Mogollon Rim Trail – 2021

Why the Mogollon Rim Trail (MRT)?

As for 2021 thru-hikes, the Pacific Northwest Trail had been on my shortlist but the fairly new 500-mile Mogollon Rim Trail (MRT) route in Arizona, created by Brett (Blisterfree) Tucker, got my attention very quickly. This is familiar territory, touching the route on previous hikes on the Arizona Trail near Pine and the ending point near Alma while on the GET.

One of my first backpacking trips with my dad was to Sycamore Canyon, the MRT starting point, where we promptly ran out of water and had to boil water and floaties out of a stock pond. That long ago time before good water filters. Little did I know at that point that I would be drinking from plenty of stock ponds! What’s more, in high school, I packed into Beaver and Clear Creek Canyons with a teacher and friends to explore remote cliff dwellings. And over the years, numerous family camping and fishing trips to Greer, Black River and Big Lake. On the whole, this route connected a lot of dots for me – thanks, Brett!

MRT – What & Where?

The Mogollon Rim is a topographical and geologic feature cutting across northern Arizona starting in Yavapai County and trending eastward, subsequently ending near the New Mexico border. The Rim also defines the southern edge of the Colorado Plateau. North of the uplifted sandstone and limestone escarpment is forest, canyon and lake country, while to the south, a transition to high desert.

Mogollon Rim Trail

To begin with, the 500-mile Mogollon Rim Trail’s (MRT) western terminus is Sycamore Canyon near Cottonwood AZ. The MRT then points east through Redrock Country to Sedona, up through wild and scenic canyons, crossing the Arizona Trail near Pine AZ, climbs to the top of the Rim and continues eastward through the White Mountains, a land of forests, meadows, lakes and streams, and then finally on to the remote Blue Range where is ends just over the New Mexico border.

The MRT is a young, evolving route consisting of a combination of trails, dirt roads and cross-country travel and as a result, has been completed by only a handful of experienced hikers. More information can be found at Brett’s site, www.simblissity.net. Without reservation, I’m happy to report it had the challenge and adventure of the Grand Enchantment Trail and Hayduke Trail! Most critical on this trail is to have some miles under your belt, gear and navigation dialed in, and your pack weight down so not recommended for a first thru-hike. Probably not recommended for someone a year out from extensive ankle surgery but I survived!

My trail towns and resupply points were Sedona, Pine, Forest Lakes, Show Low, Greer and Alpine.

MRT Daily Posts

My Mogollon Rim Trail daily blogs and other posts related to the MRT are found below: