My Resupply Strategy for the Arizona Trail

As I prepared for my 800-mile journey across Arizona, I scoured the internet for everything I could find about the gateway communities along the AZT. Could I do a full resupply in each trail town? Or would I need to mail myself a ton of resupply boxes?

After much debate, I decided to follow a hybrid approach for this thru-hike. I mailed myself six packages. In each one, I sent vegetarian dinners, coffee and instant breakfast mixes, and whatever non-food items I might need for the miles ahead (e.g., contact lenses, new shoes, Ziploc baggies, travel-size wet wipes, etc.).

None of these boxes contained all the food I’d need for a full resupply, with the single exception of the resupply package I sent to Roosevelt Lake. My goal was to ensure I’d have some of the nutritious vegetarian meals I enjoy while hiking, while still keeping the flexibility to shop locally and satisfy whatever food cravings I couldn’t anticipate weeks before I hit the trail.

Here’s how my resupply strategy worked on the AZT, and what I’d recommend others do differently. Hopefully, this helps you plan your own successful approach to the trail.

AZT Resupply Towns

Before I explain which towns I stopped in (and why), here’s a quick overview of the most popular resupply spots near the Arizona Trail.

I didn’t stop in every one of these locations during my 44 days on the trail. However, I did visit towns every 3-5 days. My longest food carry was 120 miles (Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon), and I went into town much more frequently at the beginning of the thru-hike while I was still developing my trail legs.

The rest of this post lists the trail towns I used along the AZT, along with my notes, including how I got into/out of each town and other useful details other hikers might want to know. I didn’t resupply at Colossal Cave, Oracle, Mormon Lake, or Tusayan, so I didn’t include detailed information for those towns.

(Note: All mileages for towns are based on the AZT’s route in March-April 2022. Trail distances shift slightly each year due to re-routes around burn areas, landslides, or other obstacles etc).

AZT Mile	Town	Distance off-trail	Resupply Options
50	Patagonia	On-trail (in 2022)	Small grocery & a general store
105	Vail	6.3 miles	Safeway, Walgreens
117	Colossal Cave	1 mile	Mail only
159	Tucson	12 miles	Multiple grocery stores
181	Summerhaven	On-trail	Mt. Lemmon General store
195	Oracle	4 miles	Dollar General
258	Kearny	7.2 miles	IGA grocery, Family Dollar
293	Superior	5 miles	Save Money Market, Family Dollar
338	Roosevelt Lake (Marina)	< 1 mile	Mail only
376	Payson	33 miles	Multiple groceries, Walmart
450	Pine	3 miles	Ponderosa Market
521	Mormon Lake	1 mile	Mormon Lake Lodge
562	Flagstaff	< 1 mile	Multiple groceries, Walmart
677	Tusayan	On-trail	Tusayan General store
683	Grand Canyon Village	< 1 mile	Village General store
753	Jacob Lake	2.4 miles	Convenience store & restaurant

Where I resupplied on the AZT

Patagonia (AZT Mile 50) – Day 3

Resupply box: Yes (Box # 1)
Hotel stay: No, but I did stay at TerraSol – a local private campground
Days/miles since last resupply: 3 days / 50 miles
How I got into town: Walked

Patagonia is the first town on the AZT, and in 2022 the trail still went directly through town (though it is being rerouted around town in future years). Virtually everyone I met stopped in Patagonia for a small resupply and to tend to their blisters. The town has a couple of local restaurants, one hotel, and two resupply options. The first store is Red Mountain Foods, a small organic grocery store. The second one is Patagonia Market (more of a general store with limited groceries), open from 6 am to 8 pm. I decided to simplify my first town stop and mail a resupply package to the post office. However, I quickly realized I’d discard half the contents into the hiker box because I was done carrying anything with chocolate that could melt in the desert sun. Afterward, I went to Patagonia Market, which was surprisingly well stocked with hiker-friendly foods. I found everything I was looking for, including individually wrapped Tillamook Cheese snacks and the freshest homemade tortillas ever (look for them in the refrigerated case).

