No matter how many maps, trail guides, blogs, and YouTube videos you study, there's no way to know everything about a trail. There are bound to be a few surprises along the way.
Day 24 of my #ArizonaTrail thru-hike was filled with many.
https://hikewithgravity.com/hikes/azt-2024/day-24-whiterock-mesa-to-red-hills
$310 million #DHS grant to Fisher Sand & Gravel Co to build 27 miles of US #border fencing closes access "indefinitely" to southern most point of historic 800 mile #ArizonaTrail . Back in fall of 2025 DHS fenced off the trail’s southern terminus monument with razor wire.
30-foot-tall steel barrier now impedes access to stone obelisk monument at former pre-#DJT "end of the trail."
Leaving Pine, the #ArizonaTrail was more challenging. There were fewer forests to provide shade, so there were long stretches exposed to the sun. I crossed rugged terrain with steep inclines and many rocks.
As a bonus, there were many more cacti along the trail to rip at my clothing and skin.
https://hikewithgravity.com/hikes/azt-2024/day-23-pine-to-white-rock-mesa
Day 21 of my #ArizonaTrail thru-hike settled into what I had expected most days on the trail would be like. After several days of turmoil, it couldn't have come at a better time.
https://hikewithgravity.com/hikes/azt-2024/day-21-battleground-ridge-to-geronimo-spring
On Day 19 of my #ArizonaTrail thru-hike, I made a decision to quit and go home.
The next day, something remarkable happened. I met a hiker named Tree Hugger, the first hiker I’d talked to in days. She helped me see I’d made a rash decision, and I changed my mind about quitting.
Thru-hikers like to say, "The trail provides." Our chance meeting on that day was proof that indeed it does.
https://hikewithgravity.com/hikes/azt-2024/day-20-foot-tree-tank-to-battleground-ridge
I felt at the end of Day 18 on the #ArizonaTrail like I had reached a crossroads. One road would keep me on the trail. The other would take me home. Standing there, I couldn’t decide which one to take.
https://hikewithgravity.com/hikes/azt-2024/day-18-double-springs-campground-to-maxie-tank
Gravity
LilMikeSF
I Voted for McGovern
Sam
Jerry Meyer