The Arizona Trail holds a special place in the bikepack racing world. Travelling border to border on a primarily singletrack mountain bike route is nearly one of a kind. Some call it the hardest ultra endurance event in the world. With over 500 miles on singletrack, it is the longest singletrack bike race in the world.
In the 2026 edition of the event, we did not quite get the border to border experience, due to flooding on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, but the return to Flagstaff makes for a very similar experience, and a nearly identical in distance/elevation gain race course. The climb back into the mountains around Flagstaff makes for a cold experience similar to the North Kaibab Plateau on the northern reaches of the original AZTR800 route.
The Arizona Trail seems to undergo some changes just about every year, but the hard factor of the route remains consistent year after year. This is part of the calling back to the route. I enjoy these hard routes and enjoy the challenges every year. I have raced the AZTR800 4 years in a row, and each of these races was a very different experience. I enjoy going back every year to see how each race unfolds.
I have been part of every Arizona Trail Race 800 Grand Depart since the inception of the Lemmon Pusch (2023). Of these 4 grand departs, I have won 3, and set a course record in 2023. To me, the results stem from this trail catering to my strengths. I struggle in many bikepacking races from the typical challenges - breathing, sleep deprivation, cold, fatigue, etc. For whatever reason, these challenges seem to show themselves a bit less for me when out racing the AZTR.
The AZTR seems to play to my strengths. Hard, technical, steep and rocky. Not many road or easy miles available out there. I do well in the heat compared to others. All these race variables lean my direction in the AZTR. As the excitement built for the 800 race once again, I dialed in every part of my Revel Ranger over the course of 2026 to go fast on the Arizona Trail.
Day zero started at the Mexico-U.S. border. The trail in the southern reaches of the state was the most overgrown, and the most wet. The Canelos are notoriously rugged, but this year it was taken to an extreme I have not seen before. Every wash was full of water. Most swallowed the bike above the bottom bracket. One wash crossing required me to fold my bib shorts up on my thighs as high as possible to get across. Water was not of concern, you could get it almost everywhere. I saw more snakes, lizards and trail overgrowth than ever.
Rolling into Kentucky Camp as early as possible is always the goal. It is just over 70 miles into the race and a great spot to get water and take a few minutes to reset. Getting through most of the Las Colinas section of the AZT, just after Kentucky Camp before dark makes getting to Tucson on night one quite a bit easier. Las Colinas is an extended rough section of the trail and much easier to navigate during the day. I was a tad behind my 2025 pace here, but this was due to crazy trail conditions.
Arriving at the “Magic Green Gate” is a welcome sight after Las Colinas, as the trail trends downhill toward I-10. The surface changes up from rugged rock everywhere to a smoother dirt surface with some flow to the trail. After crossing I-10 the trail works its way past Colossal Cave and Saguaro National Park and into Tucson.
Arriving in Tucson around 11pm-midnight on night one means most of everything is closed, except for the nasty Circle K convenience store off Redington Road in East Tucson. Traditionally this Circle K has been the resupply for most top racers. I came to learn this year when I arrived, that this particular Circle K has been shut down. I understand why it has been closed, as it was always nasty, but it was a key resupply for the AZTR!
Luckily a mile or so further down the road is a brand new 24 hour Circle K. It really is nice inside and has a much better selection of hot dogs and honey buns. Plenty worth the extra bit of pedalling to score some higher quality donuts, and a properly functioning bathroom. There is even an outside outlet to score a charge while chowing down on 6 hot dogs and a mountain dew. What an upgrade over day old egg sandwiches at the previous location.
My goal for night one was making the climb to Molino. I slept in the last sandy wash on the Bellota segment for just over an hour before the Molino climb. A short sleep in the earlier stages of these races makes sense for me. I think in a race this long it is important to at least get a little rest every night.