Vail (AZT Mile 111) – Day 6

Resupply box: No
Hotel Stay: Hampton Inn at Tucson Tech Park
Days/miles since last resupply: 3 days / 55 miles
How I got to/from town: Uber

I suspect many AZT hikers skip Vail entirely and head straight to Colossal Cave (Mile 117) to pick up a resupply package. That’s because Vail isn’t that close to the trail (~7 miles away), and hitches can be hard to find from the Sauharita Road Trailhead. Vail has a Safeway and Walgreens, but no hotels nearby. In fact, the closest hotel is the Hampton Inn, another 8 miles west of Vail, on the outskirts of Tucson. After 6 continuous days on the trail, I decided to spend a night in town, and I hailed an Uber to get to the trailhead. Figuring I’d kill two birds with one stone, I headed to the Walmart by my hotel to resupply. This was a big mistake. It was a small, sketchy Walmart, and I didn’t find half of what I wanted, so I ended up heading to the Pilot gas station near the hotel afterward. In hindsight, I should have gone straight to the Safeway in Vail and then taken an Uber to my hotel from there. Nonetheless, I’m still glad I stopped in Vail instead of mailing a box to Colossal Cave. Every hiker who mailed a box to Colossal Cave in early March told me their package was either lost, delayed, or held hostage at a post office annex in Vail.

Tucson (AZT Mile 159) – Day 9

Resupply box: No
Hotel Stay: Comfort Suites at Sabino Canyon
Days/miles since last resupply: 3 days / 50 miles
How I got to/from town: Hitchhiked into town & Uber back to the trailhead

Even though it had only been 3 days since my last resupply, I decided to head down the mountain into northeeast Tucson from the Molino Basin Trailhead. My main reason for heading back to town so soon was to get more first-aid supplies. I had some really bad chafing on my thighs from the loose pants I was hiking in, and I knew there was a Walgreens, Safeway, and hotel down in the Tanque Verde part of Tucson. Cell service near the trailhead was non-existent, but I stumbled upon a nice 80-ish-year-old man in the trailhead’s parking lot and kindly asked him for a ride. He obliged, and I headed back into town for an impromptu resupply and shower before climbing Mt. Lemmon (and getting my first snowstorm of the hike). For expediency’s sake, I just called an Uber to get back to the trailhead the following morning rather than trying to hitchhike.

Summerhaven/Mt. Lemmon (AZT Mile 181) – Day 11

Resupply box: Yes (Box #2)
Hotel Stay: No
Days/miles since last resupply: 1.5 days / 25 miles
How I got to/from town: Walked

My second resupply box was waiting for me at Summerhaven. This package was the smallest one I sent, with just enough dinners and hygiene items to get me to Kearny (75 miles up the trail). My original plan was to supplement it with food from Summerhaven’s small general store. However, I arrived at Mt. Lemmon right on the heels of my resupply in Tucson, so I didn’t need to buy anything there. I did, however, pop my head into the general store just to see what they had in stock. Most hikers could easily do a resupply at the general store, but the prices were a bit steep. While I was in Summerhaven, I also took the opportunity to grab a meal at the Sawmill restaurant too where I enjoyed a hot cup of coffee and lunch before moving on!

Kearny (Mile 258) – Days 14 &15

Resupply box: Yes (Box #3)
Hotel Stay: General Kearny Inn
Days/miles since last resupply: 3.5 days / 74 miles
How I got to/from town: Hitched into town & Trail angel (Dr. Pizza) drove me back

My third resupply box was waiting for me in Kearny – also known as “the friendliest town on the AZT.” Getting into town was super easy. I walked about a mile from the Gila River Trailhead to Highway 177, and within a few minutes a local cop on his way to work gave me a ride into Kearny! Kearny had such a positive reputation; I’d planned for this to be my first zero on trail. I didn’t really need to send a resupply box here, since the IGA grocery store, dollar store, and liquor store have everything most hikers need. Nonetheless, it’s where I planned to mail myself my first batch of contact lenses, so I threw a few packages of dehydrated refried beans and some wet wipes into the package too. There’s only one hotel in town, The General Kearny Inn, and two restaurant options. But everything is super walkable the people were so darn nice! Jodie and her dad (Dr. Pizza), the proprietors of Old Time Pizza in Kearny, even regularly offer hikers a ride back to the trailhead!

