Arizona dreamin’
After I finished the Arizona Trail, I continued hiking and backpacking in places the trail misses and came to terms with a changed body.
AZT: Rain Collector to Superior, via LOST trail, 18 miles
The final piece of trail ends at Picketpost just before the Superstition Mountains. I opt to walk into Superior through a lovely riparian canyon.
AZT: Gila River to Rain Collector, 18 miles
It’s one of the most thrilling parts of the trail, a 2,000 foot climb out of the Gila River Canyon into desert spires and ramparts.
AZT: Ripsey Wash to near lowest point, 19 miles
I had the last section of Passage 15 up a big hill, along a ridge, then down steeply to the Gila River in wild clouds and rain.
AZT: Antelope Peak to stock tank near Ripsey Wash, 19 miles
The day is spent on the flattest expanse of Passage 15 through the Sonoran Desert, loud with birdsong and views to far off mountains.
AZT: Passage 14 – Black Hills, 19 miles
The day is filled with clouds and filtered light turning the cholla silver against the Tortilla Mountains.
AZT: Oracle to high point, 15 miles
I start right where I left off at American Flag under Mount Lemmon then walk north into desert beauty.
AZT: the return
I arrive in Tucson and spend the day on a wild circuitous detour exactly where I’ll walk with my African-American friend Hector.
for the love of beauty on the Arizona Trail
On the Arizona Trail, I learned about love as a gift in the form of the desert bloom.
in search of joy on the Arizona Trail
On a muddy section of the Arizona Trail, I learned that joy is a choice.
