Hi!
I’m Chris, or as I’m known on the trail, Aspen. My trail name comes from the Aspen foliage that I hiked through in northern Arizona on my current thruhike of the Arizona Trail, and several foxes I encountered in the Mazatzal and Rincon Mountains. I have traveled, hiked, and cycled all over the US and many countries in Africa, the Middle East, and Europe as well.
I write about the hiking and cycling that I do across North America as well as my visits each of our 419 national parks; I aim to visit each one. My current total is over 170. I also work as a seasonal ranger, so feel free to ask me anything about a park and I’ll happily share any advice I may have on that park so you can have an enjoyable visit.
From September through January I thruhiked the Arizona Trail, having started on September 21st at Lee’s Ferry and arrived at the northern trailhead on September 28th. Since then I have been heading south through “the land of Arizona, through the desert heat and snow, [along] a trail for folks to follow, from Utah to Old Mexico.” I share my experience, in words and photos, and plan to do the same regarding future hiking and cycling as well as national park travels I do as well.
Also, I also hope to use this trip as a way to raise awareness for the Arizona Trail Association and the National Park Foundation. You can find each fundraiser on GoFundMe (links below). 100% of the proceeds go to the organizations in question. My typical pattern for a given trail is 50% to a national park organization and 50% to the organization that maintains the trail. I also donate all money that individuals give me on the trail to these causes, again split 50/50.
(Note: I have currently suspended these to allow resources to be dedicated to the current public health crisis. I will update this post when I resume this.)
Arizona Trail Association fundraiser: https://www.gofundme.com/f/1u82e04huo?utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=customer&utm_campaign=p_na+share-sheet&rcid=deea2562871b4b78bc1e8f5369d2cb0e (SUSPENDED DUE TO CORONAVIRUS)
National Park Foundation: https://www.gofundme.com/f/1ubze8rmw0?utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=customer&utm_campaign=p_na+share-sheet&rcid=deea2562871b4b78bc1e8f5369d2cb0e (SUSPENDED DUE TO CORONAVIRUS)