Amazing, Spectacular Arizona Trail Thruhiking, Shuff Tank-MM 274.5

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

It is brutally cold this morning, making it hard to even move much before 11. I believe it was around 20 at 9:00. (It will be even colder tomorrow). Packing is a slow process in these temperatures. But, I pick up a few things that might make future packings faster in these temperatures, like doing most of it inside the tent at first and having a solid plan in advance to minimize time spent debating with oneself in the cold. Once packed, I head east along the forest road until coming to a trail crossing.

There is a problem; the trail crosses on both sides.

Track Along with Aspen!

Thank you for subscribing!

Track Along with Aspen!

Sign up for our newsletter and stay up to date on all of Aspen’s tracks around the country, by foot, bike and wheels!

First name

Last name

Email*

Can we send you an email from time to time?

Subscribe

Clearly I missed a turnoff in the twilight yesterday evening. In both my purist nature and out of curiosity to see just where I made a wrong turn, I take the trail to the right, and it winds through the ponderosas back to Shuff Tank. It is clearly new, so this must be part of the new reroute, which has gone around the road stretch that I walked to get to the junction earlier. Instead of following the road on the north side of the tank, the trail now follows a singletrack around the west and south sides of the tank, then crosses the road on the east.

I retrace my steps along the trail back to the road crossing, and continue following the trail on the east side of the road. The trail continues to wind east crossing rolling terrain on the Mogollon Plateau, through more pine forest, slightly thicker in places than that seen around, say, Gooseberry Springs, for example. I pause for the night east of a crossing of FR-135D. Game 7 of the World Series is tonight, might take the opportunity to watch if I have enough of a connection and can get settled into camp in time.