Arizona Trail Hike: Mile 458 - 575
Arizona Trail Hike: Mile 458 - 575
Hello all! This is my last entry from the Arizona Trail… for the time being!
The Arizona Trail goes down, into, and up the Grand Canyon. But due to the devastating fires in 2025, the North Rim is currently closed. The logistics of working my way around the canyon as a solo woman were too much. So with the National Park Service working on the trail and making regular updates/announcements, I am pausing my hike until it opens. Initially I was going to hike to the South Rim and begin to make my way south, but stopping Flagstaff made the most logistical sense.
I’ll be back in the Southwest in the Fall of 2026 so I plan to finish the remaining 225 miles then. As someone who finishes something when they start it… I could not imagine leaving this open ended. The Grand Canyon is the highlight of the entire trail for me, crossing my fingers a thru will be allowed then!
This section was a real treat; pine forests, views, higher elevations, and of course kind people along the way. Compared to other stretches, this felt like a breeze. It was a high note to end on for this segment.
Arizona Trail Hike Summary
Statistics:
Days: 5
Full hiking days: 5
Zeroes: 0
Neroes: 0
Total Trail Miles Covered: 113.6
Total Elevation Gain: 11,085 ft
Total Elevation Loss: 9667 ft
Highlights:
Trail Angels. Forever will be my number one highlight from this trail
Flatter trail through pine forests is some of my favorite hiking!
Being at elevation (7000 ft +) that mitigated some of the heat
Seeing PCT friends on the AZT!
Lowlights:
The heat wave
Less than desirable water sources
Arizona Trail Hike: Detailed Version
Day 28: Mile 458.9 - 476.4
Trail Daily Miles: 17.5
Total Miles: 18.4
Elevation Gain: 2828 ft
Elevation Loss: 2205 ft
Weather: Sun, Warm
Overall Day Sentiment: Thankful to sweet trail angels, Mike and Cayaha!
Overall, I sleep really well in my tent and on the trail. Though you may think that being in a hotel, I would sleep even better – though I am more comfortable and clean, I always sleep worse. A bout of insomnia hit me and I was awake from about 2:30am - 5:00am. And my trail body clock woke me up by 6:30am. Alas I would sleep more tonight in my tent.
This hotel had a great breakfast buffet that myself, Ira, Cahaya, and Mike all took part in. Hiker hunger was just beginning to make an appearance for me, but I would still fill up relatively quickly. Ira really developed the hunger at this point so it is always fun to see how much food hikers can actually consume. After breakfast, it only took us a bit to pack up and get ready to go.
Mike and Cahaya drove us to the trailhead in Pine and it was a sad goodbye. I always compare thru-hiking friendships or relationships to summer camp ones. Because you spend time with people, without cell phone service, intentionally chatting all while having multiple things in common; relationships just develop quicker. It was such a gift to see the two of them, creating core memories as father and son in the outdoors. I can’t wait to say I knew Cahaya when he becomes the youngest person to complete the Arizona Trail.
Starting later than I typically do on trail, 17 miles for the day with a decent amount of elevation game the miles was a stretch goal. But the miles flew by as the trail was graded and gradual. The views were outstanding as I continue to climb higher. This is when the heat wave was picking up in sincerity so the higher elevation I got the better the temperature regulated.
There were several more day hikers and short section hikers out in this stretch, primarily because it is a an accessible section. There are a few road crossings and it is higher in elevation so people were escaping to it from the heat. Ira and I had a miscommunication about where we were going to set up camp so that added an extra mile to the day, but we got it sorted. It’s always a good reminder to have clear communication but this was definitely my fault. Oops!
Despite getting on the trail late and doing a pretty full day of hiking, we got to camp and there was ample time left in the evening to relax.
Day 29: Mile 476.4 - 498.1
Trail Daily Miles: 21.7
Total Miles: 22
Elevation Gain: 3163 ft
Elevation Loss: 2425 ft
Weather: Sun, Warm
Overall Day Sentiment: Happy times at elevation
There were a few big climbs slated throughout the day so I got rolling early again. The first few miles were smooth, and I ran into some trail maintenance crews that were cleaning up a burn zone. They were impressed that they were already some northbound Arizona Trail thru-hikers at this point, and some of them offered me snacks. Because I had just left town and had an overwhelming amount of food in my pack. I declined, but it was very sweet.
