Hike of the Week: Arizona National Scenic Trail, Saddle Mountain Passage

Phoenix Magazine (March 17, 2024) by Mare Czinar Officially the closest Arizona Trail entry point to the Valley, the dirt pullout at Bushnell Tanks on State Route 87 half way between Fountain Hills and Payson, provides access to Arizona’s geological transition zone—a swath of mountain ranges and long valleys created over eons of volcanic activity, seismic uplifts and intermittent sea […]

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Bonus Hike of the Week: Picketpost Mountain near Superior

PhoenixMag.org | MARE CZINAR | February 14, 2024 Tonto National Forest, near Superior Notoriously overgrown, unmarked and insanely steep, getting to the top of Picketpost Mountain is a make-it-up-as-you-go prospect. Located outside the Town of Superior, the adventure starts with a hike south on the Alamo Canyon Passage 17 of the Arizona National Scenic Trail. About a mile in, a […]

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Highline Hold’Em 2023: if you build it they will come

By Michele Nelson Payson Roundup ~ Saturday’s event marked the third year for the Highline Hold’Em mountain bike fundraising ride, and ridership increased by 70%. And that shows how a million-dollar Forest Service investment in the Highline Trail can spur the local economy and increase use of the forest. The Forest Service, the Rim Country Mountain Bike Association and other […]

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New Coalition Expands Access to Environmental Education to Students Across Northern Arizona

Arizona Daily Star ~ August 5, 2023 ~ by Adrian Skabelund New Coalition Expands Access to Environmental Education to Students Across Northern Arizona With thousands of children preparing to return to the classroom across Flagstaff next week, a new coalition is working to better connect northern Arizona students to outdoor and environmental educational opportunities. The Environmental Education Coalition, spearheaded by […]

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Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs and the Arizona Legislature Support the Arizona Trail

The 2023 Arizona budget includes a historic $500,000 investment in the Arizona National Scenic Trail. The bipartisan budget shows the dedication of elected officials to support outdoor recreation and conservation efforts.  Senator David Gowan (LD-19) sponsored the original appropriation bill. “The Arizona Trail is a gem within our state and creates an incredible opportunity for people of all shapes, sizes, […]

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This New Map Highlights How Hiking Trails Intersect With Indigenous Lands

For time immemorial, trails have been an integral part of Indigenous life and wellbeing, serving as routes for migration, trade, everyday travel, connection, and communication with neighboring communities—and today, many of these ancient footpaths are part of the National Trails System, whose tracks stretch more than 89,000 miles across ancestral lands in the US. Yet many trail names honor European settlers […]

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Public News Service – Arizona Trail

Public News Service (May 17, 2023) by Alex Gonzalez The Arizona Trail stretches 800 miles across Arizona, from Mexico to Utah. The trek is considered by many a “lifeline,” under threat with fire season fast approaching. Matthew Nelson, Executive Director of the Arizona Trail Association, said the trail helps sustain communities such as Superior and Miami, Arizona, which benefit from […]

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1,500-Gallon Rainwater Collector Installed on Arid Section of Arizona Trail

The Trek (May 12023) by Rachel Shoemaker The Arizona Trail Association recently installed a 1,500-gallon Remote Rainwater Collector along an arid segment of trail in Passage 15 in Pinal County.  The installation of this collector, which was completed on April 6, is a welcome addition that will bring much-needed relief to hikers on this 28.1-mile dry stretch of trail. The unit, which is the […]

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Walking between two worlds

White Mountain Independent (March 22, 2023) by Michele Nelson Meandering along the face of the 2,000-foot-tall Mogollon Rim, the Highline Trail threads the boundary between ponderosa pine and pinyon juniper forests. The soaring cliffs capture storms, creating springs, drainages and hidden canyons. These storms and the Rim’s geology provide a unique ecological meeting place for plants and animals from the […]

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History PhD candidate turns 46-day walk into a love letter to Arizona

ASU News (Feb 28, 2023) by Scott Bordow Award-winning author Tom Zoellner explores his relationship with AZ in his latest book Tom Zoellner was born in Colorado but he’s an Arizonan through and through. His great-great-grandfather was a cotton farmer on Homestead Act land near Papago Buttes. Zoellner went to elementary school and high school in Arizona, and later worked […]

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So Far. So Good.

