The Grand Enchantment Trail

03/24/25—05/02/25

I walked 837 miles from Phoenix, AZ, to Albuquerque, NM, over the course of 40 days. These were some of the hardest miles I’ve ever walked, completing this trail—recommitting to it every day, even when I was scared, exhausted, and feeling defeated—was the most challenging thing I’ve ever done.

The GET involves long stretches of cross country travel, plenty of burn-scar hiking, long stretches without any water, and plenty of opportunity for critical decision making in a wilderness setting. I traveled across the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts, traversed the Superstition Wilderness, White Canyon Wilderness, Aravaipa Wilderness, Pinaleño Mountains, Old Safford-Morenci Trail, Eagle Creek, Painted Bluffs Primitive Route, San Francisco Mountains, Gila Wilderness, Mogollon Mountains, Aldo Leopold Wilderness Area, Black Range, Apache Kid Wilderness, San Mateo Mountains, Magdalena Mountains, Manzano Mountains, Sandia Mountains and every dry basin in between.

My favorite parts of this trail were walking in the crystal clear waters of Aravaipa Creek, seeing a black bear scratching themself on a big ol’ Ponderosa tree along upper Diamond Creek, and a special encounter I had with a horny toad on the climb up Grassy Lookout.