Third time is the charm! I attempted Tonto twice before. Last time, the temperatures on the Tonto platform were crushing and I made it from New Hance to South Bass, before calling it quits just 12 miles shy of the end. This year, the weather gods were in my favor and the temperatures dropped a bit for my run. I had four friends support me with food resupplies and joining me for various sections. Even with great conditions and support, completing the Tonto was still the hardest physical thing I have ever done.
Trip report:
I started down New Hance on Saturday 3/29 at 5:15am with a friend. I started west on the Tonto Trail at 8am, with my friend joining me for ~7 miles.
I had another friend meet me where the Tonto crosses Cottonwood Canyon with a food resupply. He had filtered 2L of water for me from the creek before I arrived. I ran the next section (~21 miles) solo. The week prior, I had stashed another liter of water in Grapevine Creek, so I topped off my bladder there.
Another friend met me at the South Kaibab junction just before 5pm and ran with me to Hermit. We had a 1 night permit for Hermit Campground. She stayed there for the night, while I started the Gems with my next "pacer" around 10:30pm on Saturday (who also gave me a food resupply and filtered water from Hermit Creek).
The Gems are always a bit soul crushing but we navigated them well, despite starting earlier than I expected and having more hours in the dark. We filtered water at Turquiose and Sapphire Canyons.
Another friend had a 2 night permit for the use area just beyond the South Bass junction and he was camped and waiting for us about 1 mile west of the junction. I got my final food/water resupply from him, and he joined me for the last 11 miles to Garnet Canyon. We arrived at the Tonto West "trailhead" at 5:20pm, ate some cookies, and then started our 11ish mile hike back to camp.