Hometown Focus (January 2, 2025) by Lee Iverson

My winter home lies near the Arizona Trail, a fact I had paid little attention to until I recognized the trail markers on my hikes in the Tucson area. The Arizona National Scenic Trail, the AZT for short, is an 800 plus mile path from Mexico to Utah and is one of 11 National Scenic Trails in the United States.

Another National Scenic Trail is the North Country Trail which runs through my hometown of Hibbing, and because I have logged 100 miles annually for the past three years on the North Country Trail, my interest in the AZT grew.

The AZT travels through deserts, mountains, grasslands and canyons, and features biodiversity greater than any other trail. It is divided into three sections according to geography, south, central and northern. Living in the Tucson area, I am familiar only with the southern section, although I suspect I have been on pieces of the AZT in the Grand Canyon.

The closest and easiest access to the AZT from my neighborhood is the Gabe Zimmerman Trailhead, 11 miles southeast of us. Formerly known as Davidson Canyon, the trailhead was renamed for Zimmerman, a 30-year-old aide to U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot and killed along with five others in the January 8, 2011, attack that severely injured Giffords and a dozen others.

Zimmerman was an outdoor enthusiast and environmental advocate. The trailhead has a poignant tribute to Zimmerman that says, in part, “Gabe lived a life of exuberance. You should too.” Traveling south from this trailhead the AZT leads to a tunnel under Interstate 10, Rattlesnake Underpass.

I suspect this tunnel was originally built as a culvert because an arroyo runs to and from the entrances. Arroyo is a Spanish term that translates into “dry stream” and there are many of them here in southern Arizona. The desert is full of juxtapositions; it can be very hot here during the day, but very cold at night, it is extremely arid, and water sources are few, unless there is rain, in which case flash floods are possible.

When it rains in the desert, water does not soak into the ground but runs off to the lowest areas. Sometimes when it rains the air is so dry that the moisture evaporates before it hits the ground. This phenomenon is called virga, and it happens frequently in the desert.

The Arizona skies are alarmingly blue unless there is a dust storm. Then drivers are instructed to pull over, turn off headlights and taillights, put the car in park, take your foot off the brake to avoid being rear-ended and stay inside the car with seatbelt on. Luckily, we have never experienced the darker side of Arizona.

 

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