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PASSAGE 1
Arizona National Scenic Trail
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| Start of the Arizona Trail at the U.S.-Mexico border |
If you're reading this, you
might be a hiker who has been motivated to take a good long trek by
recent movies like Wild and A Walk in the Woods . While these
inspiring films romanticize long distance hiking, it's important to
do your homework and manage your expectations before hitting the
trail.
Here in the Southwest, the
obvious draw for a marathon hike is the 817-mile Arizona Trail.
Like many people with a day
job whose long-term plans include hiking the entire route from Mexico
to Utah, I've been chipping away at the miles in opportunistic grabs
and passage-long chunks.
Turns out, this bit-by-bit
style is the way most hikers approach the Arizona Trail. Sirena
Dufault, AZT Gateway Community Liaison says," You don't have to
hike the entire AZT to enjoy it. It's a "choose your own
adventure", where you decide how much of a challenge is
comfortable for you. Hikers who have completed the trail range from
age 19 to folks in their 70s. Some have done it in 21 days while
others section hike it for a decade or more." Shawn Redfield,
AZT Trail Director concurs. "A through- hike is nothing more
than a bunch of section hikes done in series with resupply breaks in
between. Preparation is critical, though. There is a small portion of
hikers who are not prepared and as the popularity of long distance
hiking grows, fueled by recent movies based on it, this translates
into hikers who become a danger to themselves and the people who will
come to help them."
Redfield adds that research
and conditioning for a though-hike can take months and that it's
vital to understand the AZT's special challenges of water scarcity,
heat, elevation change and remote terrain where rescue is not an
option. (Become a member of the of AZT Association to get access to
tons of current trail information, water data and opportunities to
speak with others who have conquered the route: http://www.aztrail.org/membership/join.html).
On October 24th, I stood at the
U.S.-Mexico border where a simple sign denotes the beginning of the
AZT. It took me 12 years to get there. Having hiked parts of
Passage 1 from Montezuma Pass, through Miller Peak Wilderness (with a
side trip to the 9,466' peak) and on to Parker Canyon Lake, this last
mile was one of several blaring holes on my progress map. Prior
attempts had been rained out, burned out or thwarted by schedule
conflicts, so I vowed to bite the bullet and hike rain-or-shine to
bridge this gap by the end of 2015. Rather than starting at the
traditional Montezuma Pass trailhead, I chose to approach from the
Coronado National Monument Visitor Center by hiking 2.4 miles on the
Joe's Canyon Trail then 1-mile south on Yaqui Ridge Trail (AZT) to
the border. This exceptional trek begins with a 1,400 foot
ascent up a rugged drainage to Smuggler's Ridge, a knife-edge saddle
with see-forever views overlooking the Mexican State of Sonora. The
final mile makes a 600 foot decent to a border monument that marks
the beginning (or end) of Arizona's most epic journey. Next up in my
gap-plugging adventure: the Mazatzal Divide.
LENGTH: 6.8 miles roundtrip
RATING: moderate
ELEVATION: 5,006' - 6,493'
GETTING THERE:
From Tucson, travel south on Interstate
10 to State Route 90 Exit 302 and go 25 miles south to Sierra Vista.
Connect with State Route 92 and continue 16 miles to S. Coronado
Memorial Drive and follow it 4.7 miles (road becomes E. Montezuma
Canyon Road) to the Coronado National Memorial Visitor Center (open 8
a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Closed Thanksgiving and Christmas). Trail
begins a few yards up the road beyond the center. Parking is free.
Restrooms.
INFO:
Coronado National Memorial:
http://www.nps.gov/coro/index.htm
ArizonaTrail Association:
http://www.aztrail.org/passages/pass_01.html
ArizonaTrail Association:
http://www.aztrail.org/passages/pass_01.html
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