AZT Thru Hike Questions

[StichBurly]

Hello
1. What is the cost of hiking the AZT? $2/mile?
2. Is starting a NOBO in mid April to late of a start?
thanks

[Shutterbug]

Hello
1. What is the cost of hiking the AZT? $2/mile?
2. Is starting a NOBO in mid April to late of a start?
thanks

Mid April is a good time to start.

I don't have an opinion on your budget. I spend more than $2 a mile, but if that is all I had, I could probably make it work.

[garlic08]

The termini are pretty remote on the AZT, so you'll need to plan and factor in the cost of logistics. There are commercial shuttles but they're expensive. You could spend up to a couple hundred at each end, adding fifty cents a mile to your trail cost. Or you could spend a day or two road-walking and hitchhiking at each end. It can go either way, depending on your traveling style, and luck getting rides.

There aren't too many places to spend a lot of money once you're on the AZT. The trail towns aren't super-expensive especially off-season in April and May. It can be done for $2 or less.

Early April is usually the best time to start NOBO, depending on snow pack. Earlier April is usually better than later, but it depends on the year and unfortunately you won't really know until March. And it may depend on how you do in desert heat vs. how you do in mountain snow.

[handlebar]

Garlic, I'll be hiking my final chunk of the AZT next spring. It seems to me that in late March the Azt's "Sky Islands" would not have nearly as many miles of snow cover as I encountered on the CDT in early June 2010. Would I meet microspikes for a start around Mar 25th?

[garlic08]

Garlic, I'll be hiking my final chunk of the AZT next spring. It seems to me that in late March the Azt's "Sky Islands" would not have nearly as many miles of snow cover as I encountered on the CDT in early June 2010. Would I meet microspikes for a start around Mar 25th?

Again, it totally depends on what happens this winter down there, but the worst case scenario would be say a dozen or so miles of postholing on the Sky Islands. By then it could be deep, rotten snow. (Or it could be bone dry.) At that latitude and RH, the snow is a little different than along much of the Divide. I'm not sure about microspikes--outside the Canyon, I've never seen the need for them in AZ--but maybe I haven't hit the perfect conditions in other places.

There are a few Snotel sites in AZ. You could look them up later this season and see how things look. There's no Postholer site for the AZT yet. Good luck.

[StubbleJumper]

For my end-to-ender, I started on March 18. I hiked on about one mile of snow on the first day when I hit the shady (north) side of Miller Peak. I actually camped right beside a snowbank on the first night. I didn't hit snow again until Saguaro National Park, and again it was only for a quarter or half mile or so. And then the next batch of snow was north of Flagstaff and it was, again, not a big deal.

I live at northern latitudes and walk in snow on a daily basis for 4-5 months of the year, so I really wasn't too concerned about the prospect of postholing for few miles. But since OP is from Florida, he might wish to think about his familiarity with walking on slippery packed snow. And also, keep in mind that the night-time temperatures will probably drop into the 20s on several occasions over the 810 miles.