I feel like this is a regional hot take/rant, but conventional wisdom on breathable fabrics for rain gear completely fails in Arizona. Everyone blabs about how breathable materials suck in rain ........ which is fine, but do you remember the last time it rained? The top 9 rated shells on the Halfway Anywhere PCT survey are made with breathable fabrics, so these people are clearly missing something. What is it? For me, it's that 99% of my rain jacket use is as a wind breaker on ridge lines, mountain tops, and when it's chilly. Do they care that the entire desert SW uses rain jackets like this? No.

Arizona humidity (read: limbo-low humidity) fully optimizes breathable materials. I want wind protection, I refuse to do big AZT sections without rain protection, and I'd really prefer to not do cardio in a sweat box. My EE Visp has an absurd MVTR of 75,000 g/m²/24hr and weighs less than a Frogg Toggs by 2.8oz. It breathes fantastically as a wind jacket and gets me through cold rain on mountains and ridgelines when I need rain protection. There's an obvious use case here.

I am open to the idea that there are lighter alternatives for warm-ish weather – like a $1 plastic poncho + mid-CFM wind breaker. Or for short hikes where you're absolutely certain about the forecast, skipping rain gear entirely. But in general, I think the anti-breathable fabric crowd is actually a shady cabal of Scottish propagandists hired by Frogg Toggs.

I'd prefer a reliable second-hand tent, so if you have one collecting dust in PHX or have moved on to the hottest new model, please let me know as well.

Thanks.

Hi Gang, Planning to escape the cold and snow of Minnesota in April. My friends and I are discussing our options. The AZT and Highline trails are on our radar, but I thought I’d reach out to the people that know AZ trails. Any recommendations for either a great section of the AZT or any other trail? Looking for 40+ miles, available water sources a plus. Thanks in advance

Does anyone know if there's snow on Miller Peak, Mt Lemmon, etc? I'm checking the weather and it seems to me like with weather in the 40s every day there cant be. But does it linger in shaded spots? Would the AZT southern sections be passable right now?

Just got back and Monday’s snows have turned into a torrent of water that’s available absolutely everywhere in enormous, flowing abundance.

I packed 4.5L under the assumption I would be doing a set of loops that brought me by some known sources, but ended up dumping everything but 700ml at a time without any issue. Meanwhile, the chill has scared everyone off and 99% of the campsites I saw were available.

Not often you see the Superstitions like this. Not often you hike anywhere in Arizona like this.

Anyway, hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Looking to use up some PTO before years end. Thinking I should head out to Arizona to hike! Can anyone recommend multi day backpacking sections within striking distance of Phoenix? Also, does anyone know of hiker shuttles or trail angels in the area that may be operating in December? Thinking 20 mile days and I might have 6 or so hiking days.

Hey everyone, it’s been years since we’ve had any meetups (for obvious reasons) and I was wondering if you would all be interested in starting them up again?

I hosted roughly 5 different ones in the Phoenix area, each time the groups varied from about 4-10 people. I’m in the Flagstaff area now, and would be game to host one up here, if I can get volunteers to host one in the Phoenix area and one in the Tucson area!

What we generally do at these meetups is meet at a brewery, get to meet new people in the area into UL backpacking, and then plan a group trip for the majority to be able to join in. One year we had 6 of us attempting the Highline Trail together!

If you’re interested in hosting, comment here and send me a dm! If interested in showing up to one, just leave a comment below, with your general region (Flag, PHX, Tuc) so I can see if there’s enough interest to get this going again!

Edit: Head Count

Phoenix: 6 - Tucson: 3 - Flagstaff: 1

Hey everyone, will be in AZ for late September. Trying to find a good spot to sort out a 2 night trip (+/- 20-30 miles), could go another day or two though! Have been looking at stuff around the Highline Trail/Mogollon Rim or Mazatzal Peak. So far it seems most trails fit best for overnights, struggling a bit to find extended trips. Wanted to gather some more recommendations for this time of year! Also will just have one car so makes any thru sections tricky.

Will be in Phoenix but down to drive basically anywhere in the state!

Hi, I'm planning on doing a 2 day backpacking trip within the next few weeks as I'll have a few free days on my trip to Sedona. Are there any current water sources along the loop to filter from? I'm trying to plan how much water to take. Thank you for your help!