Arizona Highways (February 2023) by Kelly Vaughn I’VE LOST ROB KRAR. Well, kind of. It’s midafternoon on a Thursday, and we’re running a segment of the Arizona Trail near the San Francisco Peaks. Krar detours into the woods. So, I am — if only briefly — outpacing one of the world’s elite endurance athletes. Within seconds, though, I hear him, […]

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The Top 5 Women’s FKTs of 2022

Trail Runner Magazine (January 3, 2023) by Brian Metzler The FKT of the Year voting panel was asked to select the top five women’s FKTs of 2022 (from a pool of 22 finalists culled by the Fastest Known Time staff) and rank them in order from first to fifth. Katie Brown’s Arizona Trail FKT was second with 60 points. Brown […]

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Controversial Grand Canyon uranium mine preparing for production as early as 2023

Arizona Daily Sun (December 9, 2022) by Sean Golightly The Pinyon Plain (formerly Canyon) uranium mine near Grand Canyon National Park has been issued a new permit by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, opening the door for future mining. Robert Tohe, courtesy file photo. A long-dormant uranium mine located 10 miles south of the Grand Canyon could soon begin […]

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Hiking the Arizona Trail Passage Gila River Canyons

Phoenix Magazine (December 2022) by Mare Czinar EPIC BACKPACK TRIP Over its remote 26-mile course, the Arizona Trail Passage 16: Gila River Canyon passes though some of the most stunning backcountry in the Copper Corridor, near the community of Kelvin. Getting There: For access points and up-to-date conditions, visit the Arizona Trail website. Become a member and gain access to additional data, […]

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The Highline: A world class accessible hike beneath the Rim after re-route

Payson Roundup (December 2, 2022) by Michele Nelson For too long, the Highline Trail has intimidated hikers. Remote. Rugged. Rough. But it’s time for that reputation to change. The Phase I re-route of the Highline Trail from the Pine to the Washington Park trailheads has completely transformed the hike from an out-of-breath scramble to a stroll through glades and meadows […]

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Environmentalists await more news from Hobbs about shipping container border wall

Fronteras News Desk (November 23, 2022) by Alisa Reznick Environmental groups are watching closely to see how Arizona’s next governor, Katie Hobbs, will handle a makeshift wall of shipping containers the state is putting up along the border. The Ducey administration’s shipping container wall first appeared on federal land near Yuma earlier this year. Contractors began a similar project in […]

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Cape Breton man’s epic American hike sees him travel 6,300 kilometres in 175 days

SaltWire (November 15, 2022) by Christopher Connors Colin MacDougall never even went camping until two years ago. However, that didn’t stop the Howie Centre man from setting out on an epic adventure in which he hiked more than 6,300 kilometres in 175 days, crossing five U.S. states and ascending nearly 2,000 kilometres in total elevation. “Honestly, I’m not sure why […]

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This is the Gear Hiker Katie Brown Used to Set a New Arizona Trail FKT

Backpacker (November 10, 2022) by Jeff Garmire In the spring of 2022, emergency room nurse Katie Brown set the self-supported Fastest Known Time on the Arizona Trail, beating Heather “Anish” Anderson’s 2016 record by nearly two days. On the northbound attempt, Katie drew on her backpacking experience as a Triple Crowner to winnow down her pack weight to the bare minimum. […]

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If You Don’t Have Time for a Long Thru-Hike, the Arizona Trail Is a Perfect—and Spectacular—Shorter Trek

Outside (November 13, 2022) by Grayson Haver Currin In less than 800 miles, the Arizona Trail offers a steady string of stunning landscapes, uncanny animals, and changing circumstances. If your time is limited, it’s the national scenic trail to try. The most commonplace question about long-distance hiking is also the most complicated to answer: How do you find the resources—the […]

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