I thru-hiked the Arizona Trail northbound from March 1st to April 13, 2022. This meant I started earlier than more spring NOBOs, so I needed to be prepared for freezing temperatures and snow at higher elevations, along with the warm, sunny, windy conditions at lower elevations.

Scroll to the bottom of this list to see my discussion about what new gear I carried just for the Arizona Trail, what worked for me (and what didn’t), and what I’d do differently if I were hiking this trail again.

(Note: I publish my packing list after each hike because I think there’s value in seeing what gear other hikers actually used, liked, or disliked on a particular thru-hike. Any item with an asterisk beside it indicates a deviation from my standard long distance hiking gear set-up. Also, NONE of the hyperlinks in this post are affiliate links. They are merely provided as a quick reference for the reader. )

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BIg Three

• Backpack* – ULA Circuit (68L/internal frame pack)
• Pack Accessories* – WEBO Shoulder Pouch
• Pack Liner – Clear plastic liner from Gossamer Gear 
• Tent – Nemo Hornet 2P tent 
• Quilt* – EE Enigma down quilt (10 degree)
• Air Mattress – Therm-a-rest NeoAir XLite (size: regular wide) with pump sack 
• Foam Pad* – Gossamer Gear 1/8″ Thinlite foam pad

HIKING ACCESSORIES

• Trekking Poles – Leki Cressida Thermo poles
• Sit Pad – Therm-a-rest Z sitting pad
• Umbrella* – Litetrek Hiking (Chrome) umbrella

HIKING CLOTHING (WORN)

• Hiking Bottoms* – OR Zendo pants & Patagonia Baggies 5″ shorts
• Hiking Shirt – Simms long sleeve hooded sun shirt
• Undergarments – Patagonia Barely sports bra & underwear 
• Hiking Socks – Injinji hiking socks
• Shoes – Altra Lone Peak 5 (with Road ID attached to laces)
• Gaiters – Dirty Girl gaiters 
• Hat – Headsweats Race hat 
• Sunglasses – Suncloud Cookie sunglasses with polarized lenses
• Watch – Timex Ironman watch
• Wallet – Roam minimal wallet (w/ ID, credit card, and cash only)

OUTERWEAR

• Puffy – Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer down hooded jacket  
• Rain Jacket* – OR Helium II jacket (replaced on trail)
• Rain Pants* – REI Junction cycling rain pants
• Sun Gloves*– REI sun gloves
• Warm Hat – North Face beanie
• Warm Gloves* – Smartwool liner gloves & Zpacks Vertice rain mitts
• Waterproof Socks* – Randy Sun waterproof skiing and trekking socks

EXTRA CLOTHES/CAMP ITEMS

• Layering Shirt* – Icebreaker 150 short-sleeve base layer top
• Underwear – Patagonia Barely underwear (3 extra pairs)
• Sleep Clothes – Nike One Luxe leggings & Icebreaker 200 long-sleeve half zip top
• Socks – Injinji & Smartwool socks (1 extra hiking pair, 1 sleep pair)
• Headband – Buff CoolNet UV+ multifunctional headband
• Camp shoes – Crocs Swiftwater sandals
• Storage – Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil stuff sack (9L)

HYGIENE ITEMS

• Toiletry Storage – Lightweight stuff sack
• Dental Care – Travel toothbrush/toothpaste + floss
• Vision – Daily wear disposable contacts & glasses
• Cleaning – Wet Ones (travel size)
• First Aid Kit – KT tape, Body Glide (0.8 oz), bandaids, ibuprofen
• Knife – Swiss Army knife (w/ mini scissors)
• Skincare – Chapstick and sunscreen
• Toilet* – Duece of Spades #2 trowel, TP, doggie poop bags, Kula cloth
• Trash storage – Large ziplock bag 

FOOD/COOKING ITEMS

• Stove – MSR PocketRocket2 + 8 oz. fuel canister & mini lighter
• Cook Pot – MSR Titan Kettle (0.85L) + homemade pot koozy
• Spoon – Toaks long handle titanium spoon (w/ polished bowl) 
• Cup – Sea to Summit collapsable cup
• Food Storage – OPSAK odor proof bag (12″ x 20″)
• Water filter – Sawyer Squeeze filter  
• Water storage* –  1L and 1.5L plastic bottles & CNOC Outdoor Vecto 2L bladder