Alright, so here it is: I'm cursed. I've canceled about five trips in 2021. Summer fires, permits....and to add insult to injury, I finally bought a nice Wild Ideas Barrikade Weekender for the trip I was most excited about: a glorious loop around the Grand Tetons. There was going to be pizza ordered to a parking lot. There was a boat trip. Anyway, that trip burned down, fell over, and then sank into the swamp was canceled about two days before it started due to a nearby fire.

So here I am with a pristine $309 bear canister. On pessimistic days, I think I may never use it. Maybe we'll just be on fire forever. Maybe I should just let a bear eat me. I dunno. Regardless, it's sitting here laughing in my face.

I don't need one in AZ, so I've considered selling it (probably full price, too; it's new and Bearikade is backlogged). But that made me think: maybe you guys don't own canisters, either. Why would you? So maybe we share it. Maybe you just want to play around with it before you get your own. Maybe you have a Bear Vault and want an upgrade for a cool trip.

I posted up on /r/legaladvice about the how-to on this. They suggested:

• Boilerplate equipment rental agreement. Cost: $0 for the rental period.

• A check for the canister that I only cash if you lose/destroy it or I can't find you within some reasonable pre-agreed time after it's due back - check will be returned directly when .

I'd only be sharing with people who are active on this subreddit and able to pick it up in person (I'm in Phoenix, but I'm happy to travel if you can convince me there's a good weekend hike nearby).

My only ask is that you tag it somehow. Write your trail name on it in a permanent marker, draw an Arizona flag on it....whatever.

Thoughts? Interest?

Since school has started I’ve been pretty busy, but looking forward to the weather cooling down. Most of my recent hikes have been out of state, and I’m looking forward to a New Mexico hike soon.

I'll be moving to Flagstaff in January and am getting amped to explore the area. Coming from NJ I'm not sure what to expect, but it's good to know I'll still need my snowshoes. What's winter in AZ and the surrounding areas like?

Share your favorite winter trip reports!

Hey everyone, made a video of my most recent hike of the Highline Trail, figured I’d share with you all. This was hiked at the beginning of March, had a little snowfall to start us off. This was my 4th time hiking it, if you have any questions, feel free to comment below!

https://youtu.be/svai3Xb-vxs

To reintroduce myself, I am a teacher here in the valley and did the high line trail a few years back with a few dudes on here. I have one more weekend free before going back to work.

To answer my own question, it’s west clear creek just to hang out, swim, and have a beer or two. Only 3-4 miles round trip so it’s definitely a really chill trip when it feels to hot to hike elsewhere. Any other suggestions? I have backpacked west fork earlier this summer too.

/r/ultralight is great. But sometimes it's just not attuned to Arizona. Sometimes a person asks a "general" question and I think ... "what I do on the weekends may just not apply to this".

My biggie seems to be the $1 emergency rain poncho ... or not bringing rain gear at all! Sometimes getting wet in a warm monsoon rain is downright pleasant. When it rains here in Phoenix, I drop whatever I'm doing to do a quick, wet hike in the Mountain Preserve. AquaMira as a primary water purification method fits the bill, too - weight savings just aren't worth drinking green stink-juice during the long, non-rainy seasons.

So, in the spirit of posting more stuff in this subreddit to see if we can get it a bit more active ... I was curious if you all have general gear decisions that you think are absolutely Arizona classics that might not fly in those generalized subreddit threads?

Between fires and this major, early heat wave, I'm struggling to figure my plans for this summer's backpacking trips. I've got a few things on my list:

1. Humphrey Peak loop - Closed due to fire, so I guess I'll do it later

2. Mount Lemmon loop - After July 4th week. I tried to make a loop that doesn't dip too low in elevation, so hopefully I'll be at a comfy temperature 90% of the time.

3. Mount Baldy - Closed due to fire, so I guess I'll do it later

What do you people have on your plates?

I hope you guys don't mind me posting a lot - backpacking here requires a different acumen/skillset, especially for trip planning, so I'd love it if this subreddit was more active.

