My previous post here on elkpass.com was written after reaching the eastern terminus of the Ice Age Trail on June 5, 2025. Two weeks later I was in California for the memorial service for PCT trail angel Meadow Ed Faubert, and another memorial for my brother Jim, who passed away in Arizona in April that year. On the way back to Portland I drove up to the Mogollon Rim to a campground my brother enjoyed with friends. After carefully and discreetly burying some of Jim’s ashes on an overlook near the camp, I discovered the Arizona Trail was very close and in the nearby valley. I visualized hiking the trail within view of that beautiful place high on a plateau under cooling pine trees. At that moment I knew I should hike the Arizona Trail in 2026.
On November 16, 2025 I embarked on a three-day “test hike” of the Arizona Trail (AZT) to see how my body would react while ascending to 8,666-foot Mica Mountain within Saguaro National Park. I took it slow and easy while absorbing what a long distance hike could be like in Arizona. It was, after all, the first time I ever camped in the Arizona backcountry. I am happy to say that the three days on the AZT were encouraging, and I immediately began planning a thru-hike (minus the 100 miles north of the Grand Canyon partially closed after a catastrophic wildfire fire in July 2025 damaged the trail and destroyed most of the North Rim structures in the Grand Canyon National Park). More on that later.
Day 1 will be March 5, 2026. At home I am packing my food and supplies, making last minute gear decisions, and paying attention to the weather up on the Sky Islands where snow has been falling. This hike will be fun! This hike will be hard, too.
Learn more about the Arizona Trail here. It is one of the eleven National Scenic Trails in the United States.
Images from my AZT Test Hike on November 16-18, 2025.