Day 1 involves a ton of hike a bike. I think day 1 is one of the hardest days on the AZTR800 every year. It always involves a huge Push up Mt Lemmon, known as the Lemmon Pusch. I am usually a big fan of getting bike racing off of all roads, but in this case it is a bit extreme. Nonetheless, there are Arizona Trail markers on the Lemmon Pusch route, as it is the official Arizona Trail Route. I suppose the AZTR belongs on that route. We do this stuff to experience hard things anyway.
The second half of day 1 is a kick in the teeth. After doing the Lemmon Pusch to Summerhaven, you are rewarded with a super fun descent down Redridge, but immediately when you finish, you get a 1,500 ft hike a bike up Catalina Camp to Oracle Ridge. Once on Oracle Ridge you are rewarded with overgrowth and rough, steep hiking. Finally, at the end of the day, I reach Rice Peak, which marks the end of the tedious Oracle Ridge and starts the descent toward Oracle and the Cody Trail.
Getting to Cody Trail in the daylight on day 1 is always a relief to get Lemmon behind me, still in the daylight. Thinking about riding the lower elevation desert miles of the Black Hills segment all night for some reason excites me. I am able to stay on the bike for most of the Black Hills and find some flow out there. Dodging cholla all night seems to keep me awake on this segment. Maybe the stinging from cholla in the legs, hands and shoulders helps keep my brain working? Whatever it may be, the cholla pain seems to be minimal while racing, and more something else for my brain to think about.
I slept about three hours on night two in Bloodsucker Wash. It is always hard to pass through some very soft sand around 1am and not lay down for a while. The amount of snakes I was seeing had me a bit nervous, but I’ve never had an issue, and this night was no different. My head hit the dirt, and I was straight out for three hours. I had thoughts in my head of hitting Freeman Rd on night two, but the trail condition this year was making it nearly impossible. That goal will still be out there for another year in the AZTR800. Besides, being a bit behind schedule here meant dreams of Old Time Pizza at the ADOT spigot may come true.
Day two started early, around 430am. I traditionally like to ride a bit later and wake up at sunrise, but sometimes the timing just does not work out. The climb to Freeman Rd always drags on and on, but I got there and got water. The sun is always a motivation out there, as it dries out my sweaty nasty kit and fuels the soul.
Hot sun is usually how day two goes. It involves lots of sun exposure on the lowest elevation portions of the AZTR route. I do excel in this environment vs the opposite way around. The heat just makes all my joints and body parts move a bit faster/easier. Taking care of yourself here with electrolytes and continuous water/food consumption will pay dividends later. You will thank yourself on the climb to Picketpost.
Taking care of yourself on this segment may mean calling in a pizza at the top of Ripsey at 11am, which is exactly how this day went for me. Old Time Pizza in Kearney is famously known for ADOT spigot deliveries near the Kelvin Bridge. I was at the final drop down to the Kelvin Trailhead at 10:55am. I took a quick break and called in the pizza when they opened at 11am.
I arrived at the ADOT spigot around 1145am, and two minutes later, my food showed up. I was sure to tip the driver extremely well, as I would pay any price for this greasy food out there. I devoured ¾ of the large pizza and half the bread sticks. I downed a 2 liter of coke and refilled the container with ADOT spigot water for the long carry to the next rain collector. I strapped the two liter to my San Util Saguaro vest and drank the entire container within the next 10 hot miles. I packed the pizza and bread sticks into my frame bag, leaking grease all over the bag. Yummy. At least the zippers were now nice and lubed up.
I topped out the climb from Martinez Canyon around sunset and took a few minutes to eat my last bit of pizza and enjoy a sunset before switching to night mode for the traverse/climbing to the Rain Collector/Picketpost. The final bit of this section from the collector to Picketpost always drags on and on, but eventually I hit the final descent toward Picketpost Trailhead and found John Schilling (AZTR Race Director) waiting for me at the trailhead (AZTR300 finish).
I was the first to roll into Picketpost around 10pm and sat down for a nice conversation with John. He snapped some photos and then I went and sat down on the toilet in the bathrooms for a while. I figured I could make the gas station in Queen Valley that night. There is an outside outlet there where I knew I could get a much needed charge on my Exposure light.
