Hiking Tucson to Phoenix

[cedarstay]

Howdy,
I'm looking to do about a 100mi hike and a section from Tucson (maybe Italian Spring) to Phoenix (Reavis Canyon) looks like it might fit the bill. I've never done more than a 5mi hike. I've camped twice in my life. So any advice on where to get used gear or rent it and general things you need, what to look out for, best access points, warning, etc would be massively appreciated.

[cavaroc]

I think it's great you want to tackle something as ambitious as this with only 5 mile hikes under your belt, but I would highly recommend doing a few more overnight trips before attempting a 100 mile hike. Multi-night trips are an entirely different beast than a standard day-hike. Even a single overnight backpacking trip is a lot more involved than a day hike. You're also considering one of the hardest stretches in terms of water availability which adds extra complications. My advice would be to take a step back and spend the next year or so getting more comfortable with single overnight trips to understand what kind of preparation and physical ability is required.

[nonot]

I would agree with the recommendation you try a few shorter trips, starting with one night trips, to simply get used to backpacking. One night trips are more tolerant to beginners since you aren't forced to continue to deal with mistakes night after night. Plus, on your first few trips you will be very sore since you exercise muscles that you probably haven't before.

If you are interested in renting gear, places like REI and summit hut offer rental programs and can set you up with gear that is of good quality. Buying used gear can be dangerous, some people try to pawn off stuff that is completely worn out, but you can find deals on places like ebay from people that bought gear and never used it or only used it once. Sometimes the sales of new products end up rivaling lightly used gear prices. Buyer beware though.

Some things for a beginner to think about:

Do you have a quality camping and sleeping setup: something that will keep you dry if it rains, insulated from the ground, and warm all night? (I'm assuming you are avoiding the snow.)
Do you have a cooking setup and the cooking procedure down for the meals you want to make, did you prepare everything at home for food prior to the trip?
Do you have a way to safely resupply yourself with water along the way, are you familiar with where the water sources are?
Do you have your clothes and layering figured out? Are you going to avoid being too hot, too cold, or too sweaty?
Do you have preparations for keeping your feet clean and dry for the entire trip, do you have anything to treat your feet?

and most importantly

Do you have all the above figured out without a crushing amount of weight that you have to carry around, so you can enjoy yourself?

[sandyfortner]

Good advice from the 2 previous posts. So you are not here in AZ, you live in CO - is that correct? I'm guessing that there are local hiking clubs in your area that do weekly day hikes and some over-nighters. They would be a great resource to get you started. Once you have an idea about gear that works for you in general, then those of us who live in the desert that you will hike through can provide some "make sure you have" and "you really don't need" kind of advice since alpine backing and desert packing have their own special items. But no matter where you backpack, you can sort out water filtration / purification, sleeping pads, lighting, cooking, base layer clothing, etc. Also, if you're in AZ for a trip, post on this forum and see if you can tag along with someone for an overnight trip - just to get your feet wet - or in our case - DRY - and experience desert backpacking. Glad that you're looking at the Arizona Trail! It's a beauty!!