Passage 3 – Canelo Hills West

In progress….

We began the Canelo Hills West passage in late morning. The trail leads West on “two single track trails” aka a fading jeep road.

Passage 2 – Canelo Hills East

The Canelo Hills East passage begins at the Parker Canyon Lake trail head. My Dad and I arrived there with a couple hours of daylight left on our first day and were quite low on water. Using a detailed description of this passage created by trail steward Zay Hartigan (available here), we decided to hike another 2 miles to a creek at Parker Canyon and make camp. We arrived, set up our camp and then made our way over the cool, flowing creek to make dinner. I ate some instant mashed potatoes and noodles while soaking my blistered feet in the creek. As the sun faded into the night, the temperature dropped and we soon found our way into our sleeping bags for the night. The first day was tough, but rewarding. I really enjoyed the companionship of hiking with my Dad and I was nervously thinking about the reality of camping solo in only two more days.

Morning of day 2 in the Canelo Hills

We woke up at 6am to a 27 degree morning and we quickly packed up our camp and hit the trail.  My feet ached for the first hour, but finally warmed up as we crossed in and out of a creek bed.  The terrain in this section features a series of rolling hills covered in grasses and small brush.  After the first series of these hills we stopped for a quick breakfast of cereal and powdered milk.  Re energized, we continued on as the temperature rose dramatically.  No longer in the cool safety of the Huachucas, we were subject to the full effect of the desert sun.  Zay’s mile by mile directions are very specific and key you into key landmarks and non-obvious turns in the trail.

A view looking North from the edge of the Canelo Hills

The trail joins a jeep road for about 2.5 miles which offers a nice break from the morning climbs.  From the road there are some great unhindered views of some of the mountain ranges surrounding Tucson.  The road turns at a gate (I almost missed this turn) and soon follows a dry creek bed for a time.  We spotted several chipmunks and some blue jays in this section.  Climbing out of the creek area, we had our first up close encounter with cattle.  At a clearing at the top of a hill, at least a dozen cattle were “camped out”, grazing and lounging about.  Not wanting to initiate a stampede, we made our way around and continued on our way.

Canelo Hills

At this point we entered Middle Canyon, and after a snack break, made the last big climb of this passage to the top of the “spine” as Zay calls it.  As we descended off the spine towards Canelo Pass trail head, we were passed by the first mountain bikers in the Arizona Trail 300 race.  A couple of them stopped to chat, but they were all soon on their way North.  The trail became less defined as it dropped out of the hills and more or less followed some orange flagging and a mowed path for the last mile to the trailhead.

Next up: Passage 3 – Canelo Hills West

Passage 1 – Huachuca Mountains

Sometimes the most difficult part of any trek is just arriving at the starting point. I knew that the start of the Arizona Trail (on the Mexico border) required a 1.9 mile hike South from the parking lot at Coronado National Memorial. What I didn’t expect was that my parent’s Chevy Suburban would break down in the parking lot of Montezuma Pass TH.  Fortunately, we did make it that far so that I could still start on time.  Unfortunately, that meant my Mom had to spend and extra day in Sierra Vista waiting for the car to be fixed.

Yaqui Ridge Trail

After calling a tow truck, my Dad and I found Joe’s Canyon Trail and with lightened packs (no food or water) we headed towards the border at dawn.  It was cool and a bit windy, but within minutes we were warming up.  After following a relatively flat trail for just under a mile, we dropped down the Yaqui Ridge Trail.  We descended quickly here following several switchbacks while at the same time avoiding several illegal trails cut straight across the steep grass covered slopes.  We were treated to expansive views of Sonoran Mexico’s mountain ranges off in the distance interspersed with low lying desert terrain.  Rounding a corner about a mile later, we had our first glimpse of the start of the Arizona Trail.  There, at the intersection of two rusting barbed wire fences stands a silver obelisk designating the border. Two of the middle wires were bent enough to step through without a pack on.  We took our picture with the monument and at 6:40am, turned North and I officially began my thru-hike!

My Dad and I at the border monument

We made our way back up the Yaqui Ridge trail and arrived just in time to see two F-350 Superduty trucks come screaming into the parking lot, engines redlining.  The trucks stopped and border patrol officers hopped out, approaching us.  “Were you hiking down near the border?  Did you see anyone down there?”.  We told them that we were beginning the Arizona Trail and that we had seen no one else that morning, not even any evidence of trash.  They thanked us for the information and left almost as quickly as they arrived.  Soon the tow truck arrived, we loaded up with our food and water and set out for Parker Canyon lake, our proposed camping spot for the night. I might note that there was a bathroom at the Trailhead, but I did not see any running water.  We were able to get cell reception (thankfully).

