A long-distance hike usually begins with logistics, and this one was no different. Two hikers rolled out of Page, Arizona, on an autumn morning, loaded into a Jeep driven by a local couple who have lived in the area for over 30 years, and bounced down a washed-out dirt road to the Arizona Trail's northern terminus near the Utah border. From there, the real work started immediately: a 1,000-foot climb out of the canyon on switchbacks through the Vermilion Cliffs, packs heavy with food and up to six litres of water apiece.

Water is the defining challenge of the trail's northern stretch. Sources are sparse and unpredictable, so the hikers tanked up in town and planned their day around a source 10 to 13 miles in. That source turned out to be a pleasant surprise — a bank of large shipping containers collecting rain runoff, a low-tech but clever storage system for a landscape where rain can vanish for weeks. An evening concrete tub (slightly green, by the hiker's own admission) made a second fill-up possible before camp.

The first day's terrain defied the common image of the Arizona Trail as pure desert. After the initial climb, the route crossed Marble Canyon ridgelines with wide views, then passed through surprisingly forested country in the Kaibab National Forest — the writer compared the open prairie there to the Continental Divide Trail. The flip side of that variability showed up quickly too: a fully burnt section where only charred tree skeletons remained and the soil had turned to dust. Even there, wildflowers were poking through, and the area is slowly recovering. Locals in the Jeep also mentioned last year's major North Rim fire and recent flash flooding, two events that have clearly reshaped this stretch.

The practical details matter if you're considering this trail yourself. Days shorten fast in autumn — the hikers were caught off guard by an early sunset and had to finish the last miles in the dark before cowboy camping at a cleared logging spot. Sixteen-odd miles and three water sources later, day one ended at a scenic overlook as the sun dropped, which is about as good as a first day gets.

Why should a traveller care even if an 800-mile thru-hike isn't on the cards? Because Page makes a superb base for sampling this country without the commitment. The trailhead drive doubles as a scenic tour, the Vermilion Cliffs and Marble Canyon views are accessible on day hikes, and Page itself has the practical infrastructure — grocery stores, gear shops, hearty breakfasts like the huevos rancheros fuel here — that gateway towns often lack. Local shuttle operators like the couple featured here are essential for the terminus run, since no rental car survives that road happily. Whether you're a thru-hiker starting a weeks-long odyssey or a traveller who wants a taste of the trail's first miles, this corner of northern Arizona delivers far more variety — cliffs, prairie, forest, canyon — than the desert stereotype suggests.

Story via The Trek.