Me & Dr. Pizza (trail angel) at the trailhead

Superior (AZT Mile 294) – Day 17

Resupply box: No
Hotel: No, but I did stay with a local trail angel
Days/miles since last resupply: 2 days / 36 miles
How I got to/from town: Trail angel (MJ)

I left Kearny with enough food to get me the full 80 miles to Roosevelt Lake. However, I kept hearing about a local trail angel in Superior named MJ. So even though I didn’t need to go into town to resupply, I decided to head into Superior anyway to check it out anyway. MJ’s place was hopping – with 10 AZT and GET hikers staying in her home or backyard! While I was there, I got to see the town’s small grocery store (Save Money Market) and a Family Dollar. I also ate dinner at a local restaurant called Porter’s Saloon & Grill, which had excellent margaritas and burgers, plus patio seating. The next morning, MJ pulled out all the stops and made the hikers homemade biscuits and gravy before driving us back to the trailhead. Talk about awesome!

Roosevelt Lake Marina (AZT Mile 338) – Day 20

Resupply box: Yes (Box #4)
Hotel Stay: No
Days/miles since last resupply: 4 days / 80 miles
How I got to/from town: Walked

This was the only complete resupply box I sent myself (i.e., one I didn’t plan to augment it with anything purchased locally). Roosevelt Marina sits just a short 0.25-mile side trail off the AZT, and most hikers send a robust resupply box here because it breaks up the 156-mile stretch between Superior and Pine. Roosevelt Marina has a restaurant with limited hours and a tiny convenience store with very few food items. The business’s biggest appeal is that it accepts and holds hikers’ resupply packages for a nominal fee ($10 at pick-up). The marina has picnic tables, and there’s even a small shed out near the parking lot just for AZT hikers to sort out their boxes. The “hiker shed” has a power strip inside it to charge electronics, as well as a robust hiker box with a lot of extra goodies that you can scrounge from other people’s overstuffed resupply packages.

Payson (AZT mile 376) – DayS 22

Resupply box: No
Hotel: Best Western Inn of Payson
Days/miles since last resupply: 2 days / 38 miles
How I got to/from town: Hitchhiked both ways

Payson is 33 miles off-trail from where the AZT crosses under Highway 87 near Sunflower, AZ. As a result, many hikers bypass it and continue into the Mazatzals without stopping. Payson is a medium-sized town with pretty much everything you might need, including plenty of restaurants, hotels, two grocery stores (Basha’s and Safeway), Walgreens, and a Walmart. There’s even a trail running store in town that sells Altras. The hardest part of this resupply was getting to/from town. It only took 10 minutes to catch a hitch on Highway 87 into Payson, but it took over an hour to find a ride back to the trailhead, despite the traffic heading south toward Phoenix. There’s no Uber available here, so you will definitely have to hitch or find someone willing to shuttle you.

Pine (AZT Mile 450) – Day 26

Resupply box: Yes (Box #5)
Hotel: Best Western Inn of Payson (again)
Days/miles since last resupply: 4 days / 74 miles
How I got to/from town: Hitchhiked both ways

This was my biggest resupply box of the six packages I mailed to the trail. That’s because I mailed myself a fresh pair of shoes, new socks, enough contact lenses to last the rest of my thru-hike, and some food and hygiene items. However, I didn’t send my package to the post office or even go into Pine, which has a small grocery called Ponderosa Market. Instead, I sent my box to THAT Brewery, which is less than a mile off-trail. Pine has no hotels, but hikers could pitch their tents on the brewery’s outdoor volleyball court after it closed at 8 pm. That didn’t sound very appealing to me, so I decided to hitch the 15 miles south on Highway 87 back to Payson with two fellow hikers. I returned to the same Best Western hotel I’d stayed in four days earlier (though there are 8 other motel options in town), and I did the rest of my resupply the next morning. Getting a hitch back north to Pine was super easy too. I barely put my thumb out before a couple in a pickup truck waved the other two hikers and me over and took us back to the trailhead.