I slept a bit longer at Queen Valley, closer to 5 hours. Day three started here, with me looking forward to a resupply at Gold Canyon. We had a bit longer of a ride in front of us to Queen Valley this year, as some public land was shut down in the Gold Canyon trail system. A bit of hard singletrack was added to get around the closure. I was really happy I fueled off the pizza yesterday.
I eventually made Gold Canyon mid morning, going straight for the Bashas. Wyatt from bikepacking.com was there to do a little documentation, which was fun. Soup, bread, and potato salad all went down the hatch immediately upon arrival to Bashas. I then went back and shopped for the long carry to Jakes Corner. Pumpkin cookies from Bashas are one of my favorites. I packed eight of them among many other baked goods.
Day three was another day in the heat getting around Phoenix on the somewhat slow trails. I kept moving pretty well and made it in time for a meal at Saguaro Lake. The restaurant has new owners and they were big fans of what I was doing. Super nice people and a great stop to top off on fuel/water. I topped off the tank with a reuben sandwich, about 6 refills of sprite, and fries to go.
I made decent time getting up ontop of Four Peaks and made the descent that night to Sunflower. Holy overgrown. One of the worst of the route. I got through it and decided to sleep in the tunnel under the highway at Sunflower. It was a bit warmer in there, and the highway noise was minimal. I think I got about 4 hours of sleep in there.
Day four brought excitement. Seeing the Mogollon Rim from the Mazatzal Mountains is a very motivating sight. As I pedalled my way over to the Gold Ridge descent I daydreamed of pedalling the trail in the Pines on the other side of the rim. Gold Ridge is a riot of a descent and I usually pin it, thinking of all the food I can eat at Jakes Corner, just up the road.
I made the stop at Jakes fairly quick. Getting enough food in to feel replenished and packing just enough to potentially make the store in Pine tonight. I knew the climb into Payson was going to take a bit longer as a new longer route was used this year to make the climb into Payson. It did seem to drag on forever, but I do enjoy the new route to Payson. It reduces time on the pavement/highway, always a good thing.
I arrived into Payson around 4pm, knowing that the store in Pine closes at 9pm. I wanted 45 minutes to shop in Pine, so I figured I had around four hours to make Pine from Payson. I quickly stopped at the Arby's in Payson, downed two meals, and a Jamocha shake. I rolled out of Payson, Jamocha shake in hand, headed for Pine with about 3 hours to get there for shopping.
I was making good time on the rough dirt road to Pine when my rear tire gave a huge hissing noise and panic took over as I went to find my tire plugs. I tried to stay calm as the tire went flat while I was fumbling around with bags to find those darned plugs. By the time I did get the plug in the tire, the tire was flat (usually how it goes!). I aired it up pretty quick with my SIlca electric pump and it seemed to be holding just fine. Of all the places, the tire puncture happened while I was hiking the bike up one of those steep loose rocky climbs to Pine.
I still rolled into Pine right on time and had plenty of time to shop. I bought more than I thought I would need. The carry from Pine to Flagstaff is one of the longest of the entire race. Having extra food always pays off. Eat it and use it for extra fuel. The store in Pine closed and I went next door to the tavern to use the bathroom and organize the stuff on my bike. I left the tavern with a mountain dew and had high hopes of making it far into the Highline Trail that night.
I made it about halfway to Washington Park from Pine and called it a night. There was a section that looked like good sleeping and I was tired. This actually turned out to be one of my colder and sleepless nights. The ground must have been a bit wet, as I woke up shortly after I fell asleep shivering. I could feel the cold coming from the ground. Racing with just a bivy and down jacket does get pretty cold.
I got up before sunrise the morning of day five, excited to top out the Mogollon Rim. The trail into Washington Park is a ton of fun, some machine built flowy singletrack. I filled up my water before topping out the rim and continued on through the pines. Along the way, I found a fresh, like new Darn Tough sock laying in the middle of the trail. Of course, I stopped, sniffed it, and picked it up. It was like new! It smelled fresh. Naturally, I took one of my socks off and put the freshie on. Sure beats a five day old race sock that smells like dead fish. Now, if only the person ahead would drop the mate to it, I’d be completely set.
