The last leg of my AZT adventure – Flagstaff to Utah- was both eventful and spectacular. On the morning of May 13th (Day 53), my two travelling companions and I, met up at the corner of Ponderosa Pkwy and Route 66 in Flagstaff and headed northward, stocked to the gills as our provisions needed to…
Category: Activities
Kathy Simko’s Arizona Trail Trek – Entry 6 – Cold & Wet In The North
As we began the second half of the Mazatzal’s, the weather turned wet and cold. Cutting wind, rain and hail became part of the normal routine and we all started to feel and look ragged and trail-weary. Furthermore, we hadn’t had a shower or clean clothes for fifteen days…”EW!” Swimming in a lake sure does…
Kathy Simko’s Arizona Trail Trek – Entry 5 – The Irony of the Black Hills & Even More Good People
The Hobo Trio continued northward from American Flag Trailhead. We learned from Marney that we were EFI’ers (Every freakin’ inch). We were extremely aware and diligent to walk every inch of the AZT, making sure not to cut corners and to go back and start exactly where we left off. Late in the day on…
Kathy Simko’s Arizona Trail Trek – Entry 4 – More Good People
On the morning of April 2nd, Dave Baker drove us back to the exact spot we exited the trail two days earlier. Dave Boyd joined us as we cruised through the Rincon Mountains, camping at the beautiful Grass Shack site, which was equipped with a babbling brook. The next day, we split off from Dave…
Kathy Simko’s Arizona Trail Trek – Entry 3 – Good People Along the Way
Now that the “Gurus of Trail Angelism,” Dave & Dave, were totally onboard, things started to smooth out a bit for me. Campsite outside Patagonia with Mt. Wrightson in the background I woke up the morning after the Patagonia resupply just in time to meet two other thru-hikers ambling up Temporal Gulch Rd. David Kurneta…
Kathy Simko’s Arizona Trail Trek – Entry 2 – A Shaky Start
Almost everybody has many demands on their time; I am in this group. Long story short, I started the AZT exhausted. Because I was exhausted, I needed some rest and therefore got a late start leaving Tucson for the trailhead in Mexico. Thankfully, I was well organized ahead of time, so it could have been…
Kathy Simko’s Arizona Trail Trek – Entry 1 – The Journey Begins
Hi there! This is Kathy Simko and I am employed full-time by the Summit Hut. I am usually fitting feet in the footwear department, but currently I am thru-hiking the Arizona Trail, which traverses Arizona 800 miles from the border of Mexico to the border of Utah, and my trail name is Utah Zuke. I…
How To Select The Best Climbing Shoe
Did you go through a whirlwind of thoughts trying to pick out your first rock climbing shoe? I know that I did, without a doubt. It took me forever! I would go to the gym, and I’m sorry, but there is only so long you want to use a rental shoe. There’s just something about…
Race Wrap Up
8 events, two running packs, one running belt, 4 or 5 pairs of shoes and many lessons learned, it has been a great running season for me. A few mantras carried me down the trail; relentless forward progress, pep talk!, just keep moving, it doesn’t matter if you hurt you have to get back to…
An Easy Overnight Loop On Mount Lemmon
Last week I decided that I really wanted to do some backpacking on Mt. Lemmon. I wanted some water and shade to escape the heat of Tucson and my partner wanted some easy mileage as he had just done 15 miles the day before we headed out. As we approached the Catalina Highway we were…