Route: Arizona Trail (AZ)

"The Arizona Trail is an 800+ mile recreation trail from Mexico to Utah that connects mountain ranges, canyons, deserts, forests, wilderness areas, historic sites, trail systems, points of interest, communities, and people. It serves dayhikers, backpackers, equestrians, mountain bicyclists, trail runners, nature enthusiasts, cross-country skiers, snowshoers, and mule and llama packers." (From www.aztrail.org) The AZT is designated as a National Scenic Trail. Currently, just about 35 of the trail's 800+ miles remain to be linked, as indicated on this map.

An email from the anonymous previous self-supported FKT holder gives a run-down of some previous FKTs on the AZT:

"In 2007 I bested Li Banfors time of 35 days and some change. I am not sure Li was going for a record, but when I set out in 2007 that was the time I was hoping to best. April 8th 2007 - May 7th 2007 with a time of 30 days 7hrs 30 minutes. This was record was broken spring of 2009 by Matt Signore aka Worldwide with a time of 28 days 22hrs. I chatted with Matt after the trip to verify and I felt comfortable with the fact that he had indeed walked an unsupported speed record of the AZT." (A link to the hiker's AZT trail journal was given, but the journal has been removed.)

The anonymous hiker went back to the AZT in the spring of 2011 and demolished Signore's time, completing the trail in 21d14h16m. His trip was mostly classic thru-hiker style, but he literally ran for the first 4 days with ultralight gear before switching to backpacking. He also walked to all resupply points. (A link to a complete TR on the hiker's blog had been given, but has been removed.)

All previous FKTs on the AZT were smashed by Michael Versteeg, who ran the route in fully supported style in 15d22h39m, Oct. 3-19, 2016. This trip was reported on Versteeg's Twitter feed, and tracked on trackleaders.com.

Interestingly, Heather Anderson was on the AZT at the same time as Versteeg, going in her typical thru-hiker (self-supported) style. She completed the route with a new FKT for that style, and new women's overall FKT of 19d17h9m (SoBo), from 4:17pm on Oct. 7 to 9:26am on Oct. 27, 2016. Her lengthy, detailed report is here.

On December 20, 2015, Kathy & Ras Vaughan completed the first known out & back (yo-yo) of the AZT in a total time of 93d6h22m and using classic thru-hiker style (self-supported, no rides). The couple started at the Mexico border on September 18 and reached the Utah border on November 4. More details are given below by Ras Vaughan.