It was a beautiful sunny afternoon up on the rim. I enjoyed the warmth in the trees while I had it, knowing that that night would be one of the coldest of the entire race. I made it to the highway crossing before Mormon Lake around sunset. This highway crossing, and all the low spots around Mormon Lake get really cold into the evening and through the night. I was quickly riding in most of the clothing I had packed on the bike, to stay warm.
That night, the night of day five, I decided to try a small detour over to the Pine Grove Campground bathrooms. I was really hoping they would be unlocked. I rolled up, eyeing the port-o-pottys outside the bathroom structure. My heart sank. This must mean they locked up the bathrooms for the season. It was around midnight. I checked trackleaders, I had around a 60 mile lead. I did not want to stress about sleeping in the “No Camping Zone” around Flagstaff.
I’ve spent many freezing nights on Anderson Mesa, which lies just ahead on the trail. For some reason, I thought it would be smart to sleep right next to the bathrooms at Pine Grove. I pulled the bivy, organized some stuff, and laid down for the night. I woke up shortly after laying down just shivering. It was real cold this time. I almost panicked and got up. That was even colder. I went back into the bivy, pulled the drawstring tight over my head and shivered most of that night. It was here I decided, never again will I go no quilt on the AZTR800.
I laid there in my bivy as the sun came up. Dreading putting that wet freezing chamois back on. It was at this moment I remembered why events like the Colorado Trail Race (CTR) are so hard for me. The real cold. I cannot handle the real cold. I will take 100 degree temperatures all day, but as soon as that real cold hits, I do not want to move. Luckily on the AZTR800, it is usually just two days of this. Don’t complain about the heat, guys! The cold is worse.
Getting moving the morning of day six was hard. My joints were moving slow in the cold. Luckily, once atop Anderson Mesa, the sun came out and warmed everything up really fast. I was quickly pulling off layers and moving faster, once again. I felt a bit like a cold blooded lizard. Mormon Lake area turns me into a lizard man every year!
Getting to Flagstaff takes a while as it is all the way around to East Flagstaff. I ate my last bag of chips, licking the bag clean to make sure I consumed every last bit of grease, and made my way through the Walnut singletrack area over to I-40. I arrived in Flagstaff around 12:30pm absolutely starving. I pedaled directly over to Marys cafe, ordered two meals, a mountain dew and a gigantic homemade cinnamon roll to go. They were even nice enough to cut up the cinnamon roll into 4 pieces and wrap it individually for easier packing onto the bike. The places I visit along the AZTR route are all usually very intrigued with what I am doing and want to help. I never expect anything, but talking to people and being friendly seems to go a long way in all these types of events.
I did my usual resupply at the gas station next to Mary’s Cafe. The employees informed me that new owners bought it recently and were not stocking items very well. It was apparent the gas station was lacking. I couldn’t even find the day-old donuts in there! Hostess donettes it was for the carry to Tusayan, what a bummer.
I topped out the climb to AZ Snowbowl just after the sunset, but was still a bit light out. The temperature drops fast up here and I quickly got the puffy jacket on for the descent toward Cedar Ranch. There were quite a few tourist people out for the sunset. There's always a quite annoying amount of people around the AZ Snowbowl area.
I didn’t ride too far into the late night before making it to one of the warmer singletrack areas in the trees around the South Kaibab forest boundary. One warm spot felt really good, and with a nearly 70 mile lead, I decided to stop for the night. I slept nearly 6 hours that night. I got moving as the sun was about to come up, eagerly wanting to get to the Grand Canyon.
