Backpacking the Arizona Trail: Passage 33, Flagstaff
AZT Day 21
Trans Arizona/Utah Day 28
In the land of Arizona
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
Oh, sure you’ll sweat and blister
You’ll feel the miles every 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
-“The Arizona Trail,” Dale R. Shewalter
Arizona Trail: San Francisco Peaks to Flagstaff
Today, day 21 on the AZT and 28 overall, takes me down the entirety of Passage 33 into Flagstaff. I leave my camp here and hike into town in order to resupply and visit a friend, then I plan to continue on the main Arizona Trail route around Flagstaff to east, possibly using the town as a base so I don’t have to carry as much weight as I do so, until I reach the south side of the town and continue south toward Mormon Lake.
Arizona Trail (Passage 34, San Francisco Peaks)
Coconino National Forest
Arizona Trail (Passage 33, Flagstaff)
Coconino National Forest
The day starts among the towering ponderosas of the lower slopes of the San Francisco Peaks, around 7500 ft in elevation. I know I’ve said this before, by I do love ponderosas – they have an incredible vanilla/butterscotch aroma, a great way to start a visit to any park or forest that have them, After a short distance, the trail splits. The main Arizona Trail – my route for the future day – heads left towards Schultz Pass between the Peaks and Dry Lake Hills. I take the trail to the right, which quickly drops past more gambel oaks in peak foliage, along with some more aspens as well.
The trail crosses the road and turns to the southwest along a creek bed running through the pass. Hiking on, there’s a low foundation made of concrete visible along the trail after a moderate distance. No marker for what it was, but there is a sign regarding the Antiquities Act nearby, encouraging visitors to protect their American heritage by not disturbing archeological sites nearby. Perhaps the foundation is one of those? It would be nice to have some kind of interpretive sign here regarding the significance of the site, and why the foundation has obviously been left as a reminder of whatever used to be here.
Arizona Trail (Passage 33, Flagstaff)
Coconino National Forest
Arizona Trail (Passage 33, Flagstaff)
Coconino National Forest
Arizona Trail (Passage 33, Flagstaff)
Coconino National Forest
Arizona Trail (Passage 33, Flagstaff)
Coconino National Forest
Arizona Trail (Passage 33, Flagstaff)
Coconino National Forest
Arizona Trail (Passage 33, Flagstaff)
Coconino National Forest
Arizona Trail (Passage 33, Flagstaff)
Coconino National Forest
Arizona Trail (Passage 33, Flagstaff)
Coconino National Forest
Arizona Trail (Passage 33, Flagstaff)
Coconino National Forest
Arizona Trail (Passage 33, Flagstaff)
Coconino National Forest
Arizona Trail (Passage 33, Flagstaff)
Coconino National Forest
Arizona Trail (Passage 33, Flagstaff)
Coconino National Forest
Arizona Trail (Passage 33, Flagstaff)
Coconino National Forest
Arizona Trail (Passage 33, Flagstaff)
Coconino National Forest
Arizona Trail (Passage 33, Flagstaff
Coconino National Forest
AZT Passage 33 Logistics and Ecology
Passage Map: Passage 33 (Flagstaff)
| Passage 33 (Flagstaff) | |
| Trail Surface | Dirt singletrack |
| Length (Mi) | 15.5 |
| Season | April-October. Snow can be significant in winter. |
| Potential Water Sources | N/A |
| Trailheads | North: Schultz Pass South: Fisher Point |
| Trailhead Access | North: Grade dirt/gravel road South: Foot/bike access |
| Wilderness | No |
| Possible resupply points | Flagstaff |
| ATA-Rated Difficulty | Moderate (south end is easier) |
| Potential campsites (mileages S to N) | N/A |
| Ecosystems Traversed | Rocky Mountain Montane Conifer Woodland |
| Sites of Interest | Historic Flagstaff |
| Rocky Mountain Montane Conifer Woodland | |
| Common Trees/Shrubs | * Ponderosa Pine * Southwestern white pine * Subalpine fir * White fir * Rocky Mountain maple * Bigtooth maple * Grey alder * Red birch * Red osier dogwood * Cliffbush * Mallow ninebark * New Mexican locust * huckleberry * bilberries |
| Common herbaceous plants | * fringed brome * Geyer’s sedge/elk sedge * Ross’ sedge * Bronze sedge/dry land sedge/hillside sedge/hay sedge/Fernald’s hay sedge * screwleaf muhly * bluebunch wheatgrass * Spruce-fir fleabane * wild strawberry/Virginia strawberry * Small-flowered woodrush * mountain sweet Cicely * bittercress ragwort * western meadow-rue * Fendler’s meadow-rue |
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