Arizona Trail, Desert Southwest (CO,AZ,UT,NM), Trip Reports » Kentucky Camp Overnighter

I just finished an overnighter on the AZT, Pistol Hill road to Kentucky Camp, and back the next day. 90 miles total, 45 each way, 14,521 feet of climbing. The one-way distance is 26 miles as the crow flies – the trail is so winding it almost doubles the mileage! The  routing can be a little frustrating, especially with tired legs; up one ridge, down the next, repeat often, and throw in some hike-a-bike. The further south you go, the more rugged it gets.

I didn’t take many pics, but here’s a few. It’s very dry this time of year (carry at least a gallon of water), but the air is cool…

Incredibly blue skies…

The East side of the Santa Ritas…

A little rest in the shade…

A good way to get ready for an endurance race, 24hop!

A word of warning, there appears to be a beehive next to the trail, just up the canyon from Hidden Valley Ranch, right where the trail crosses the canyon. I heard the buzz of a hive on the way down, and on the way back I got stung on the face as I passed by. When I realized what happened, I rode on quickly for a mile before I stopped to pull out the stinger. A small mirror would have come in handy. Don’t mess with the bees here, they can be deadly. If you get stung, leave the area immediately.

Someone should offer a shuttle service to Kentucky Camp; this would be an awesome hard core day ride. Tucson is getting to be quite the mountain biking destination; you could visit here in the winter and do an epic ride in a new area every day for a week! Kudos to the local activists, keep up the good work.