The Arizona Trail leaves the Montezuma Pass TH across the road from the parking lot and begins a sustained climb along the grassy slopes of the Huachuca Mountains.  Switchbacks lead you on the Crest Trail to the edge of the Miller Peak Wilderness.  It started to get warm on this first exposed section, but as we entered the Wilderness, we soon entered the pines.  We also began to see the first signs of illegal Mexican migrants; plastic bottles, wrappers, and cans of Red Bull!  I guess they need something to keep them alert and energized up and over the Huachucas.

Entering the Miller Peak Wilderness

The bandana wrapped around my leg in the photo was to stabalize my I.T. band, which began to bother me on the climb.  I suffered an injury here about a year prior, but it never really bothered me again on the rest of the hike. As we continued to climb into the pines, we were treated to some spectacular views of the San Pedro River Valley to the east, where the city of Sierra Vista lies.  We soon spotted some patches of snow and a lot more trash, including enough clothing to make an entire wardrobe, lots of plastic bottles, and loads of school type backpacks.  We reached the junction with the Miller Peak trail at 9,050 feet (which leads to the summit of the peak), but decided to continue on our way towards our first water source at bathtub spring.  After marveling at the forests along the next 1.6 miles and enjoying our first descent of the day, we filled up our bottles at the spring.  I opted for a quick soak…

COLD soak in bathtub spring

We had a small climb to Carr Peak trail junction before entering a burned out section near Granite Peak.  This required some bushwacking and several maneuvers hopping over fallen trees.  Somewhere around Bear Saddle we ran into two illegal immigrants directly on the Arizona Trail.  They seemed to be confused on where they were and tried to ask us where the trail went.  We told them Mexico and then quickly tried to move on our way to avoid any type of awkward confrontation.  The rest of the hike through the Huachucas was pleasant and mostly downhill.  I gauged our distance between trail junctions by using the altimeter on my watch and the data provided by the Arizona Trail Association in their data book.  I was able to fairly accurately estimate where the turns would be.  After turning off the Crest Trail (TR 103) at Sunnyside Canyon (TR 117), we ran into several sources of flowing water.  Fortunately, being so high up most of the day we had plenty of water.  At the end of the canyon, we ran into more border patrol agents looking for the men we saw earlier in the day.  From here the mountains and pine forests gave way to a dryer landscape that changed in scenery almost with every turn.

Scotia Canyon (TR 127)

After following AZT signs and markers leading us between several trails and roads, we finally came upon Parker Canyon Lake and the end of passage 1.  Looking back, the Huachucas rose sharply behind us and we had crossed the entire range in only one day.  This would become a theme in Southern Arizona as the aptly named “Sky Islands” rise from the desert floor, containing a diversly different environment than the surrounding dry regions.  My feet took a beating the first day in the form of several blisters when I switched shoes halfway through the day.  This would also become a trend that I hope not to repeat again.

Parker Canyon Lake

We met some of the participants of the Arizona Trail 300 mountain bike race at the Parker Canyon Lake Trailhead and chatted with them for a few minutes before continuing on into passage 2 to find some water and a camping spot.  The AZT 300 riders were leaving the next morning on a continuous journey to Superior.  I was impressed to learn that one of the riders had just riden the reverse route as a training ride (he was busy pouring trail mix into a jar of peanut butter and eating the lot by the spoonful).

Next up: Passage 2 – Canelo Hills East

AZT Thru-hike Report

After returning home to Tempe, AZ after roughly five months of traveling following the conclusion of my Arizona Trail thru-hike this Spring, I have finally found some time to write out my trip report. This is something I have been wanting to do, but have not had the time.  While on an absolutely amazing 3 hour bike ride this morning from Tempe out to Fountain Hills, I was thinking about the AZT presentation given last night by Kyle Knoll and Terry Woolston at REI. I though to myself, “Self, I should share my stories and experiences hiking the trail for those who will someday hike the trail”. I know that I carefully read any and every tidbit of information I could find online before setting out on my hike.  I’m hoping to spend some time each day for the next 6 weeks typing up my experiences through each passage of the trail.  My goal will be one passage per day.

I hope whoever stumbles upon this site and my upcoming posts on my experiences will gain something. Before I begin, I want to clarify that I am not the “fastest” thru-hiker of the Arizona trail. I think some people may have formed that perception, but currently Adam Bradley (trail name El Monstro) has the fastest crossing. In 2007, he hiked the trail in 30 days, 7 1/2 hours. I finished in a time of 31 days, 3 hours and 10 minutes. I just wanted to clear that up before I began, thanks!