Winslow (AZT Mile 487) – Days 28 & 29

Resupply box: No
Hotel: Motel 6 Winslow
Days/miles since last resupply: 2 days / 37 miles
How I got to/from town: Hitchhiked both ways

Winslow isn’t an AZT trail town, and I never expected to stop there. I left Pine with enough food to make it to Mormon Lake. Unfortunately, shortly after I climbed above the Mogollon Rim, an ugly snowstorm began heading in my direction. With high winds, temperatures expected to drop into the teens, and 5″ of fresh snow predicted, I got off trail at the Blue Ridge Trailhead and started to roadwalk east to the Mogollon Rim Ranger Station (with plans to ride the storm out there). Good fortune intervened, though. A nice German lady saw two fellow AZT hikers and me on the road, and she pulled over to give us a ride. Then she agreed to drive us 45 miles up the road to Winslow, AZ, where we ended up taking an unexpected zero indoors until the snowstorm passed. Once in town, we had access to fast food restaurants, a grocery store, and multiple hotel options. Getting back to the trail wasn’t nearly as easy, though. It took us more than 6 hours and three different hitches. As such, I wouldn’t recommend this as a town stop to other AZT thru-hikers.

Flagstaff (AZT Mile 562) – DayS 33 & 34

Resupply box: No
Hotel: Hotel Elev8 Flagstaff
Days/miles since last resupply: 4 days / 75 miles
How I got to/from town: Walked

Because I stopped unexpectedly in Winslow just four days earlier, I had more than enough food to skip Mormon Lake and hike straight into Flagstaff. Flagstaff was one of the resupply highlights of my thru-hike, and I took the “urban route,” which goes directly into town. Whole Foods and REI were within walking distance of my hotel. I also stopped at Lumberyard Brewing Co. for dinner and even got a haircut. I took a zero in Flagstaff just to enjoy the town and relax a bit, and I even had a giant margarita! If you take the “equestrian route” alternate instead of the AZT’s urban route, the trail detours around the east side of Flagstaff and away from the amenities, so your best place to get into town for your resupply is probably via Business Route 89.

Grand Canyon Village (AZT Mile 683) – Day 39

Resupply box: Yes
Hotel: Mather Campground
Days/miles since last resupply: 5 days / 121 miles
How I got to/from town: Walked

Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon was my longest food carry of the entire trail. Once I made it through the postholing madness on Humphreys Peak’s north side, the terrain was fairly easy, and I was able to push 20+ miles every day. Rather than resupply at Tusayan’s notoriously expensive general store, I held off an extra five miles until I reached the Grand Canyon’s South Rim. The Grand Canyon Village General Store is conveniently located right next to Mather Campground (which has walk-in hiker-biker camping). The store was surprisingly well-stocked, and even had produce, dairy, and meat. The general store also sells fuel canisters, and a small deli counter makes sandwiches and pizzas, too. But the real winner was the craft beer section, which sold single cans of about 40 different local beers! Hikers can walk directly to Grand Canyon Village using the side trail that bisects Mather Campground, or take the orange shuttle bus from the South Kaibab Trailhead.

NOTE: If you choose to mail a resupply pack to the Grand Canyon post office, there are two things to note: (1) the post office closes at 3:30 pm on weekdays and is CLOSED on weekends, and (2) the post office will only hold packages for up to 30 days due to space limitations.

Jacob Lake (AZT Mile 755) – Days 42 & 43

Resupply box: No
Hotel: Jacob Lake Inn
Days/miles since last resupply: 3 days / 72 miles
How I got to/from town: Walked

Like most hikers, I didn’t want to carry 100 miles of food through the Grand Canyon and up to the north rim. Thus, I planned to stop in Jacob Lake to grab a few supplementary food items as I headed toward the AZT’s northern terminus. As luck would have it, though, Jacob Lake became a true town stop for me. The trail from the north rim was still covered in waist-deep snow; I endured a day of sustained 30-40 mph winds with gusts to 65 mph, and another snowstorm was inbound as I roadwalked up Highway 67 to Jacob Lake as fast as my legs would carry me. The inn was very comfortable, and the attached diner was awesome, but the small general store was quite limited. It was adequate for the remaining 30 miles to the northern terminus, but I wouldn’t recommend SOBO hikers rely on the store’s inventory for more than a day or two of provisions.

Lessons Learned

I mailed myself 6 “partial” resupply boxes before I hit the trail. This seemed just about right, but it cost me a pretty penny. Mailing a medium-size flat rate box cost $16.10, while the large-size flat rate box currently costs $21.50. Luckily, I could cram all my resupplies (except one) into the less expensive medium box.

