Backpacking the Arizona Trail: Passage 33, Flagstaff, Part 2
AZT Day 22, Part 3
Trans-Arizona/Utah Day 29, Part 3
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
Welcome back to Aspen’s Tracks, thruhiking the Arizona Trail from Utah to Mexico.
Dry Lake Hills-Buffalo Park
Hiking south, the trail crosses to the flanks of Elden Mountain and continues to drop down toward Flagstaff. It crosses the Coconino National Forest border onto McMillan Mesa and into Buffalo Park, managed by Flagstaff.
AZT Passage 33 (Flagstaff)
Coconino National Forest
AZT Passage 33 (Flagstaff)
Coconino National Forest
AZT Passage 33 (Flagstaff)
Coconino National Forest
AZT Passage 33 (Flagstaff)
Coconino National Forest
Coconino National Forest
AZT Passage 33 (Flagstaff)
Coconino National Forest
AZT Passage 33 (Flagstaff)
Coconino National Forest
AZT Passage 33 (Flagstaff)
Coconino National Forest
AZT Passage 33 (Flagstaff)
Coconino National Forest
AZT Passage 33 (Flagstaff)
Coconino National Forest
Arizona Trail: Buffalo Park
A wide rice grass meadow composes much of the park, crisscrossed with wide trails and paths providing magnificent views of the San Francisco Peaks, Elden Mountain and the Dry Lake Hills. Just magnificent, especially seen now in the late afternoon. Near the entrance to the park, there’s a memorial bench and plaque to Dale Shewalter, a Flagstaff teacher who became known as the “Father of the Arizona Trail.” Hiking across McMillan Mesa and exiting Buffalo Park, the trail climbs onto Switzer Mesa and wraps through the Flagstaff Urban Trail System along the Ponderosa Parkway to Route 66.
AZT Passage 33 (Flagstaff)
AZT Passage 33 (Flagstaff)
AZT Passage 33 (Flagstaff)
AZT Passage 33 (Flagstaff)
AZT Passage 33 (Flagstaff)
AZT Passage 33 (Flagstaff)
AZT Passage 33 (Flagstaff)
Downtown Flagstaff
I make a pit stop at Dark Sky Brewing, where I meet a fellow Vermont alum! Always fun to run into a fellow Catamount. I must have made quite the impression walking in with my backpack after a week or so in the wilderness since leaving Grand Canyon. Then it’s on with another friend to a local Mexican restaurant for a full dinner.
Flagstaff, Arizona’s incredible mountain town, at last. As a bonus, my boots did not totally disintegrate getting here, but replacing them for the trek south is now on the list for the next few days, which will take stock of the logistics to get from here to Mormon Lake and Pine. You can read more about things to do, where to stay and resupply in Flagstaff here.
Arizona Trail Passage 33 Logistics & Ecology
| 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 |
scottandloristravels
Looks like you had great weather. I’m enjoying reading about your hiking adventure !