Just before the biggest climb of the day, there was a great water source with fresh flowing water. This would become a rarity in this section, but I did not fully know that yet. I filled up as little as possible before heading up the climb because why carry extra weight? This climb was through a canyon and it was relatively steep to what I had been doing the last several days. But once on top of the rim, I would be consistently over 7000 feet therefore avoiding the majority of this heat wave.
The hiking was easy in the section as it was primarily through pine forest. There were a few other running water sources throughout the day that were beautiful, and I appreciated wholeheartedly. This section is actually known for being snowy at this time of year. So I still had my micro spikes (traction devices for my shoes) but 99.9% of all the snow had already melted. This made for fast hiking, but also made me a bit concerned for the hikers who were several weeks behind me.
The final running water source of the day was a wide river with tons of beautifully smooth river rocks. And this was at the bottom of a climb that would go through a burn zone. It was a fantastic lunch spot where I got to rehydrate as much as possible as to not carry excess water up the climb. Now I say that these were steep or long climbs, but this is still nothing as compared to some of the climbs earlier in the Arizona Trail. The northern half of the trail has significantly less elevation gain than the first half - if heading northbound.
The original plan was to go another few miles to hit around 24 miles for the day, but there was a water cache at Highway 87 that was too good to pass up. Just having an extra liter of water in the morning not from a cow pond would make all the difference. There was also a campground nearby here, but it was closed for the season. Therefore, the water was not yet turned on otherwise that would’ve been a stopping point.
Even though we would have to make up the miles in several few following days, it was worth it to stop a little bit premature.
Day 30: Mile 498.1 - 523.5
Trail Daily Miles: 25.4
Total Miles: 25.7
Elevation Gain: 2156 ft
Elevation Loss: 1414 ft
Weather: Cold, Sun, Hot
Overall Day Sentiment: 500 miles!
I perhaps underestimated how chilly it was going to get overnight when above 7000 feet. It ended up dropping near freezing, which always makes getting ready in the morning marginally more painful. Motivating myself to get out of my sleeping bag, into my hiking clothes, and having my hands be dexterous enough to put away my gear with a challenge.
But the morning miles flew by and I officially hit 500 miles on the AZT! Per usual, I have The Proclaimers song downloaded and we listen to that very loudly in the woods. Again, as this was Ira‘s first, not only thru-hiker but also backpacking trip it’s wildly impressive that we’ve already made it to 500 miles!
I did not warm up fully to take off a few layers of hiking clothing until around mile seven for the day. We had been making great time so we had stopped and took a few breaks that lasted a little bit longer than normal breaks. This section had a majority of cow tank water sources, which just means that they are stock ponds. This is problematic for filtering because it quickly clogs your filter. Filtering water from these water sources takes longer because I would recommend a pre-filter, regular filter, and a chemical treatment.
A few miles from my goal my stretch goal for the day there ended up being a surprise flowing water source so I got rid of my cow tank water (that still tasted like dirt) and got fresh water. The remainder of the day flew by even with a heavy water carry and we got to one of my favorite campsites on the entire trail.
It should be noted that although I was above 7000 feet, it was still around 80 to 85°F while hiking. This is abnormal for the region but I was very thankful to be an 80 to 85 versus 100 to 105 down further south.
The stars ended up being beautiful, the coyotes were loud, and waterfowl were making noises throughout the entire night. It was a lovely camping evening after a sweaty long day.
Day 31: Mile 523.5 - 548.9
Trail Daily Miles: 25.4
Total Miles: 24
Elevation Gain: 1560 ft
Elevation Loss: 2217 ft
Weather: Cool, Sun, Hot, Dry
Overall Day Sentiment: Trail Angels are angels!
Though this morning was also chilly, you could feel that it was going to be even warmer than the day prior already aka called for early start again. The first several miles flew by and we stumbled upon some trail magic in the form of sodas. The colorful cans looked like an Easter basket waiting for us.