ELECTRONICS

• Phone/camera – iPhone XR (128GB) 
• Earbuds* – Apple Airpods  
• Garmin InReach mini – GPS satellite communicator
• External battery – Anker Power Core 20100 external battery
• Power – USB cables (x2) and Anker dual port 12W USB wall charger
• Navigation – Far Out Guide (formerly Guthook App) for AZT on my iPhone
• Headlamp – Nitecore NU25 headlamp (360 lumens)
• Electronics Storage – Sea to summit Ultra-Sil Dry Sack (size: XXS) 

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POST-HIKE THOUGHTS

Although I’ve done some desert hiking in the past, my AZT thru-hike was the longest distance I’ve continuously hiked in this type of terrain.

Moreover, Arizona is a lot more ecologically diverse than the one might expect. The trail’s lowest elevation is 1,700 feet (on the Gila River) while the highest elevation is 9,148 feet (on the Kaibab Plateau). Hikers travel through southern Arizona’s sky islands and multiple mountain ranges, up the Mogollon Rim, across several high plateaus, and through the world-renowned Grand Canyon.

In addition to the challenging topography, Arizona’s backcountry hazards compound this trail’s difficulty. Hikers must content with “pokey” things (cholla, ocotillo, yucca, other desert plants); “scary” things (rattlesnakes, scorpions, tarantulas, mountain lions); water concerns (murky cattle ponds, long dry stretches, snow); and the heat (dehydration, sunburn, heat exhaustion).

All told, the AZT is not a trail for the faint of heart. These conditions, coupled with hiking in the spring shoulder season urged me to increase my base weight to nearly 17 pounds. I also mailed some extra gear to myself in Pine, AZ (mile 450) to deal with these consistently colder temperatures once I got above the Mogollon Rim.

So let’s break down my packing list by a few categories:

NEW GEAR I CARRIED on THIS HIKE

• ULA Circuit. I used Gossamer Gear packs (the Mariposa or G4-20) for my backpacking adventures from 2018-2021, but I really wanted to give another brand a try. So last fall I began the search for a new pack that could endure the longer water carries for the Arizona Trail. After a ton of research and debate, I opted for a PCT thru-hiker favorite, the ULA Circuit. A complete overview of why I picked this particular pack is available HERE. But the real question is: how did this pack hold up to the rigors of the AZT? I think it was awesome! I’ll probably return to my Gossamer Gear G4-20 frameless pack for shorter hikes, but the ULA Circuit will be my go-to pack whenever I need something sturdier (or larger) for a long trail. Verdict: 👍

• Quilt. Even though I bought my 10°F Enlightened Equipment Enigma nearly 18 months ago, I didn’t really get much opportunity to use it on last year’s adventures. If fact, I only took it on the two multi-day hikes in 2021: Mt. Whitney and the Timberline Trail. So, the AZT was my first real opportunity to put this quilt through the wringer. I’m definitely glad I opted to bring a 10°F sleep system because there a lot of nights on the AZT when the temperature dropped down into the 20s and low 30s. This warm quilt was exactly what I’d hoped for, and Enlightened Equipment is still my favorite brand for quality down quilts. Verdict: 👍

• Foam Pad. The desert environment is no friend to inflatable air mattresses. There’s a lot of prickly, sharp flora, which often ends up on the ground exactly where you want to set up camp. But, I’m a stomach sleeper, so I need an inflatable mattress to get a comfortable night’s sleep. To offset the risk of something deflating my comfy bed, I brought a 1/8″ ultralight foam pad and I laid it beneath my NeoAir for a bit more protection. This additional layer weighed hardly anything, and I didn’t get a single puncture hole on trail. Verdict: 👍

• Rain pants. I rarely carry rain pants on my summer thru-hikes. I usually find my bare legs dry quick enough on their own. But wearing shorts for the entire AZT was not a feasible option thanks to the freezing rain or snowstorms. So my solution was to bring rain pants, which also had the added benefit blocking the wind on those days when it was cold and windy. I wore the heck out of my REI cycling rain pants on this thru-hike, and I still absolutely love them. Unlike a lot of lighter rain or wind pants, these cycling pants were designed to be more tapered at the bottom of the leg and they have zippers for ease in taking them off (or venting them if you get too warm). Verdict: 👍

