Arizona Trail Section Hike Gear List

[Dan S]

Hi all. This is my first time posting. I’m taking a trip from February 20th-27th to Southern AZ for a section hike of the Arizona Trail. The plan is to hike from Oracle, AZ to the Superstition Mountains and then hop on the GET and take that to Phoenix. Around 150 miles total. It’s pretty much all low desert so expecting daytime highs of 50s and 60s and nighttime lows of 30s with a low chance of 20s or even mid-teens. It looks like February gets more precip than actual Spring, so not sure entirely on rain gear.

Past experience is mostly hiking peaks in New York’s Adirondacks and a thru-hike of the JMT last year, so this is gonna be totally new for me. Objectives for the trip are just to break up the winter in NY and see some new places :-) I’ve used most of this gear before but am curious to hear from people experienced in the area if my list is generally appropriate or any suggestions you may have.

Some concerns in no particular order:

Navigation. Some people say the trail is tougher to follow than others. What’s your experience, particularly on the GET segment if you’ve done it?

Cooking. Thinking about trying stoveless for the first time, but not sure I want to considering possibly cold nights. Thoughts on going stoveless in these conditions?

Food storage. Should I bother with anything other than some Opsaks?

Here it is, using Skurka’s gear list template:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1zOK9MrGIwh8rxOcvYkEAI6WOS-H0-qM5wq_OaUgJ9d0/edit#gid=352453221

Thanks

Dan

[Matthew / BPL]

Arizona hiker/backpacker here. I do most of my backpacking up north however I hiked a couple nights in the western Superstitions two years ago over Presidents’ Day weekend and I dayhike constantly in the desert surrounding Phoenix.

I strongly recommend Groundhog stakes (or equivalent). Aluminum J stakes are frustrating in our hard, rocky soil. Also our rocks tend to be smaller than the nice bowling ball size rocks available everywhere in the Sierra so using rocks to secure your shelter is frustrating here. Bring a couple Groundhogs for your main lines, at least

I would be far too warm hiking in an Ibex Indie during late February. I hike in a thin, loose poly hoodie even in the winter here.

I’m finding myself cooking less and less. This is super subjective of course but I’ve been carrying a tiny cookpot and a couple Esbit tablets so I can make a cup of tea if I get chilly but going otherwise stoveless.

[Dan S]

Thanks, appreciate the tip on the stakes.

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