Customer Reviews

Arizona Trail: The Official Guide

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This guidebook will look great on your coffeetable, but using it in the field will probably get you into trouble! There are a few flaws that the book posseses that I would like to point out. The book is way to too produced and fluffy with pretty pictures to be conveniently carried on the trail. Because of the way that the book is set up it cannot be easily changed and updated on a yearly basis and might I add that in 2005 (when the book was published) it was already out of date. The Arizona trail is not yet complete, well designed, or well routed, and therefore will change on a yearly basis. New trail has recently been built around the I-10 area; there is no tread around the Gila River, or north of Flagstaff; the Mazatzals have been severely burned which makes hiking and camping a major challenge, and the book fails to mention this.
The water information in the book leaves much to be desired. It may mark a water source on the map but if you don't read carefully in the text you might miss the note that it is highly unreliable (by the way, a "highly unreliable" in the book means that there is no chance in hell you will find water). If you rely solely on this book to guide you along the AZT you will end up in trouble. This book is a good reference to use, but you must do a lot of research before venturing out. I highly recommend Dave Hick's website and all of its links, as well as the Arizona Trail Association's website.

Long distance hiking trails are truly beginning to proliferate about the country. Besides the well known Appalachian and Pacific Crest Trails, the Bay Area Trail, Tahoe Rim Trail, Florida Trail and many others are in the works. Guide books are already available for most of these, but of all that I have seen this book by Tom Jones is simply the best. It has the best photography, maps, and concise trail descriptions of any of the guides out there including the 3 volume PCT handbooks from Wilderness Press. That's saying a lot.

This book divides the 772 mile Arizona Trail into 43 manageable sections. Strong dayhikers will probably be able to do every one of them with a car shuttle. Those of us inclined to a more leisurely pace, or those planning to "thru hike" the trail will find excellent descriptions of potential camping spots and water locations. Each section begins with an overview noting mileage (and the more subjective "quality miles"), distance to and from the Utah and Mexico borders, which portions of the trails are open to mountain bikers and other use restrictions, and the government agency responsible for that section of trail. A well written trail description, complete with GPS measurements for important locations follows. Every chapter also includes sharp color photos and detailed topographical maps.

I enjoy Arizona and have hiked extensively in the Phoenix, Tucson, Flagstaff and Grand Canyon areas. Jones's book has whetted my appetite to explore more of this wonderful and diverse state on this trail. It is a great planning guide and heartily recommended. My lone caveat is that parts of the trail are still being constructed, and others will soon be rerouted. Readers should expect a new edition every couple years. Hopefully they will all be as good as the initial one.

I found this book very helpful in planning my up coming hike of a section of the Arizona Trail.