It was 1989 when Arizona Highways published an article about the Arizona Trail. There was an amazing photo of the Crest Trail that just called my name! I was about to hang up my mule’s bridle after seven years of organizing the “Frontier Shady Ladies Bumblebee to Williams All-Woman Charity Trail Ride.” Each year, during the last week of August […]
Read moreby Eric Smith I first heard about the Arizona Trail in 1987. In 1988, while attending a volunteer conference at Boyce Thompson Southwestern Arboretum, Dale Shewalter gave an enlightening presentation on the Arizona Trail. Progress was already underway on the four national forests. I was “hooked” from the moment I learned of the project. In mid-1990, I called Dale to […]
Read moreCreation of the Arizona Trail on the Tusayan Ranger District, Kaibab National Forest The Kaibab National Forest played an important role in the initial development of the Arizona Trail. Dennis Lund, the Kaibab National Forest’s Recreation Staff Officer, hired Dale Shewalter, the trail’s visionary and a local Flagstaff school teacher to start the coordination between the different agencies and entities […]
Read moreBy Merle Parmer Answers to “10 Questions” 1. I have been involved with the Arizona Trail since February 1997, actively until January 2007, when I started having a sequence of bad luck with health problems. Since the beginning of 2007, I have been semi-retired as I have been physically unable to do the trail work. I have done a few […]
Read moreTom Coulson 2017 I did my first “backpacking trip” at age 16 with my Dad and Brother. We always loved the great outdoors so Dad got each of us a “Camp Trails” backpack and we started going. Now at age 65 and several packs later, I still love it. The Arizona Trail had become an important part of my life because it […]
Read moreRemembered by Phyllis Ralley, Photo by Larry Snead Dale Shewalter once told me a story about how he was backpacking in Ponderosa pine country and hiked past a spot, under a beautiful Ponderosa, that was a perfect place to place his tent. It was still a bit early so he decided to keep hiking to another spot. That night there […]
Read moreFreehub Magazine Without an agenda, time becomes irrelevant. When it comes to bikepacking, this is the perfect mindset to have. Void of all expectations and obligations, Jackie Paaso and Stan Jorgensen set off on a three-day, 90-mile mission on the Arizona Trail, embracing the moment and abiding only by the rhythm of mother nature. Watch the 7-minute video here. […]
Read moreby Tom Coulson Dale was very active with the Arizona Trail in the early days when he was healthy. I only got to actually build trail with him one time. It was up near the Northern Terminus in the year 2002. Work crews were finishing up the final tread work a short distance south of the terminus and I was […]
Read moreThe Arizona Trail Association is proud to share our 2019 Annual Report with you. The Annual Report includes highlights of our most successful projects from throughout 2019 as well as our top priorities for 2020. The Annual Report was given to everyone who attended the Annual Members Meeting on February 1 at the Desert Botanical Garden, and it’s now available […]
Read morePayson Roundup (January 31, 2020) by Alexis Bechman On a sunny Sunday in January, I joined Mike Brandt, president of Pine Strawberry Fuel Reduction, Inc. (PSFR), at the Pine Trailhead. We took a leisurely three-mile hike, made possible because Brandt, the PSFR board and volunteers are diligent in educating the community about fire protection and fuel reduction, creating partnerships and […]
Read moreA hiker’s report of deadfall on the AZT / Cross F trailhead connector was sufficient excuse to get out for the day. We also wanted to check a gate location to see if the rock would allow us to dig in a steel gate and get the dimensions of the closure sign at Bushnell Tanks which we plan to replace. […]
Read moreOn January 29, 2020, 16 fifth graders from Ms. Maggie’s class at Mountain Charter School strapped on snowshoes for their first outing with Seeds of Stewardship. We shared a wintery day full of learning, ecology, and group-forming at the Flagstaff Nordic Village. Most students had never been snowshoeing before and were surprised to find that it was a lot like […]
Read moreArizona Daily Sun (January 26, 2020) by Anne McGuffey “Can I go to sleep now?” That’s what Helen Galerakis most wanted, after running the final stretch to the Mexico border. I was with Helen on that mild afternoon in early November, along with Rob Krar, her ultra-running coach. Bright sunshine and puffy clouds graced the Sonoran high desert landscape. She […]
Read moreArizona Daily Sun (January 19, 2020) by Anne McGuffey I woke at 4:30 a.m. to discover the bivvy sack was torn open down the side — no wonder I’d been feeling cold. After four hours of sleeping on the ground beside Helen Galerakis, it was clear the support crew wouldn’t reach us at this challenging access point near Superior in […]
Read moreThe Woodbury fire destroyed a great many things, some of which were the trail signs. Given the rapidly growing use of the AZT, the seriously altered landscape and the popularity of the AZT route through the Superstitions in general, replacing those signs is an Arizona Trail Association priority. Volunteers have been working on replacing the burned and deteriorated signs for […]