Back home in Glendale

5 – 18 – 08   Jamil is back home in Glendale as of 6:00 p.m. tonight.  By 7:30 p.m., everything is unloaded and “mostly” put away as Jamil and Nick enjoy some time together hanging out.

Thanks to the Walker family this weekend for their hospitality as our family “crashed” in on them at Page.

Thanks for your interest and support.  Jamil has mentioned to me, that you made all the difference in his success when it was hard.

(mom)

He Finished!

Jamil finished the 780 mile Arizona Trail by crossing the Utah border at 9:50 AM on Sunday, May 18th. His total elapsed time from start to finish is 31 days, 3 hours, and 10 minutes.

-Nick

 

Almost Done!!!

5-17-08   Yesterday, Cullen made a difficult, but admirable call for himself.  He sacrificed hiking the AZ Trail so that Jamil could stay on his schedule and finish the hike as planned.  Somewhere on the Kiabab Trail in the Grand Canyon on Thursday, Cullen injured his Achilles heal.  When they all began the hike on Friday, Cullen Kept up just fine in the beginning.  After about 10 miles the shooting pain became more intense and he began to slow.  He made it another 10 miles with Jamil and Peter taking breaks with him, but he knew that the slower pace would hold Jamil back.  Cullen made it to Kiabab campground and settled in for the night.

Today, we tried to catch Peter & Jamil on the trail when I picked up Cullen from the campground, but missed them.  They did really well positioning themselves for tomorrow’s finish.  If all goes well, they should be finished by noon.  Cullen and I will be there to celebrate with them and bring them back to Page to clean up and eat lunch with our friends. 

We will keep you posted.

(mom) 

Above the North Rim

5-16-08   At 7:00 a.m. this morning, Jamil, Peter and Cullen; continued their journey on the AZ Trail from the North Rim.  It was about 42 degrees with lots of snow ahead of them for the next 10 miles.  I am not quite sure how they can begin with shorts on? 

Once they got through the first 10 miles of snow, they would be looking at a moderate amount of snow for the next 5 miles.  The next 10 after that, the patches became less frequent and smaller in size, in other words, more manageable.  That totals about 25 miles of dealing with snow.

Edit:    When I met up with Cullen, Peter and Jamil, they told me that although the trail had snow on it, the trail did not encompass quite as much snow as I saw from the road.  What was on the groud was mostly hard-packed.  They got a little wet from the snow, but not bad – overall.

I am not exactly sure, but I think they hit about 30 miles today, give or take a few.  It baffles me how they could make that kind of milage with those conditions.  I guess we will find out later.  There is no cell phone service to find out how they did it. 

Looking at tomorrow, the trail will lead them through an area where there was a previous forest fire.  It was initially a controlled burn that got out of control.  That treck will last about 7 – 10 miles.  They should pass highway 89A tomorrow around mid-day, where I cached 2 gallons of water for them.

I am enjoying some special time in Page with some long-time friends until I am needed to drive everyone home. 

(mom)

Grand Canyon Crossing

Our parents and Cullen met Jamil this morning, and the three took off down the South Kaibab trail about 6:30. In the meantime, our mom took a couple hour hike down Bright Angel before heading for the North Rim.

The first six miles down to Phantom Ranch were not too challenging, and they stopped to eat some breakfast before heading up North Kaibab. The next 9 miles or so across the canyon were also not a problem, and water was easy to get the whole way. Jamil felt good on the hike up the North Rim, and only stopped once on the climb. When all was said and done, he finished the trip in 7:30, while our dad came in at 8:00 and Cullen at 8:30. The latter two may have some IT band and Achilles problems to deal with, but they made it through today alright.

They’re off to a solid start on the last stretch before Utah. Our mom will stay with them until then, and I’ll be posting updates as I get them!

-Nick

Grand Canyon

5 – 14 – 08   Jamil returned to his hike today after enjoying the day off yesterday.   Li dropped him off at the trailhead where he ended on Monday.  The snow is mostly melted and the conditions are good.  It is a much better day to hike.

Jamil’s friend Cullen, will join Peter and I leaving later this afternoon for the cabin.  We will meet Jamil in the morning around 6:00 a.m. to hike the canyon rim to rim in one day.  No, I am not hiking, I am the crew.  I will meet them on the north rim ready to serve them chicken fajitas. 

In the morning, they will set off toward Jacob’s Lake while I stay with friends in Page.  We will meet at the boarder of Utah on Sunday. 

We will keep you posted.  Feel free to send Jamil your good wishes on his blog.  He will enjoy them when he gets back home.

Thanks for your support.   (mom)