Arizona Trail Passage 41, Central Kaibab Plateau
Trans-Arizona/Utah Day 11
Welcome back to Aspen’s Tracks, thruhiking the Arizona Trail from Utah to Mexico. Today’s entry covers the fourth day backpacking from MM 37.2-39 SOBO along Passage 41, the Central Kaibab Plateau. Hiking south, this stretch is entirely exposed in the Warm Fire burn scar and offers many juvenile aspens with spectacular fall foliage.
Arizona Trail, Passage 41 (Central Kaibab Plateau)
Kaibab National Forest
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
The trail continues through the burn scar of the 2006 Warm Fire. In between looking around at the aspens in the prior two posts, a crack opens in the tree line to the west. The first southbound view of Grand Canyon opens up in the distance.
Arizona Trail, Passage 41 (Central Kaibab Plateau)
Kaibab National Forest
Arizona Trail, Passage 41 (Central Kaibab Plateau)
Kaibab National Forestu or
I ultimately ran out of light in the burn scar left by the 2006 Warm Fire, and the breeze is howling again tonight. Hopefully it calms down a bit overnight. I’ve arranged my gear to make a windfence as best I can but without any substantial tree cover there’s not much that can be done. This might admittedly be a rough night. I don’t get “caught out” often but 30-50 mph wind gusts were not in the forecast when I started this trek, and most of my cold weather gear is back on the South Rim for evaluation where it will be needed from that point.
Arizona Trail, Passage 41 (Central Kaibab Plateau)
Kaibab National Forest
Arizona Trail, Passage 41 (Central Kaibab Plateau)
Kaibab National Forest
Arizona Trail, Passage 41 (Central Kaibab Plateau)
Kaibab National Forest
Arizona Trail, Passage 41 (Central Kaibab Plateau)
Kaibab National Forest
Arizona Trail, Passage 41 (Central Kaibab Plateau)
Kaibab National Forest
Arizona Trail, Passage 41 (Central Kaibab Plateau)
Kaibab National Forest
Arizona Trail, Passage 41 (Central Kaibab Plateau)
Kaibab National Forest
Arizona Trail, Passage 41 (Central Kaibab Plateau)
Kaibab National Forest
Arizona Trail, Passage 41 (Central Kaibab Plateau)
Kaibab National Forest
Arizona Trail, Passage 41 (Central Kaibab Plateau)
Kaibab National Forest
Arizona Trail, Passage 41 (Central Kaibab Plateau)
Kaibab National Forest
Arizona Trail, Passage 41 (Central Kaibab Plateau)
Kaibab National Forest
Arizona Trail, Passage 41 (Central Kaibab Plateau)
Kaibab National Forest
Arizona Trail, Passage 41 (Central Kaibab Plateau)
Kaibab National Forest
Arizona Trail, Passage 41 (Central Kaibab Plateau)
Kaibab National Forest
Arizona Trail, Passage 41 (Central Kaibab Plateau)
Kaibab National Forest
Arizona Trail, Passage 41 (Central Kaibab Plateau)
Kaibab National Forest
Arizona Trail, Passage 41 (Central Kaibab Plateau)
Kaibab National Forest
Arizona Trail, Passage 41 (Central Kaibab Plateau)
Kaibab National Forest
The next entry covers the stretch from MM 39 to Telephone Hill. Take a look for the next episode of thruhiking the Arizona Trail.
| Passage 41 (Kaibab Plateau Central) | |
| Trail Surface | Dirt trail |
| Length (Mi) | 17.2 |
| AZTA Official Passage Map | Passage 41 Trail Map |
| Season | Spring-fall. No vehicular access to this section December-April. Feet of snow in winter. |
| Potential Water Sources | Wildlife Tank (mi 36.9 SOBO, 751.8 NOBO) Cement Trough (mi 37.3 SOBO, 751.4 NOBO) Full status list via FarOut app or Arizona Trail Water Sources |
| Trailheads | North: US-89A South: Telephone Hill |
| Trailhead Access | Vehicular access |
| Wilderness | No, but it can feel like it. Most hikers in the area stick to the national park. Or are passing through to reach routes in the national park. |
| Possible resupply points | Jacob Lake |
| ATA-Rated Difficulty | Easy |
| Potential campsites (mileages S to N) | Various points throughout; terrain is not a limitation here |
| Ecosystems Traversed | Great Basin Subalpine Conifer Forest Rocky Mountain Montane Conifer Woodland |
| AZTA Passage Description | Passage 41 Description |
| Weather | Current Weather |
Arizona Trail: Passage 41 Ecology
| Great Basin Subalpine Conifer Forest/Rocky Mountain Montane Conifer Forest | |
| Common Trees/Shrubs | * Corkbark fir * Gambel oak * Quaking aspen * White fir * Blue spruce * Engelmann spruce * Buckwheats * Currants * Dwarf juniper * Elderberry * Fendler’s ceanothus * Greenleaf Manzanita * New Mexican locust * Perry’s rabbitbrush * Raspberry * smooth sumac * Snowberry |
| Common herbaceous plants | * Bracken Fern * Buckwheats * Cinquefoils * Columbines * Fleabane daisies * Geraniums * goldeneye * Goldenrods * Groundsels * Hairy golden aster * Indian paintbrush * Lotus * Lupines * Meadow-rue * Parry’s bellflower * Peavine * Penstemons * Puccoon * Pussytoes * Thistles * Western & white prairie asters * Wild strawberry * Wormwood * Yarrow * Yellow hawkweed |
| Common succulents | Prickly pear, occasionally |
| Aquatic | * Bulrush * Buttercups * Rushes * Sedges * Water plantains |
| Great Basin Subalpine Conifer Forest/Rocky Mountain Montane Conifer Forest | |
| Common Trees/Shrubs | * Corkbark fir * Gambel oak * Quaking aspen * White fir * Blue spruce * Engelmann spruce * Buckwheats * Currants * Dwarf juniper * Elderberry * Fendler’s ceanothus * Greenleaf Manzanita * New Mexican locust * Perry’s rabbitbrush * Raspberry * smooth sumac * Snowberry |
| Common herbaceous plants | * Bracken Fern * Buckwheats * Cinquefoils * Columbines * Fleabane daisies * Geraniums * goldeneye * Goldenrods * Groundsels * Hairy golden aster * Indian paintbrush * Lotus * Lupines * Meadow-rue * Parry’s bellflower * Peavine * Penstemons * Puccoon * Pussytoes * Thistles * Western & white prairie asters * Wild strawberry * Wormwood * Yarrow * Yellow hawkweed |
| Common succulents | Prickly pear, occasionally |
| Aquatic | * Bulrush * Buttercups * Rushes * Sedges * Water plantains |
carolinehelbig
Stunning fall foliage! This sounds like an awesome journey! All the best.
Aspen
Thanks! This was my first time experiencing the fall aspens. I was hoping for just some color and instead got pretty close to peak. It only got better over the next few days, too – and this wasn’t the only area I encountered both aspens and other fall colors on the trail, so stay tuned for even more!