• Sun Protection. Given the lack of shade and amount of intense UV exposure in the Arizona desert, I was certain I’d need some extra protection for this hike. I wore a long-sleeve hooded Simms sun shirt (UPF 50), I wore sun gloves to protect my wrists and hands, I wore a light-colored running hat with a brim, and I carried my hiking umbrella. In the end I was super happy with my choices to protect myself from the wind and sun. However, I did have to replace my sun gloves in Flagstaff because they were literally falling apart after three seasons of use. Verdict: 👍

• Layering shirt. I went back and forth over how best to layer for this shoulder season hike, and I was wary of adding too much weight to my already heavy packing list. I nixed bringing a mid-weight layer and replaced it with a short-sleeve 150 weight merino shirt instead. As it turns out, I only needed to use my merino shirt as a base layer once during a super cold night, and I used it as my “town shirt” for the rest of the hike. Plus, it was far lighter and more compact to carry than my hoody would have been. Verdict: 👍

• Hiking Pants. With the exception of my 110-mile winter section hike on the PCT in 2020, I’ve never actually worn traditional hiking pants. I usually rely on my beloved Patagonia Baggies shorts during the summer and I wear running tights in the shoulder seasons. However, an article in Treeline Review encouraged me to give a pair of Outdoor Research climbing pants a try. As it turns out, I loved these pants on my training hikes, but they didn’t really work on my thru-hike. The seams on the inner thighs gave me horrible chafe about a week into the AZT. Additionally, with no drawstring or belt loops to tighten the waist, I found myself having to safety pin the elastic waistband to keep my pants from falling down as they got looser with each wear. Once I got to Kearny, AZ (mile 258), I had enough. I swapped them out with my sleep pants (a pair of Nike One Luxe tights) and went back to wearing tights for the rest of the trail. Verdict: 👎

• Rain Mittens. My hands nearly froze last May when I was hiking Mt. Whitney, where I had to resort to wearing plastic bags over my gloves to block the biting wind nipping at my fingers. Because of that uncomfortable springtime experience, I brought my Zpacks Vertice Rain Mitts to wear over my sun gloves to block the cold. I’m 100% glad I made this addition for the AZT. They added a tremendous amount of warmth for just 1 oz of weight. Verdict: 👍

• Headphones. After my experiment with using my wireless headphones on the Timberline Trail last fall, I wasn’t convinced I should bring them on this hike. First off, I don’t tend to listen to music while hiking. I mostly just use them for 20-30 minutes of an audiobook or a podcast when I’m in my tent and winding down for the night. Secondly, I worried I might lose one of the earbuds on trail (or get them wet and ruin them) and that would be a costly lesson. Nonetheless, I did so much of my winter training for this trail with my AirPods in my ears that the idea of leaving them home just felt weird, so I brought packed them anyway. I really appreciated the ease of listening with wireless earbuds. Plus, on the handful of occasions when I hiked and listened at the same time, I was able to use just use one earbud, while keeping my other ear free to listen out for rattlesnakes! Verdict: 👍

• Water storage and filtration. The method I used to carry or treat my water didn’t change during this hike, but the amount of water I carried certainly did. I came prepared with the capacity up to carry up to 6 liters of water on the AZT. I also cut a plastic 1L soda bottle in half and used the bottom half to create a homemade water scoop to deal with shallow pools. Plus, I used a 2″ length of women’s pantyhose to act as a pre-filter when there was lots of floating debris in the water. Yet, the real MVP of my water filtration system was the blue coupling component that allowed me to gravity filter my water while I rested in the shade and ate my snacks. Verdict: 👍

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What Gear DiD I mail to PINE, AZ?

As mentioned above, I mailed some extra gear to myself to pick up in Pine, AZ. Why did I select Pine, you ask? First off, it was 450 miles from the southern terminus, which seemed like a good place to have a fresh pair of shoes waiting on me. Pine also sits right before the climb up the Mogollon Rim – after which hikers remain at higher elevation (~7,000 to 8,000′) and the AZT becomes much colder. And finally, I knew I could mail my resupply box to THAT Brewery (which is less than a mile off-trail) and avoid the constraints of small town post office hours. So what exactly did I mail to myself in that resupply box??

