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I’m looking to get in a 4 day trip in Arizona in early April. Ideally scenic and not many people. I’d prefer northern Arizona, but if there is a really spectacular hike in the south is be open to it, particularly if there is a reliable water source or two. I’m looking to put in 15-20 miles per day, and prefer a loop or somewhere with a shuttle available to the start. Any great ideas?
North says Grand Canyon, and April there are generally many people and water is not necessarily reliable. Rather I’d suggest south. Check out the east district of Saguaro National Park; reliable water at Manning Camp (though this is a long 10-12 mile hike in with 6000′ elevation gain). Also take a look at the Chiricahua’s. These are remote in the SE corner of the state, but the remoteness means fewer people.
Two other places to check out…the Mazatzal Wilderness and Aravaipa Canyon. The Mazatzal never have many people and will likely have water in April. The downside is a major fire a few years ago and my last hike there (now 3 years ago) was an obstacle course. (why 3 years ago…I’ve since moved to NY) Would check with ranger district to see what trail conditions are. And Aravaipa, this is wet walk up the creek through the Nature Conservancy wild area. Traffic is heavily regulated and so always very few people. If the April forecast is for normal or warmer than normal April temps this is an awesome hike.
I can give you many many 4 day route options if you will tolerate lots of people and sketchy water. Let me know and I’ll put a few out there.
Suggest also posting on the backpacker magazine forums. “Big Load” is in AZ and will have other suggestions.
I am willing to compromise on issues of people and water to some degree. Getting past day-hike distance usually does a good enough job of the first. As far as water, if I have one good source somewhere in the middle, or a handful of sketchy options I could work with that. I just really don’t fancy carrying 4 gallons. I would need a new pack for that, which is not in the budget till later this year.
Saguaro National Park is worth considering. From Phoenix, trailhead is about 2 hours away.
Mazatzal if some trail work has been done. The divide trail makes for a nice shuttle hike. Southern trailhead an hour from Phoenix, northern trailhead closer to 2 hours.
Grand Canyon if you stay mostly away from the corridor trails. (S Kaibab and Bright Angel) These are ~4 day options:
The 50 mile long Highline Trail that goes from Pine, AZ to Hwy 260 is a great hike in April. It runs just below and parallel to the Mogollon Rim, providing great views. Elevations are about 5,000 feet. Water is fairly easy to find. 100 mile Ultra runs are held on the Highline, so you might want to check first. Go to hikeaz.com.
If you choose to hike above the Rim or Flagstaff in early April, you might run into very cold and snowy weather.
Forgive me for ignorance since I have only ever day-hiked at Grand Canyon, but I assumed that with this late notice, permits would pretty much be impossible to come by. Or is that just for rim-to-rim permits mostly? The whole written/faxed permit system seems so antiquated and cumbersome. I have done most of my backpacking in NF wilderness areas where I can just fly by the seat of my pants.
Grand Canyon permitting system is archaic. Corridor trails will be packed, but even at this date there is a good chance of scoring Boucher or New Hance permits. You will get frustrated calling and trying to get through to ask questions but perseverance pays.
” I have done most of my backpacking in NF wilderness areas where I can just fly by the seat of my pants.”
You can forget that in all National Parks. Many Millions of people visit these parks. Most are not backpackers, but all this attention attracts a ton of backpackers.
billy
I think for this trip I’ll stick to national forest, since I like to take my dog while solo. I may try for a Grand Canyon trip in the fall.
I am interested in the highline trail, but have a couple questions. How easy would it be to hitch from one end to the other? Or, I could loop with some of the General George crook trail, but am wondering how much traffic runs along the rim road. Would I just be dodging cars the whole time?
I am also intrigued by the sycamore canyon wilderness, but only have a regular passenger car, and am not sure about access to the wilderness, it looks pretty remote. What sort of condition is the secret mountain road?
The Rim Road has lots of cars/trucks/quads/etc rolling through it. I would not want to hike on it for an extended period of time due to dust and noise but it would be safe as a connector for a few miles. The smaller roads that run north from it tend to be much more lightly traveled.
The Cabin Loop is a very pleasant trip. I’ve done the eastern half (~17 miles) Caltopo link. I like starting up at the north trailhead by Pinchot Cabin and going clockwise. Reliable water at Dane Spring and Aspen Spring although at this time of the year you should see water all over.
HikeAZ link including GPS tracks and water reports.
I did the Tanner to Grandview hike along the Escalante Route in GRCA in April a few years ago. We saw no other people from the moment we left Tanner until we hit Hance Creek other than a party of rafters- no other hikers.
My next GRCA hike will probably be the Thunder River to Deer Creek loop, which also has great possibilities for solitude.
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