A year has passed since starting the Ice Age National Scenic Trail at Interstate State Park in St. Croix, Wisconsin. To read the story, please click here.
Enough off-trail time has passed to feel the urge to get back out there. Plans are currently in full swing to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the American National Trail System.
To mark the occasion in style I will be doing some trail-time on what seems to be the polar opposite of the IAT.
The Arizona Trail Association is celebrating with an event entitled “AZT in a Day”. On October 6th their aim will be to complete the 800 mile long AZT within 24 hours.
No, no one will be walking/running/riding 800 miles in a day, it’s a joint effort!
Some 1500 people are expected to support the ATA’s attempt by staging themselves along the trail to complete their designated sections within 24 hours.
So I’ve signed myself and my new (hiking)partner up for 12.7 miles.
What’s the problem, I hear you ask. Yes, I managed to plough through some near 30-mile days on the Ice Age Trail. Yes, I had the odd hot day. Yes, I averaged nearly 20 miles/day.
So what’s the issue with 12.7 miles? The Arizona Trail is a complete change from my familiar mid-west climate and surroundings. Instead of wading through mud and wishing for the water to finally go away, in Arizona’s desert climate, I would probably be rather happy to see a puddle of mud and the odd raindrop. Add the elevation changes to the heat and this turns into the challenge I am expecting it to be.
But hiking 12.7 miles would hardly be worth the flight, so we will also be aiming to add a few extra miles to join in another one of the ATA’s celebrations – “50 for 50”. The goal is to complete any 50 miles on the Arizona Trail in 2018, one mile for every year of the National Trail System’s existence.
The countdown is on – 159 days to plan, prepare and train to lug around some 10kg of gear plus 6-8 litres of precious water.
Notes from the Trails 