Arizona Trail Day 67
Trans-Arizona/Utah Day 74
Welcome back to Aspen’s Tracks, thruhiking the Arizona Trail southbound from Utah to Mexico. Today we’re heading to Kearny, a trail town that calls itself the “friendliest town on the Arizona Trail.”
If you missed my last entry covering the leg through the prior segment of the Gila River Canyons, that can be found here. The next entry will continue my journey southbound, across the Gila River and into the Tortilla Mountains. If you enjoy these accounts, please do subscribe to follow along to make sure that you don’t miss out on here or any future accounts to come!
In the land of Arizona
“The Arizona Trail,” Dale R Shewalter
Through desert heat or snow
Winds a trail for folks to follow
From Utah to Old Mexico
It’s the Arizona Trail
A pathway through the great Southwest
A diverse track through wood and stone
Your spirit it will test
Some will push and pedal
And some will hike or run
Others will ride their horse or mule
What else could be more fun?
Oh, sure you’ll sweat and blister
You’ll feel the miles each day
You’ll shiver at the loneliness
Your feet and seat will pay
But you’ll see moonlight on the borderlands
You’ll see stars on the Mogollon
You’ll feel the warmth of winter sun
And be thrilled straight through to bone
The aches and pains will fade away
You’ll feel renewed and whole
You’ll never be the same again
With Arizona in your soul
Along the Arizona Trail
A reverence and peace you’ll know
Through deserts, canyons, and mountains
From Utah to Old Mexico
Kelvin Bridge-Kearny
After camping beneath the bridge at the Kelvin-Riverside crossing of the Gila River last night, I leave my camping gear behind and head toward the trail town of Kearny today. I have a resupply box of medications and food awaiting me there. The first dilemma is just how to get there.
Unfortunately, the road route is very indirect, requiring me to essentially do a fishhook north and then back to the south to reach Kearny. I can’t reach it from anywhere further south; once in the Tortilla Mountains it doesn’t look like there is a way to get back down to and across the Gila. After some debate, I opt to follow the railroad tracks east to reach the main road to Kearny. If I’m lucky, I’ll be able to hitch a ride along the road from there, but I’m prepared to walk the full distance if necessary. Still, there are virtually no alternatives between Oracle and Superior.
I get a bit lucky following the tracks; no train passes by during my traverse. Reaching AZ-177, I turn southward toward Kearny. Here the disappointment begins. Despite carrying my large backpack, and despite holding my thumb out, hitching on this segment proves difficult. I don’t mind the walk, but…I would have stopped in close proximity to a long distance trail for someone who looked like a hiker trying to get to town, especially if I knew that it was a fairly lengthy roadwalk for them. Admittedly this colors my perspective, and it puts a bit of a sour taste in my mouth regarding Kearny, initially.
Kearny
But when I reach town, that is pretty quickly set aside. I decide to stop at the post office first, then grab something to eat at the pizza place next door before sorting out where to stay for the evening and then a ride back to the trail in the morning. I head to the post office and pick up my box. I unpack my box in the lobby and am in the process of packing up my backpack again when an older gentleman named Roger walks up to me and asks if I’m hiking the Arizona Trail.
I confirm, and he asks if I have somewhere to stay for the night. I said no, that was going to be my next order of business. He says he has a spare room and he’s willing to provide dinner as well, so I accept and he proves to be a man of his word. Two other gentleman are there as well, another local friend, Carlos, and a gentleman who apparently flies his plane down from Manitoba each winter. Carlos says that he’ll give me a lift back out to the bridge in the morning.
Kearny calls itself the friendliest town on the Arizona Trail. It didn’t seem that way when I was hiking from Kelvin to town, but it justified that pretty quickly once I made it to town. Can’t recommend stopping here while hiking by strongly enough, especially if you can find a way to skip the roadwalk to town.
Resupply Options
US Post Office, Kearny
[Hiker Name]
U.S. Post Office
General Delivery
388 Alden Rd
Kearny, AZ 85137
Other Resupply Options
Old Time Pizza
370 Alden Rd
Kearny, AZ 85137
IGA Grocery Store
345 Alden Rd
Kearny, AZ 85137
Family Dollar
302 Alden Rd
Kearny, AZ 85137
Ace Hardware
346 Alden Rd
Kearny, AZ 85137
Lodging
General Kearny Inn
301 Alden Rd #188
Kearny, AZ 85137
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This is more practical information than I’ve found so far.