Arizona Trail Gear List – Leaving in 3 weeks!

I’m think about a week or so hike in AZ in September or October, so I’m looking at your list with interest.

Ron has pretty good information regarding the water resistance of Momentum fabric here. It sounds like with umbrellas, and assuming you aren’t expecting prolonged rain, you might be able to get away with no rain jacket. However, since it is your only insulating layer, and down becomes useless when wet, it would be a risk. Depends on how cold you are expecting it to get. If you are bringing a down jacket, I assume it will get cold enough to use it.

If you could provide expected high/low temps and precip expectations for those of us not familiar with AZ weather in March, it would help evaluation.

As far as posting format, if you have a gmail account, then google docs is a nice way to publicly share a spreadsheet. You can publish is as a web page and then share the link like this.

Brady,
“Is there a better way to post this information?”

There are at least two ways to post gear lists. One is to upload a spreadsheet pdf to you Profile, which you can get to via the ‘Change My Profile’ link below Community at the top right of each page.

To embed a spreadsheet in a thread look Here.

The advantage of the second option is that it keeps the thread relevant to a specific list. If you reference a Profile Gear List that later changes the thread can be a little confusing.

Brady, are ya'll headed out for a full AZT? Northbound, obviously. The following comments are assuming you are.

Rain is unlikely, but if it happens it will probably be rather strong and sustained.

Do you have enough water capacity for the Oracle-Gila stretch?

When/where do you think you'll need headnets?

A gun for hunting? Really? Not much is legally in season right now.

Places for hanging two hammocks will be hard to find until you get up on Lemmon.

I'd want shorts.

Enjoy the adventure!

Ditch that extractor/snake bite kit. Gonna do more harm than good. No substitute for antivenom. Oh yeah, a gun, really!?

Hike Description:
Arizona Trail Thru Hike
Distance: ~800 miles
Date: March 7th – April __
Direction: Northbound
Expected lows: High 20s low 30s
Expected highs: Possibly into the upper 90s (gotta love the temp range in AZ)

Dave,
Yeah, we use 2-2.5 liters per day each, so our 2.5 liter platys and the 4 liter platy bag along with a couple 1 liter bottles picked up in Oracle will be enough for that stretch (we're planning on getting from Oracle to the Gila in 3 days).

There is actually quite a lot of small game/ reptiles in season and having a "weapon" along has put a few people at ease about our journey.

We can always setup the hammocks in a bunk bed configuration or double up in one if necessary. I know we will spend some nights on the ground, but the luxury of a hammock is worth the weight penalty for us on this long trek.

Good call on the shorts, I'm actually adding two pairs, one smartwool microweight boxer briefs, and also a pair of nylon running shorts (I'll wear these while our clothes wash in trail towns).

Thanks Dave for all your comments!

The snakebite kit is a concession I'm more than willing to make to have my wife join me on this journey.

"Oh yeah, a gun, really!?"
Good point, now I wont take it :)
Yeah, there's small game that will be in season, and if I get a rabbit or squirrel or just a chance to take a shot, it will be worth it for me. I grew up hunt/hiking so its a natural combo in my opinion.

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you're a hanger, and hangers dont find it difficult to hang. northbound, In the Huachucas, you can hang. just past Canelo hills you almost immediately re-enter sky island country. The Rincons… oh baby! Then the Santa Ritas! White Canyon! Superstitions, Mazatzals, then come the big trees(as you know, its the largest ponderosa forest in the world.. a far cry from "all sand").
i would say you will hang 8 out of 10 nights. you hangers are an ingenious bunch :)

i have hung off a trail sign and cowboy fence. last weekend i hung inside Ballantine cabin.. hangers know this: you dont always need perfect trees. ya just have to be creative. have fun!

Anna – Yes, I wouldn't waste an animals life. I am sure I will thoroughly enjoy any fresh meat available on the trail.

Mike – Couldn't have said it better myself! I'll complain on HF how many "sleepless" nights we end up having to take.

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How big of a knife do you recommend for preparing small game and fish?

Oops, forgot to put my cooking grill (1/2 a cooling rack from the kitchen) on my list. I can use that or cube up the meat and boil it in the heine pot in a fire (alchy would consume too much fuel) and then there's always "on a stick" method.

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Hi Brady,
I second ditching the snakebite kit. There really is no evidence that says it does anything useful for a snakebite. Most members of the Tucson Herp Society, including myself, don't carry one. It provides a false sense of security. The ONLY first aid is to get thee to a hospital somehow.

On the upside, it is statistically very rare for hikers to get tagged in the backcountry. I guess hikers are generally pretty careful about where they step. It's that classic mix of testosterone, alcohol and venom (i.e. young drunk males messing around with snakes) that cause all the problems.

Here's a pic I took of a Black-tail rattlesnake from the Rincon Mountains, pretty close to the AZT in fact :)

Daniel that snake looks pretty pi$$ed-off hope you were using a telephoto lens for that shot!

Thanks for the advice. I know the odds are against us ever using it, but it makes my wife feel better and that is worth a lot.

Does anyone skip the wind shirt when their insulating layer is M90?

Roger,
Yeah, that shot was pre-digital. Olympus OM-G, Vivitar 135mm close-focusing lens, tripod, K64 slide film.

I should also mention that I have 11 seasons of field work under my belt working with reptiles and amphibians. I knew what I was doing and didn't take any uneccesary risk just to get the shot. Well, maybe a little, but c'mon, it's a cool shot….
Dan

I would not skip the windshirt. I reckon you'll have plenty of days when it's too windy for just a base layer, yet 40-50 degrees and far too warm for a puffy.

For that time of year in AZ, and with an umbrella, I might think about leaving the hard shell at home, and bringing the wind shirt. Depends on how comfy you are with the thought of getting wet. And there's always the chance that you'll top the Mogollon just in time to get hit with a nice wet snowstorm, like we had up near Flag in Memorial day of '08. Odds are, a waterproof jacket will be dead weight for 99.8% of the trip.

BTW, seems like Goretex shoes will just increase sweat and thus blisters. I gave them up years ago, but I'm an odd one.

Be sure to report back with many photos and words!!

David,
Thanks for the advice, I have the Salomon shoes in both goretex and non goretex models. I am going to go with your suggestion to bring the non goretex ones and see how they hold up (they have a little less tread then the goretex ones).

As for the windshirt/hard shell, I've gone back and forth and if I owned a windshirt, I would probably ditch the hardshell and replace it with the windshirt, but since I've already spent a bunch on gear, I think I'll just stick with what I have for now and bring hard shell along for the journey (can always ship it home if it isn't working for me).

How many hours of use is everyone getting out of their photon freedoms(white light)?