Saddlebag 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 […]
Read moreOn November 6th, 2019, 11 students from Edge High School left a rainy Tucson for an adventure into the Santa Rita Mountains. Early winter storms had forced us away from the Tucson Valley, removing us from the surrounding mountains. Instead, we drove south to Madera Canyon in hopes that the northward storms had passed the area. The drive brought us […]
Read moreOn November 18, 2019, 19 fifth graders from Mr. Ross’s class at Flagstaff Junior Academy Middle School explored Picture Canyon via a three mile loop, encompassing part of the Arizona Trail’s Elden Mountain Passage 32. Our goal was to infer why and how the Sinagua People lived in Picture Canyon approximately 1,000 years ago. We would accomplish this goal by […]
Read moreOn October 25th, 2019 12 students from Mansfeld Middle School left Tucson for an adventure high in the Santa Catalina Mountains. Some of these students had never explored this mountain range, and for them, this was a mysterious and new experience. For those that were returning, this was a special chance to see and experience something new. This was the […]
Read moreOn November 16th, 2019, 15 students from Basis North School left to help install a new sign on the Arizona Trail at the Cienega Creek intersection. This is the 5th expedition of the season, and the students were more than excited to learn how to help beautify the trail. The group had hiked here in the past, and now they […]
Read moreOn November 16, 2019, 20 students from Basis North left for a wonderful day in Cienega Creek. This was a stewardship expedition, and these students were excited to improve this part of the Arizona Trail. Our group was diverse in age, with students ranging from 10 to 8 years. This meant the labor of the day had to be strategically […]
Read moreAZ Family (November 13, 2019) by Lindsey Reiser An Englishman broke the record for the fastest time on the Arizona Trail. It extends from the Utah-Arizona border to our border with Mexico. Most people take their time, 40 to 50 days, with rest days in between. But not Joshua Perry. He completed the 800-mile trail is 14 days, 12 hours, and 21 minutes. […]
Read moreArizona Daily Sun (November 13, 2019) by Sam McManis Want to start an argument among local trail runners and hikers, get their heart rates zooming as if they’ve just sprinted up Humphreys Peak? Ask them which section of the Arizona Trail, the segments wending their way through Flagstaff and environs, is the best. By best, we mean the most enjoyable […]
Read moreOn October 11th, 2019, 10 students from Empire High School left for a wild adventure into the Santa Catalina Mountains. Hiking Sunset trail, we hoped to beat the heat by hiking Sunset Trail through mixed coniferous forests. We wanted to observe how altitude effects desert mountains, discussing Sky Islands and their greater ecological effect on the Sonoran Desert. To understand […]
Read moreJust when you thought 800 miles couldn’t be accomplished any quicker, a 24-year-old super hiker from Yorkshire, United Kingdom recently completed the entire length of the Arizona National Scenic Trail in 14 days, 12 hours, 21 minutes. He averaged over 55 miles per day without a day of rest and overcame a stress fracture in his tibia to become the […]
Read moreArizona Daily Sun (November 5, 2019) by Sam McManis Off the dusty, wind-swept Arizona Trail, out of the oft-harsh elements over 800 miles that range from desert heat to forested chill and critters from rattlesnakes to rutting elks, Ray Dunton sinks with a sigh into a comfy easy chair in an elegant Kachina Village living room. He cleans up nicely, […]
Read morePayson Round-Up (November 1, 2019) by Alexis Bechman The day started with fears Pine-Strawberry Fire Chief Gary Morris was either injured or dead after going missing on the Arizona Trail and ended with cheers and relief after Morris sent an unexpected text message Wednesday. No one had heard from Morris since Monday afternoon when he sent his wife a […]
Read morePayson Round Up (October 22, 2019) by Alexis Bechman There is still time to catch a glimpse of fall color in Rim Country. For those of us who didn’t grow up in a four-season climate like Payson, watching the leaves turn every year is a thrilling experience. One of the defining trees of fall in the high country is the […]
Read moreOn October 19th, 2019, 15 students from Basis North left for an adventure onto the Arizona Trail. Our goal was to hike to Sycamore Reservoir to explore high desert biomes, riparian gallery forests, and the history that dominated this area in the earth 20th century. Some of these students had hiked here in the past, and for them, it would […]
