Dale Shewalter | Photo Credit: Arizona Trail Assoication
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Arizona Trail: A Path Forward By Karen L. Monsen
T
he Triple Crown of Hiking includes the Appalachian Trail (3,193 miles), Pacific Crest Trail (2,653 miles), and Continental Divide Trail (3,100 miles). The much shorter Arizona Trail (817 miles) offers stunning views, spectacular night skies, hiking, biking, equestrian, and volunteering opportunities. Plans for an Arizona Trail (AZT) began in the 1980s when Flagstaff teacher Dale Shewalter scouted a route from Mexico to the Utah border. Shewalter, considered the Father of the Arizona Trail, died in 2010, but his dream endures through the Arizona Trail Association (ATA). Executive Director Matthew Nelson says, “While Dale was not the first person to have the vision of a cross-state trail, he was the one to make it happen.” Designated as a State Scenic Trail in 2006, a National Scenic Trail in 2009, and completed in 2012, Nelson contends, “While the trail is now “complete,” it has a long way to go to live up to its designation as a National Scenic Trail. Over 100 miles are still along roads where motor vehicles are allowed.”
Today, a trail steward program, established in 1994, has approximately 150 stewards and seven regional stewards. Volunteers clear, repair, stabilize, restore damaged trails, improve water access for travelers, and create scenic detours around wilderness sections to accommodate mountain bikers. Since nearly 100 miles burned in five major 2020 fires, much work remains to make the trail safe, scenic, and sustainable.
PASSAGES
The Arizona Trail is divided into 43 Passages, each 10 to 35 miles long. The ATA website (aztrail.org) provides maps, profiles, waypoints, tracks, access points, difficulty levels, and advisory updates. A historic monument located at the US/ Mexico border marks the southern terminus of the trail in an area closed by border-wall construction since July 2020. Hikers should consult ATA for detours and closure updates. A red sandstone pillar, erected in 2018 by ATA members, donors, volunteers, and the Bureau of Land Management, marks the northern terminus near Utah’s Stateline Campground. Signs along the way indicate proximity to either terminus.
May/June 2021 | VIEW ON MAGAZINE |
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