While riding the high of trail magic at some point both Ira and I missed a turn and we got about a mile off of trail. We were able to quickly rectify this error by taking a road walk and then nearly stumbling upon private property, but we saved it by a bushwhack to get back on trail This didn’t end up adding much more to our day because of what would happen later.
Eventually, the trail reached another closed campground and although the facilities were off, (therefore no water) there was a strong creek in the area so again I cleared out my cow tank water and enjoyed this fresh crisp cool flowing water. And since there was a picnic table there, it was a perfect spot for lunch.
Because this was Ira’s first trip, he was still working at the kinks with his shoes and these specific shoes were hurting his feet (too narrow!). We opted for a small road walk that we decided to take to try and walk on even ground with consistent footing to help for a few miles. A fellow hiker Rob, Wild Vagabond, ended up picking us up and driving us 2 miles down the road walk. This really helped Ira’s foot and cut off some mileage from the day that we had already added because we had gotten off trail.
Wild Vagabond was also supporting a friend of his that is doing a tribute hike to the creator of the Arizona Trail, Dale Shewalter. Wild vagabond was leaving a gallon of water for Karts, the thru-hiker, anyway and said that he was going to leave us a gallon. This section after the flowing water at the campground was completely dry and we were prepared to pack out water for 10 to 18 miles plus dry camping. So by Rob dropping this off for us, we were able to stay hydrated in the heat!
This ended up being a good campsite as well, with great stars, and I knew I was getting into town the following day. There was some road traffic noise, but overall it was a wonderful last sleep on this Arizona trail segment for me.
Day 32: Mile 548.9 - 572.5
Trail Daily Miles: 23.6
Total Miles: 23.6
Elevation Gain: 1378 ft
Elevation Loss: 1406 ft
Weather: Hot, Sun
Overall Day Sentiment: Already in Flagstaff?
Ideally, I would always do a nero into a town, but that’s just not the way the mileage shook out regarding getting into Flagstaff. Early rising directly into a road walk on Lake Mary road that would rejoin the trail bit later. This was cold cold in the shade around the lake and I actually kept my hiking pants on rather than switching into my shorts. I didn’t switch into my “normal” hiking gear until about seven miles in for the day. Once I got up back on the rim, the miles came quickly. It was flat, dry, and the footing made sense. I did spot a horned toad and an elk hoof along this way, which was one of the only reasons that I slowed down. We ran into Rob and his sweet dog Millie again and he told us about another small water cache that he had left behind. This saved us from filtering cow tanks yet again which I’m always thankful for. The day continued quickly and we got into Flagstaff!
There are two routes to get into or around Flagstaff that are both considered part of the Arizona Trail. We took the Urban Route in so that we could walk directly into town rather than hitching down from the highway. This is why the passage number and some of the mileage might look a bit funny because there are two official routes.
I ended up staying with two Trail Angel’s in the Flagstaff area, Gorf and slash. They had a beautiful spot and were so gracious to host hikers. They had everything that hikers needed and it was great to talk trail with folks. After a shower and laundry, Ira and I went out and ate a big dinner got dessert and had a quiet evening in. Flagstaff was bustling on a Saturday night and it was beautiful weather so it was great to see everyone out and about. It was a very strange feeling to know that I was done with this segment of my thru-hike
Day 33: Flagstaff
I had planned my transportation from Flagstaff to Phoenix to fly out of the Phoenix airport very incrementally to give myself space in case that section of hiking took me longer. So I was able to have a zero this day!
Friends from the PCT, John and Jacqui had started the Arizona Trail a few weeks after me and were getting swallowed up by that heat wave. So they had flipped up to Flagstaff and planned to hike south in the higher elevation to wait out the heat wave. I was able to have breakfast with them catch up and talk trail. Again it really shows how small the trail community is and what a delight itis to see folks from other trails again.
The rest of the day was spent relaxing. Ira left to go back to Tucson to work on some logistics for his finish of the trail. I was thankful to have someone to hike with for the last 275 miles!
The following day I took a bus from Flagstaff to Phoenix airport where I also got to relax at the hotel all evening before my early flight.Feels weird to relax, especially when I have not touched the other terminus…
I’ll be back, Arizona Trail!
