona’s transition zone between the desert and Colorado Plateau. Our 72-mile Arizona Trail trek took us through a variety of flora as the heat was on with warm temperatures.
A Winter Trekking Adventure: Section Hiking the Arizona Trail’s Sonoran Desert
The Sonoran Desert was the location of our latest Arizona Trail section hike. During our four-day trek, we hiked through an area containing thousands of saguaro cactus. We tried to maintain a sense of adventure as we contended with short days, cold nights, heavy rain, and gusty winds.
From Saguaros to Snow: Section Hiking the Arizona Trail’s Four Peaks Wilderness
Since 2019 we have been working our way south on the 800-mile Arizona Trail, completing additional section hikes in 2020, 2021, and 2023. This year we decided to tackle a gap in our completed sections, starting in the Four Peaks Wilderness.