I feel like Arizona really squeezes the chance to be picky out of you. I've filtered water out of some really gross water sources (thanks, Sawyer!) and was curious...just for fun:

What's the grossest water source you've drank out of in Arizona?

I'm attempting walkups for a 3 day GCNP Escalante followed by a 3 day Zion traverse and am looking for fallback options that may not require permits or have low enough demand that walkups are manageable in the area of NW AZ and SW UT .

I have about 10 days kid-free where I could dip out of work and go backcountry...travel dates are basically April 1 - 10th. I'll be geared for car camping via low clearance 2 wheel drive van and backcountry gear good down to below freezing.

I'm a single car, but could hitch in a pinch if there is a good through...LNT...enjoy off-trail travel and orienteering. Probably keen on something easy in terms of water access...low/no cacheing and easy/moderate carries preferred. lower elevations with little or no snow-cover. I'll have a partner with me who is fit, but is not experienced so trying to keep daily mileage to around 15 and general pucker factor to medium.

I promise I won't blow up your spot.

Happy to do my own legwork based off clues...

Feel free to PM.

To thank you for reading this, here are some cute kittens

Thanks for any advice! I was planning on going to Gila but my girlfriend nixed the low temps (30 degree low at night). Would love a recommendation if anybody has one.

I'm looking at doing an overnight in West Clear Creek and was wondering if anyone had any suggestions.

The current plan is to go down the Maxwell Trail...and that's about it. From my research there seems to be a decent number of areas to pitch a tent and plenty to see in terms of pools, walls, side canyons, etc.

Are there any specific points of interest I should look for down there? Are there better points of entry than Maxwell? I figured that the east end of the canyon would be less busy than the west end by bullpen.

Doors open at 7:00pm, starts at 8:00pm. I’m here already, hope to meet some of you there!

Recently moved from the East coast to the East valley and I'm looking for a quick "primer" on backpacking in AZ, basically a lot of seemingly stupid questions. I started about 10 years ago but all of my backpacking experience is in the Southern Appalachians (AT and MST sections, Smokies, Linville Gorge, Wilson Creek, etc.).

I have about 45-50 miles of day hikes under my belt in the Superstistions, Tonto, Sedona and Kachina (Humprey's was fun!) so I'm a little bit familiar with terrain around here, but what do I need to know for overnights?

Below are some random questions I've thought of...

• What's a good resource for planning routes around water sources?

• Where is there a need to hang or canister food?

• Piggy-backing off of the last one, are there any "nuisance" critters to be aware of?

• What are some obvious do's and don't's of backpacking in AZ? i.e. don't pitch a tent in a wash during monsoon season.

Any suggestions for an overnighter near Kingman or Grand Canyon over Valentines Day weekend? Loops are better. I’m looking for something around 20ish miles with some water. Off-trail is okay. I’ll be driving out from Vegas and would like to keep it under 4 hours for drive time. Thanks in advance!

Howdy, you lucky Arizona hikers. I'm a midwesterner currently freezing to my core. I'm planning to beat the winter blahs with a trip to AZ for about a week in February. I was hoping to do maybe a 4-5 day backpacking trip, preferably in the Sedona area. However, after doing multiple Google and Reddit searches, I'm coming up empty. It seems most people are familiar with day hikes or quick overnighters in this area. Suggestions for longer trips are lacking. So, my ears are open if you've got some experience / ideas for such a trip.

I'm not looking to break any land speed records. I just want to get outside, hike, camp, and enjoy nature. I've got all necessary gear and am a fit and experienced backpacker. I appreciate your help as I plan my trip!

EDIT: I will likely also have a car, so if need be, I could string together a couple of shorter 2-day trips.

Hey all, my girlfriend and I decided to do an overnight with our two dogs on Christmas eve/Christmas. I'm trying to find a good loop 15-20 miles that would have some nice views and be suitable for our gear, mainly sleeping setup. I have a 20 degree EE quilt and sleep warm and she has a Feathered Friends 0 degree bag. I would ideally like to avoid snow and postholing, so the rim area seems off limits.

We are located in the east valley. Driving distance/time isn't an issue. We've done cabin loop and have done some day hiking in the superstitions including weaver's needle loop. Before moving back to the valley we were backpacking in the Sierras every weekend. All recommendations will be super helpful. Thanks all.