On this Veterans Day, we honor those who served and continue to serve our country. Your selfless sacrifice is sincerely appreciated. May you feel the love of an entire nation today, and everyday.

Special acknowledgement to all the veterans who use the Arizona Trail for personal adventures, nature therapy, and the veterans who give back through volunteerism.

If you know an Arizona veteran who would benefit from rewarding outdoor experiences with other veterans, encourage them to join our AZT VETS (Arizona Trail Veterans Engagement and Stewardship) program. Weekend and multi-day outings are offered throughout the year as volunteer and paid opportunities. Learn more online here, and follow them on Instagram @aztrailvets

Rollovers on the Coconino National Forest

Thanks to the hard work of ATA volunteers, five new raised cattleguards (aka rollovers) have been installed on the Coconino National Forest in northern Arizona. These locally fabricated steel structures have been designed in consultation with ranchers and recreational program managers. Rollovers are ideal for hikers and mountain bikers on the Arizona Trail, and there are traditional wire gates nearby for equestrians.

Anyone who has spent time on trails in the West knows there are thousands of miles of fences strung across public lands to manage cattle. On some segments of the Arizona Trail, you encounter a fence every mile. Each one of those fence crossings requires a gate of some kind for the public to safely enjoy the trail. Over the past decade the ATA has been replacing wire gates with steel structures that will last for at least 50 years.

Less time struggling to open and close wire gates, or gates too narrow for pack stock (which require unpacking the animal and repacking it on the other side of the gate), or stopping to open a gate and close it behind you means more quality time on the trail and the nature immersion it offers.

Sponsorship for rollovers and super gates is available, and we recognize donors with small steel plaques permanently bolted onto the gate. Contact the ATA if you’re interested in helping fund a future gate.

AZT in a Day Results

For the past five years, we’ve invited the Arizona Trail community to help us complete the entire length of the Arizona Trail in 24 hours through our ambitious AZT in a Day initiative. We are excited to report that on October 8, at least 414 people participated. There were 318 hikers, 4 runners, 47 mountain bikers, and 15 equestrians. At least 96 family and friends were there to provide shuttles, and 217 people donated to the cause. We had a wide range of ages represented, with the youngest only two weeks old.

As a community, we logged 3,380 trail miles in 24 hours. That’s enough miles to cover the Arizona Trail’s 800-mile length over four times. Overgrowth and thunderstorms left a good portion of the trail difficult to traverse. Several hikers reported that the weather kept them from their sections, which added greatly to the difficulty of completing the day’s challenge and keeping spirits high.

While we wish we could report that "we did it," we ended up with a few miles not covered within a remote wilderness area on the Tonto National Forest. So we are confident that together we completed 99% of AZT in a Day! If you were among the many folks out on the trail on October 8, thank you!

We’d also like to express our sincere gratitude to Copperstate Farms for sponsoring this year’s event, and all the businesses who donated raffle prizes, including REI Co-op; Erem Desert Footwear; Desert Mountain Desperados Trail Scouts; Creedbilt; Just Roughin’ It; and the
North Kaibab Lodge.

Please save the date for Saturday, October 7, 2023 when we attempt to make history by covering all 800 miles. We can’t do it without you!

Thanks to our friends at the Jim Click Automotive Team, we’re excited to encourage you to purchase tickets for this year’s raffle for a new Ford Bronco, airfare for two to anywhere in the world, and $5,000 cash. Tickets are available for $25 each or 5 for $100 and will only be on sale online until December 9. Over half our tickets have been sold, so don't wait!

• Grand Prize: 2022 Maverick Lariat Hybrid
• 2nd Prize: Two round-trip, first-class airline tickets to anywhere in the world
• 3rd Prize: $5,000 cash

Get your tickets through the ATA Store here.

The best part is that 100% of the proceeds benefit the Arizona Trail Association, when purchased through the ATA Online Store. Other nonprofit organizations are selling tickets, too, and keep the proceeds from tickets sold.

Raffle tickets will be mailed to you as soon as your online payment is received. The drawing will be held on December 15, 2022. You do not need to be present to win…Mr. Click will call you if you’re one of the winners. Tickets are only available for sale to Arizona residents.

Good luck!

Clay Showalter Hired as Youth Outreach & Education Coordinator for Northern Arizona

In May, the ATA was fortune enough to bring Clay Showalter onto our staff. Clay had recently finished thru hikes of the Florida Trail and Arizona Trail, and was looking for the next big adventure. With a background in outdoor and environmental education, he is a perfect fit for our Seeds of Stewardship program!

Clay fell in love with Arizona’s diverse landscapes and people while thru-hiking the AZT in 2022 and is excited to bring over a decade of field experience across six states and five countries to his work in Northern Arizona. “It has been a particularly challenging period for young people and adolescents are capable of much more than what they believe they can do and what society tells them they can do,” says Clay. “Outdoor education has never been more urgently needed to empower youth, build community, and sow seeds of advocacy and stewardship.”

His first outing was with a group of indigenous youth from the STAR School to Walnut Canyon National Monument and the Arizona Trail on the Coconino National Forest. To date, 79 meaningful outdoor programs have been scheduled, with 337 students each participating in at least five outings during the 2022-23 school year. Six new school partnerships involving ten classrooms have been established, and programs within three existing schools have doubled in number.

You can follow Clay and the ATA’s Seeds of Stewardship on Instagram @aztsos.

AZT Visors Now Available

For those of us who prefer visors to hats, we’ve got a limited edition visor you may be interested in! Keep the sun off your face, and let your hair go wild. The strap back closure makes it easy to micro adjust. This navy blue washed cotton visor from Champion features a simple golden AZT logo that glistens in the sun. You’ll be at home among the aspens and cottonwoods.

Features:

100% Cotton material
Adjustable metal closure
Machine Washable
Pre-curved bill
AZT embroidered logo

Get yours for $27 each in the AZT Online Store while they last.

Pivot Cycles is a proud supporter of the Arizona Trail Association.

Pivot Cycles manufactures some of the world's most innovative mountain bikes in the world -- right here in Arizona. Unlike their bikes, Pivot Cycles believes that culture cannot be engineered: it grows from within. When Chris Cocalis founded Pivot Cycles in 2007, he had a vision for a company committed to designing and building the world’s best performing bicycles. Engineers, designers, athletes, industry veterans, and storytellers joined him one by one. The Pivot Cycles vision became a shared vision, and the mutual desire to push the mountain biking performance envelope tied them all together in a way that can only be described as, well, a family.

Pivot Cycles is Ponderosa Pine Level Partner of the Arizona Trail Association.
Please support the local businesses that support the ATA.

Copyright © 2022 Arizona Trail Association. All rights reserved.

Arizona Trail Association
738 N. 5th Avenue, Suite 201
Tucson, Arizona 85705
www.aztrail.org

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