Arizona Trail: Mormon Lake (Towns of the Road Trips & Trails)

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

Tales from the Arizona Trail at Mormon Lake

I grab some food at the general store and out of the hiker box that the Mormon Lake store has in the morning. It’s cold and raw after the rain the night before. I walk about 3 miles up the road to Double Springs and then use the AZT to get back to my prior campsite to grab the sleeping pad, then retrace my steps again.

Unfortunately I’ve been delayed about a half day in the process, and my motivation is seriously affected. I pack up and manage to get back up to the AZT to camp at the Navajo Springs junction before dark. Did it hail up here? I think I saw some hail or possibly remnant frost on the way up.

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Arizona Trail: Mormon Lake Resupply Details

Mormon Lake makes a great stopover point as the only real resupply option between Flagstaff and Pine on the Arizona Trail. (Had I known the lodge here was still open for the season, I would not have carried so much gear south from Flagstaff, and I would have mailed or planned on picking some up in Mormon Lake instead).

Mormon Lake lodge has a restaurant for real food, a store to grab some snacks for those who are running on lighter weight, and there is a post office for mailing supplies to. You can also fill up on water. It’s fairly easy access from the trail at Navajo Spring down to the lodge beside the lake. Here’s the mailing address for the post office for mailing supplies to yourself:

[Hiker Name]
General Delivery
1 Mormon Lake Road
Mormon Lake, AZ 86038