Trailblazers are ready to hike the AZT. [photo by Gregory]

Patti, Matt .

Arizona National Scenic Trail (AZNST) Hike #1
Friday 10-24-25 Montezuma Pass to Mexico via Yaqui Ridge
Saturday 10-25-25 Miller Peak via Crest Trail
Sunday 10-26-26 Canelo Hills Pass to Meadow Valley
This first of ten AZNST hike weekends included two hotel nights at the Comfort Suites in Sierra Vista with the Huachua Mountains as a backdrop West of Sierra Vista. Although the turnout was small, the day time temperature in the 70’s with full sunshine and three different hiking trail types was an exceptional experience. Although driving between Tucson and Phoenix was tedious, as highway 10 had multiple accidents and delays both Friday and Sunday, this did not force any changes in the hike schedules.

Greg half way down Yaqui Trail to the border.

All three hikes are part of the AZNST system which covers 850 miles in Arizona between Mexico and Utah. The first hike Friday required driving the narrow dirt park road up to the Montezuma Pass TH from the closed visitor’s center. This had hairpin turns and cliff drop offs to scare anyone, but the views quickly were the payoff. After parking and a restroom stop at the top, we headed downhill on the Yaqui Ridge trail about 1.8 miles to the border 600 ft below while enjoying the valley views and distant mountains with the afternoon shadows spreading out. We saw the partially built tall metal border wall there, next to the older broken barbed wire fencing and the Border marker #102. The return back up took longer as we stopped often for some extra breaths on the numerous switchbacks. This in and out hike was overall 3.6 miles and hiking time was about 3.5 hrs. A great finish for the day having driven on highways for most of the day.

Border marker, south end of the AZT

On Saturday we returned early to the same TH and began our quest to climb from the 6500 ft elevation Montezuma Pass TH to the 9500 ft elevation point Miller Peak via the Crest trail. This round trip is a bit over 9 miles and we hiked almost all of it taking 6.5 hrs for our in and out round trip. We skipped the very last spur to the peak as the views along the way were already so fantastic that we did not need the final scramble. The trail climbs up for about 1 hr from the Montezuma TH and then requires up and down sections along the mountain peaks for approximately another 2 hrs, with rest stops taking about 0.5 hr so that total time is 6.5 to 7 hrs. Although some leaves were turning, most foliage remained green. We passed several groups and individuals hiking the trail including one backpacker hiker.
The valley views East and West forced us to stop and enjoy frequently. Trail was easy to follow all the way and no animals were encountered beyond lizards. An unusually relaxing hike considering the elevation gain and distance involved. A celebratory dinner at The Texas Roadhouse with filet mignon and ribs completed the day.

Rock face on Crest Trail.

Sunday required driving all around the Huachua Mountains from the East side at Sierra Vista to the West side to arrive at the Canelo Hills Pass TH. Several confusing dirt roads had to be sorted out before ending up correctly at the TH. This hike was kept to a short distance hike because of the long drive home later in the day. The elevation was only a few hundred feet as the trail passed around and over hills and down through dry stream beds between the hills. Lots of tall grass and foliage leaned over the trail path resulting in nuisance needles in our socks. The trail was easy to do and the turn around point was Meadow Valley, a significantly lower elevation valley surrounded by the rolling hills. This in and out trip was around 3 hrs. With this completed, we then headed homeward to Phoenix.

Meadow Valley in the distance on the AZNST Canelo Hills Pass Trail.