Each resupply had its own challenges, but here’s what went well:

Using a mix of General Delivery (post office) and private businesses. Mailing a resupply box doesn’t work out if you end up arriving in town on a weekend or after the post office closes. For example, I knew I’d likely arrive in the town of Pine, Arizona (~mile 450) around a weekend. But, I also knew THAT Brewery often held resupply packages for AZT hikers too. So I called ahead to make sure they were still willing to help out, and then mailed my resupply box directly to the brewery. AZT Hikers also often mail packages to Roosevelt Lake Marina (~mile 338), High Jinks Ranch (~mile 193), and Colossal Cave Mountain Park (~117) rather than of using the closest local post office.

Sending a box to Summerhaven (mile 181). Coming out of Tucson, the Arizona Trail takes a pretty challenging climb up Mt. Lemmon. This section of trail would have been so much harder if I’d left Tucson with a five days of food in my pack. Instead, I mailed a resupply box to Summerhaven containing most of my dinners for the 100-mile stretch between Tucson and Kearny. This lightened my load tremendously and made the climb up Romero Pass much more comfortable. There’s also a small general store in Summerhaven too, where you could definitely do a partial resupply if you’re a less picky eater than me.

Contact Lenses. I wear daily lenses to help me see, so I need to carry two lenses (one for each eye) for every day I’m on the trail. Six to seven weeks of contacts equals 100 individually packaged lenses! And each one must be carefully protected from the AZT’s extreme temperatures. I was unwilling to sleep with that many contact lenses tucked in the bottom of my sleeping bag each night. So, I opted to just carry 20 days worth of contact lenses instead, and mail another 15-20 days worth of lenses in two of my resupply boxes (Kearny and Pine). I’d definitely recommend this method to others with similar optical needs.

Stopping in Payson. Payson is not directly on the Arizona Trail. However, many hikers will hitch the 30-35 miles from Sunflower/Hwy. 87 (mile 379) into Payson. That’s because this medium-size town has all the amenities you could want (hotels, restaurants, pharmacies, and multiple grocery stores). It was also the perfect place to mentally and physically reset at the rugged Superstitions. I enjoyed it so much that I even hitched back there from Pine after completing the Mazatzals.

And here’s what I’d do differently:

Mail my new trail shoes sooner. Most experienced long-distance hikers know how long their trail shoes will last on an average trail. For me, a pair of Altra Lone Peaks lasts about 450-550 miles. But southern Arizona was a different beast entirely. I was ready for new trail shoes much earlier – thanks largely to how rocky the trail was between the Mexico border and the Superstitions. I wish I’d had my new shoes in Payson (mile 376) rather than Pine (mile 450) because by mile 400 my shoes were worn smooth and had no grip left.

Keep an inventory of what you sent. If you mail yourself resupply boxes before you begin the trail, do yourself a favor and make a list of what’s inside your package. You’ll almost certainly forget what you carefully crammed inside. Knowing what I had waiting in my next resupply box also helped me manage my food and cravings in the towns where I shopped locally. For example, I might lean toward buying macaroni & cheese or hummus with pita bread in one town if I knew I would be getting a resupply box with refried beans and vegetarian chili in the next one.

Mail fewer boxes. It cost me $102 to mail 6 resupply boxes. That cost is in addition to what I paid for the contents inside the packages. If I had to prioritize one location to send a box to, it would be Roosevelt Lake. Everything else was overkill.

Final Thoughts

I expected the Arizona Trail to be far more logistically challenging than it was. It’s not as easy to resupply as the Appalachian Trail, but it’s not nearly as austere as I’d envisioned for a desert trail. Other desert hikes (e.g., the Grand Enchantment Trail, the southernmost 700 miles of the Continental Divide Trail, the Hayduke Trail, etc.) are much more difficult. So this is the perfect trail to cut your teeth on if you are considering one of those more difficult trails.

In my opinion, the AZT Association did an excellent job of routing the trail through trail towns, and the local communities along the AZT are extremely hiker-friendly. For example, the IGA manager in Kearny asked me for feedback on what additional hiker foods the grocery store should carry. Hikers coming into town give them a seasonal bump in sales, and they’d rather hikers buy what they want/need locally than overwhelm their small post office with resupply boxes.

If you are thinking about hiking the Arizona Trail in 2023 or beyond, here are some other resources you might want to check out as you prepare for your thru-hike:

Volt & I at the northern terminus of the AZT

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