AZT Day 4 Patagonia -> Apache Trailhead Vista

Arizona Trail Day 4 11/4/25

I started my morning with a bike ride into town for breakfast at the Gathering Grounds. I had sausage gravy, biscuits and scrambled potatoes. I was a totally fat kid for breakfast. Patagonia is such a quiet city. Everyone is here to enjoy epic gravel biking, mountain biking, and backpacking tours. Everyone I heard talking at the bar last night or at breakfast shared stories about the trails. Everyone seems to know everyone.

I pedaled back to camp, gathered my things, and took a shuttle back to the trail. I was walking at 8:15. Today’s trail was absolutely magical. The weather seemed cooler than yesterday. There were many water sources and the slope of the trail was very gradual.

The amount of work that must have gone into excavating this 20 mile section of trail is truly astonishing. I could barely tell I was climbing. The views all day from various angles of Mount Wrightson were spectacular. I even got to see Mitchell Peak and the Huachuca Mountains most of the day. I took a few breaks in cool, shady canyons with streams.

I arrived at the Apache trailhead, filled a gallon of water from the cache there, and headed up the hill a bit to another epic cowboy campsite with views of Mount Wrightson and the Huachuca Mountains to the southeast. The Beaver Super Moon was so bright that I was able to cook and dine without having to turn on the flashlight.

Statistics

Patagonia -> View of the beginning of the Apache trail
GPS miles 21.9
Trail miles 20.9
Accumulated 73.8 miles
Ascent 3343 feet
Descent 2283 feet

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