• New Shoes. I assumed I’d have no problem making it through the first 450 miles of the AZT on a single pair of shoes. After all, I only changed shoes about once every 500 miles on my Appalachian Trail thru-hike in 2019. However, I didn’t know the AZT would be the rockiest trail ever! It destroyed my shoes far quicker than I anticipated. Honestly, the ruggedness of the AZT’s southern 350 miles puts every other hiking location (including ‘Rocksylvania’) to shame. As such, I really, really wish I’d mailed myself new shoes much sooner – because there was little to no tread left on my shoes by the time I entered the Mazatzals. Verdict: 👎

• Waterproof socks. After watching several YouTube videos of thru-hikers battling the snow and mud on the northern section of the AZT in 2021, I decided to add a pair of waterproof socks to my resupply box. I wasn’t 100% sure whether I’d need them, but I wanted to be prepared, just in case. And just as anticipated, I hit snow almost as soon as I crested the Mogollon Rim. Unfortunately, these socks weren’t actually fully waterproof. My feet still ended up wet and cold (though not quite as bad as if I’d just worn my hiking socks). I even tried to swap them out for a different, more expensive brand of waterproof socks at the REI in Flagstaff. But the new waterproof socks were only slightly better than the first pair, and they still left me with cold, wet feet after postholing on the north side of Humphreys Peak. So, I doubt I’d recommend this item to other hikers. Verdict: 👎

• Microspikes. With my early March start date and above average snowpack in the northern part of the state, I thought I might need my microspikes on the AZT. As it turns out, I didn’t need actually them though. There was lots of snow still on the trail, but very little ice where microspikes would be useful. So I unnecessarily carried them for 240 miles until I finally got to town on a weekday and just could mail them back home. Verdict: 👎

• Super Warmers. The higher elevation above the Mogollon Rim meant I had to deal with colder nighttime temperatures. Rather than carry a sleeping bag liner to boost the temperature rating of my quilt, I added two Hot Hands 18-hour super warmer pouches to my resupply box. Thank goodness too! After hours of ridiculous knee- to thigh-deep postholing on the north side Humphreys Peak, I activated one to these pouches and added it to my sleeping bag to thaw my frozen feet in camp. What a game changer! I went from miserable to comfortable in about an hour. Verdict: 👍

• Contact Lenses. After my last long-distance hike, I switched what type of contact lenses I used. I was no longer wearing regular disposable lenses (that you re-wear for up to a month). I now used daily-use lenses. The upside to this change was not having to worry about getting an eye infection from using the same lenses in the backcountry for weeks at a time. I also don’t need to pack saline solution out on the trail. But, on the flip side, I need to carry two brand new contact lenses (one for each eye) for EVERY day of my hike. That’s a lot of extra contact lenses! So, rather than carrying an 7-week supply (read: 100 individual lenses), and storing with them inside my quilt each night so they didn’t freeze, I only carried 20 days’ worth of lenses at a time, and I sent extra lenses to myself in two resupply boxes (Kearny, AZ and Pine, AZ). Verdict: 👍

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WHAT WOULD I DO DIFFERENTLY?

• Mail my shoes sooner. The number one thing I would have absolutely done differently would be to mail my replacement shoes to a different location. I really wish I’d had my new new shoes waiting for me in Payson (mile 378) or Roosevelt Lake (mile 338), instead of waiting until Pine (mile 450). Hiking those final 75 miles to Pine on shoes with no tread was not very enjoyable.

• Use a smaller battery. I normally hike with a 10,000 mAh external battery on my thru-hikes, and I’ve found that size to be ideal for juicing up all my electronics for 4-5 days on trail. However, I also seem to use my phone more and more with each hike. I love to take take lots of photos. I use my phone to check maps and my navigation app. I also listen to the occasional audiobook/podcast, check the weather forecast, and sometimes even a text updates home. I was also worried that the cold weather might shorten my battery’s life, so I opted to carry my bigger 20,000 mAh battery instead. In the end, this was complete overkill as I was in town every 3-5 days on average. I really wish I’d carried my smaller battery and cut 6+ ounces of unnecessary weight off my back.