Read morePhoenix Magazine (October 2019) by Mare Czinar Following his May 2017 threat cancer diagnosis, Mesa resident Wyatt Roer resolved he wasn’t going to let the disease squash his plans to hike the entire 800-mile Arizona Trail. “My family and friends knew that this was a rehab goal,” the retired earth-moving operations supervisor says. “Even though the radiation treatment lasted for […]
Read moreSaddlebag Notes (December 27, 2019) by Seana Kobak Zach MacDonald, Assistant Trail Director for the Arizona Trail Association, had big plans for the work session on Wednesday, November 20. He was finally going to replace the rickety wire fence at the culvert where the AZT crosses under Oracle (route 77) at Tyger Mine Road. Zach told our Saddlebrooke crew, “I’ve […]
Read moreKJZZ (January 3, 2020) by Lauren Gilger LAUREN GILGER: 2019 was not the year of nuanced takes on life in Phoenix and Arizona in general. There were headlines like 100 Degrees For Days: The Looming Phoenix Heat Wave That Could Harm Thousands from Vox and As Phoenix Heats Up, The Night Comes Alive from the New York Times that, despite some lovely photography, really seemed […]
Read moreRalph Oscar “Roe” Erlandson, Jr, age 76, died November 15, 2019 in Tucson, AZ during an emergency surgery. Roe’s lifelong love of swimming, water skiing, and sailing began while growing up on a lake. He added to his outdoor activities with snow skiing, running, biking, and hiking. Roe accomplished many personal goals: completing the Boston Marathon, finishing the Hawaiian Ironman […]
Read moreOn November 14th, 2019, 5 students from Empire High School left for a fantastic expedition into Cienega Creek. It was a perfect November day for a hike through such a diverse place. Our goal was to explore three different eco-systems, to gain a better understanding of the adaptation of the flora and fauna and the watershed in each area. To […]
Read moreOn December 17, 2019, 14 fifth graders from Mrs. Chapman’s class at Flagstaff Junior Academy Middle School braved a particularly chilly morning in pursuit of adventure, discovery, and expression. Our goals were to identify why we felt connections with certain special places, to deepen our sense of place in Flagstaff’s local environment, and to create meaningful collages using natural materials. […]
Read moreOn November 7th, 2019, 35 students from Mt. Vista Elementary School explored Catalina State Park. We traveled from the town of Oracle to the park to adventure in low thorn-scrub biome, learning about the flora, fauna, and the indigenous peoples that had villages where Catalina State Park now is. The students were excited to learn about the ecosystems in this […]
Read moreAuthored by Kim Cleary On September 19, 15 students from Mrs. Chapman’s fifth grade class at Flagstaff Junior Academy ventured into the Coconino National Forest along the Arizona Trail to observe and learn about the fire-dependent ponderosa pine ecosystem they live in. Being their first outing with Seeds of Stewardship, students were introduced to our program as well as the […]
Read moreOn December 4th, 2019, 12 students from Kino School explored the incredible Cienega Creek Natural Preserve. This expedition would walk students through a variety of biomes, displaying desert watershed at its finest. The paths winds though time petrified in stone and rock, while observing key pathways and habitats of Southern Arizona’s rarest and most wonderful animals. These students had been […]
Read moreThe popular Arizona Trail Topo Maps are now available through the Avenza mobile app. All 129 of the detailed topo maps can be downloaded from the Avenza store and stored to your mobile device. Once they’re downloaded, the maps work offline and without cell phone connectivity. You can use the maps to find your exact location along the trail using […]
Read moreSaddlebag Notes (November 29, 2019) by Elizabeth Wheeler SaddleBrooke hikers went on a “Search and Destroy” mission to remove catclaw bushes growing on the southern end of the Oracle Passage of the Arizona Trail on Wednesday, October 16. Catclaw, an aggressive bush that grows quickly, can bloody arms and legs of hikers and bike riders who travel the trail. In […]
Read moreSaddlebag Notes (November 29, 2019) by Elizabeth Wheeler On Saturday, October 12, the Saddlebrooke Hiking Club participated in the statewide ‘Arizona Trail in a Day’ hike, an event designed to promote our 800+ mile hiking trail that spans the state from the Mexico border north to Utah. Karrie Kressler, Community Program Coordinator of the Arizona Trail Association reports the following […]
Read moreOn December 2, 18 students from Mt.Vista Elementary School left for one of the most unique and wonderful Seeds of Stewardship expeditions ever. This group gained special access to Aravaipa Canyon, and thanks to our friend and BLM Ranger Heidi Blenkinship, they had wonderful leadership in this wild place. The students were very excited. I had prepared them for a rugged […]
Read moreWhite Mountain Independent (Nov. 29, 2019) by Peter Aleshire Let’s thin and burn a million acres. And let’s do that in the heart of some of the most heavily used national forests in the country. Count on lots of logging trucks, processing sites and smoke. Now, maybe that doesn’t make it sound like treating the forest will improve the weekend […]
Read moreOn November 22, 2019 12 students from Mansfeld Middle School arrived at the Gabe Zimmerman trailhead on the Arizona Trail. Our goal was to explore three general ecosystems represented here: Desert Thorn Scrub, Arroyo, Riparian Gallery Forest. These students were on their way to having an awesome adventure, without more than a clue of this areas awesomeness. They knew of […]
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