The morning of day seven was quite a bit warmer than the previous morning. I made decent time to the watch tower at Grandview and sat down for a quick snack before making the final push into Tusayan. What a gorgeous day approaching the Grand Canyon. I made my way into the Grand Canyon Visitor Center to grab my Grand Canyon pack and some food. After a large resupply at the General Store, I was pedalling my way through the National Park and over to the South Kaibab Trailhead.
I arrived at the South Kaibab Trailhead around peak usage of the trail for tourists. Many were asking me what I was doing. At one point I simply had to tell them I can’t talk, and needed to focus. Getting the strapping correct on the bike is really important on the hike to prevent unwanted movement from everything on the back.
I made it down to Tonto Trail at the Tipoff as the sun was setting, and began the traverse to Havasupai Gardens as it was getting dark. I took an extended break on Tonto to down some chocolate covered almonds and a 16oz can of mountain dew. The traverse over to Havasupai Gardens is significantly easier than the long flat after Phantom Ranch on the original AZTR route. Not saying any of this is easy, but it did go by a bit quicker.
The climb up Bright Angel Trail gets incrementally steeper and harder as you approach the South Rim. The blisters on my feet got worse and worse. I really need to figure out some better footwear for this to prevent blisters. I will happily take anyones advice on carrying a 50lb+ load on the back. I’ve done it four times, and it continues to suck.
I topped out the South Rim before 1am and immediately got my shoes off. I was hoping the bathroom may be open, but of course, everything was locked up at the South Rim. I reluctantly pulled my bivy and went to sleep in the bushes after assembling my bike and doing some organization.
I heard people talking around 5am and got up before someone asked me what I was doing. I was hoping a coffee shop or something may be open early but of course, nothing opened until 7am. I did a large resupply in Tusayan for this reason. I knew I had plenty of food to make the finish and hike Humphreys, but hot food is always more appealing. Water was the issue here. Most of the water was off at the South Rim due to the supply being ruined from the floods earlier in the year. Luckily, I went inside some of the hotels that were open, and found two vending machines. They took credit cards! I bought five waters, and two dr peppers. I downed one dr pepper and carried the other. Thanks Coca-Cola.
I made good time on the smoother stuff getting back to Cedar Ranch for the climb back into the mountains, back to AZ Snowbowl. I was eager to get half the Humphreys hike done in the daylight. As I started climbing up from Ceder Ranch, I reached into my frame bag for my dr pepper. My heart sank as I felt wet clothing in the bag and an empty can. I should’ve learned by now, sodas don’t carry well on the bike in a can. I tied some of my clothing to my handlebars to try and let it dry so it could still keep me warm in the night.
I took some caffeine pills on the climb instead and made really good time getting to the base of Humphreys. I quickly jumped into my hiking clothing, locked up the bike, grabbed my puffy jacket and made my way up to Humphreys Peak. The sun was shining through the trees and I was stoked to go get on top of Arizona.
About halfway up Humphreys, near the tree line was when I saw crazy dark clouds off to the south and thunder rolling in. I switched my phone off of airplane mode and a text came in from John Schilling (Race Director), “Might want to check the radar.” Yikes. There was a major storm about to hit. The temperature up there dropped like crazy. I didn’t think this was in the forecast, but in the mountains, anything can happen.
I turned around, bolting back down the rocky trail as fast as I could to hopefully get back to my bike for the little bit of rain gear I did have. I did not make it in time. The rain came in hard and my puffy jacket was quickly soaked. I was slightly alarmed as the sun was going to set and I was now wet. I got back on the bike as fast as I could and rode like crazy down the descent toward Flagstaff. It was cold, and continuously raining. The rocks were wet making the riding not very efficient or fun. It poured rain the entire ride to the finish until the Rocky Ridge trail (2 miles from the finish). I was soaked, but also so happy to be greeted by John, Brandon, and Wyatt. We chatted for a while and I ate half a bag of cheetos John had brought. I was able to finish the ~866 mile route (strava total) in 8 days and 14 hours. I am happy with how most of everything went this year, and am fired up to keep racing the AZTR in future years.
- Alex Shultz, Winner of the 2026 AZT 300 and 800