• Ditch my shorts. I love my Patagonia Baggies shorts for hiking, but truthfully, I didn’t use them after the first week on the AZT. My calves got sunburned on the second day of my thru-hike (near Parker Lake). Plus the desert plants left my shins looking like I’d been in a street fight with a pack of feral cats. So I chose to cover up and wear my long pants instead. As I moved further north, the colder temperatures and snow meant my shorts stayed forever buried in the bottom of my pack. In hindsight, I should have just left my shorts at home.

• Replace broken gear before the trail. My Outdoor Research Helium II rain jacket was a super well-loved piece of gear. In fact, I’ve used it as my rain (and wind) layer for at least 5 years before I hiked the AZT. And even though I knew the zipper was breaking, I was really hoping it would hang in there for one more thru-hike. Spoiler: it didn’t. I could no longer zip it up by the time I got to Payson — and the worst of the inclement weather was still ahead of me. Consequently, I ended up having to replace my defunct rain jacket in town with a different, more expensive brand. Procrastinating over this gear upgrade set me back far more money than if I’d had time used that time to search for a replacement jacket beforehand.

• Carry a smaller journal. I carried the same size soft cover journal on this hike that I used on my AT thru-hike back in 2019 (the Leuchtturm1917 B6+). However, I quickly realized I’ve begun taking a lot of my notes for on my phone instead of waiting to write them in my journal at camp. Consequently, I think I’ll probably opt for a more lightweight journal in the future.

• Manage my fuel better. I’ve never had an issue getting isopropyl fuel canisters before the AZT. And honestly, I don’t have a clue what was going on in southern Arizona in the spring of 2022. But I had to go to three(!) outdoor stores in Tucson before I could find any fuel canisters in stock. This temporary shortage worried me enough that I ended up buying the larger (8 oz.) fuel canister and carry that size throughout my hike instead of the smaller (3.9 oz.) ones I normally use to cook. This fuel canister shortage wasn’t an issue my home state. So if I’d known about it ahead of time, I probably would have just sent myself a small fuel canister in my resupply boxes at Kearny and Pine. (Note: Yes, you can mail fuel canisters within the continental US. Per USPS Pub. 52, you simply need to inform the postal clerk your package contains a small quantity of flammable gas so they can mark the package appropriately and send it by surface transport instead of air.)

• Bounce my duffel bag. I flew out to the Arizona Trail from my home in Oregon, so some of my hiking gear (e.g., my trekking poles, tent stakes, stove, knife) had to be checked with the airline in an inexpensive duffel bag. Once I landed in Tucson, I mailed that duffel bag to Page, AZ, so I could use it again for my flight back home at the end of my hike. Unfortunately, the post office in Page only held the package for 30 days -despite the fact that I clearly marked the envelope: “Please hold for AZT hiker, ETA: 4/15/2022”. In retrospect, I probably should have mailed this duffel bag to one of the more AZT-friendly trail towns (like Kearny or Superior) and then called that post office to ask them to bounce the package to Page when I got closer to the end of the trail.

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Final Thoughts

Overall, most of my gear choices for the AZT were solid ones that I’d make again. However, there is one major factor that could have made my packing list much lighter. I could have cut at least a pound (or maybe even two) from my base weight if I’d just delayed my start date by a week or two.

Beginning an AZT thru-hike in early March was pleasant in some regards. It put me ahead of the NOBO hiker bubble (read: less competition for limited resources in small towns). It also meant that water wasn’t as big of a concern, and I could get by with 2-3 liters before I got to my next water source.

However, starting so early in the season also forced me to endure a lot of frozen nights, three big snow storms, and less-than-ideal trail conditions (deep snow, mud, and flooded trail sections). These environmental factors also led me to carry extra/heavier gear and made the AZT a more challenging thru-hike than it could have been if I’d gone just a few week later.

Final Thoughts

There you have it, folks. Another trail, another gear list. If you’re curious to see how this packing list compares to my other recent thru-hikes, check out my other hiking gear lists HERE.

And, if you’re interested in other aspects of my AZT thru-hike, check out the following:

• My day-by-day AZT journal
• How I Trained for the Arizona Trail
• Why I Switched Packs to Hike the AZT