Read moreOn October 29th, 2019, 9 students from Project More High School left for an adventure into the Santa Catalina Mountains. Using the Arizona Trail, we ventured into a wonderful landscape that was like nothing the students had seen before. We wanted to learn about high desert biomes and how riparian areas change the arid landscapes. For this, Sycamore Reservoir was […]
Read moreArizona Daily Sun (October 22, 2019) On the weekend of October 5 and 6, the Arizona Trail Association held a trail steward workshop at the Nordic Village (aka the Nordic Center), which generously provided free camping for the event on its gorgeous property. In addition, the Nordic Village donated use of its Nature Discovery Center, a spacious yurt with […]
Read moreOn October 16, 2019, 9 students from Edge High School found themselves in the Santa Catalina Mountains ready to hike the Arizona Trail. Hiking from the Gabe Zimmerman Trailhead, our mission was to spend the day learning about the Sonoran Desert by observing adaptations, ecosystems as they relate to watershed, and the different types of flora and fauna. This was […]
Read moreOn September 2, 2019, 9 students from Superior Jr/Sr High School came to school prepared for an adventure. This was the 1st of 4 expeditions this semester and the students were incredibly excited. Our goal was to use Six Shooter Canyon Trail to explore the Pinal Mountains. We hoped to use this area as a classroom to discuss and learn […]
Read moreThe Globe and Mail (October 15, 2019) by Christina Palassio A visit to the Grand Canyon that doesn’t involve elbowing your way through crowds to get a view, or booking a year in advance to get a room? Yes, it’s possible. Just shift your sights to the North Rim. Only 10 per cent of the six million tourists who […]
Read moreOn September 18th, 2019, 6 students from Kino School embarked on an adventure into the Santa Catalina Mountains to explore the mixed coniferous forests that surround Sunset Trail. This is the 1st of 5 expeditions which intends to provide students with the experience and understanding of Sonoran Desert ecology. On this adventure, we explored biomes and Sky Islands, riparian areas, […]
Read moreAZfamily.com (October 8, 2019) by Kim Quintero PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) — Arizona is one of the prettiest places in the world, and this weekend you’ll have the chance to join people of all demographics in exploring our wondrous state. Many who live here might not know that there is a trail, 800 miles long, that stretches across our entire state […]
Read moreOn March 27th, 2019, 8 students from Empire High School left for an adventure into the Santa Catalina Mountains. From Empire High School, students can see the full range of the Catalinas, but few have the opportunity to explore them. We intended to hike to Sycamore Reservoir and observe and learn about the flora and fauna that exists within the […]
Read moreCo-authored by Kim Cleary On October 8, 2019, Seeds of Stewardship, equipped with a pile of topo maps and a box of compasses, met 18 sixth and seventh grade students enrolled in Flagstaff Arts and Leadership Academy’s Outdoor Exploration class. Over the course of a class period, we introduced students to the Arizona Trail, Seeds of Stewardship, and foundational map […]
Read moreOn April 9th, 2019, 10 students from City High School left their school to have an adventure into the Santa Catalina Mountains. We intended to hike on Sunset Trail and find the remarkable pools of water that are said to be found tucked away into the folds of the mountain. Besides the pools of water, our goals included understanding Sky […]
Read moreOn October 3, 2019, 132 students from Mount Elden Middle School’s 6th, 7th, and 8th grade classes visited Campbell Mesa to learn about human relationships with nature and our impacts on the environment. Campbell Mesa features 5 loop trails, which connect to the Arizona Trail’s Walnut Canyon and Elden Mountain Passages. Students rotated between four activities, wherein they explored resource […]
Read moreOn March 30th, 2019, 7 students from the Patagonia Youth Enrichment Center left for a mission to repair the Arizona Trail. Stewardship is a key characteristic of the program. Students spend the first four expeditions gaining experience and developing a deeper relationship toward trails and the landscapes which they move through. For the final expedition, we intended to train students […]
Read moreThe Apache Juntion and Gold Canyon News (September 30, 2019) by Charlie Goff The Woodbury Fire primarily in the Superstition Wilderness Area (SWA), captured the interest of the entire state as it burned nearly 124,000 acres only a few months ago. Now that it is over, just how was it confined almost totally to the Superstition Wilderness Area —and without […]
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