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pix
04-08-2019, 03:28
Hello together,

at the moment we are planning our vacation for summer this year and are not sure where. We are thinking about to hike a little section on the Arizona Trail.
We would hike the segment 21 (Pine Mountain) to segment 29 (Mormon Lake) in the time from Saturday, 24 August to September 06.

All in all we have effective 12 hiking days to our available.
The reason is, we are from Germany and need a short connection to the trail and back to airport again.

Our questions are:
- it is too hot for hiking around this season? Temperature above from 88 Fahrenheit could cause some problems by us
- can we see inside of these sections the giant and meters high cactuses

Thank you for your assistance
Sabine
Germany

garlic08
04-08-2019, 09:43
In August, you may want to hike only on the Mogollon Rim (7,000' elevation and above). That would be roughly between Pine and Flagstaff, Passages 26 to 34. I'm not sure I'd want to hike Babbitt Ranch in August, but both rims of the Grand Canyon would be good. The bottom of the Canyon will be very hot.

You will not see the giant cactus. You'll have to descend into the furnace below 2000' elevation (closest place will be near Phoenix) to see those. The Mogollon Rim has the largest Ponderosa pine forest in the world, from what I hear.

Dogwood
04-08-2019, 11:34
If you want to see the Saguaro cactus in Aug look at west side of Saguaro NP. The Rincons are higher elev. They grow over 4k ft elev. It will be hot so organize your hike to a rare overcast cooler day making note of H20, higher elevation trails/routes where they exist(to keep it a few degrees cooler), ratchet down the exertion level, and coordinate your time to view them under a full moon so you can night hike. The desert at night can be a lot cooler in Aug. The moon silhouetted behind the saguaros with night active wildlife is like an altogether different iconic experience compared to the same place during the day under 98-105* blazing hot temps.

pix
04-09-2019, 02:42
@Dogwood
The Saguaro cactus, exactly this one we have meant.

From your two answers will distinct that the segment 21 to 30 is unsuitable for us due to high temperature.

Thanks you two for your help

Dogwood
04-09-2019, 14:07
It's how we hike that changes the experience beyond only the choice of trail segment.