Arizona Trail Retry

Byrod clemen Arizona Trail, Gear

Way back in 2020, I headed to Arizona with the goal of hiking the Arizona Trail, even though Covid-19 was busy shutting everything down.

As you might guess, that plan didn’t exactly work out—when the Grand Canyon closed, so did my chances of completing the trail.

Now it’s 2025, and I’ve decided it’s finally time for a do-over. On March 31, I’ll be starting from the southern monument, and this time, I’m hoping to make it all the way!

I won’t be posting videos from the trail because I want to fully enjoy the experience without the stress of filming and editing on the go. But don’t worry—I’ll still be capturing plenty of footage and photos, and I’ll put the videos together once I’m back home.

To make things even better, I picked up a new camera—the DJI Osmo Pocket 3. It should give me better video quality than my iPhone 16… or at least, that’s the idea.

As for gear, I’m mostly sticking with what worked on the CDT in 2023, with a few new additions. But just in case you’re curious, here’s my full gear list—including my 10°F quilt, because those desert nights can still get pretty cold.

Arizona Trail Gear setup

Big 3

Big 3 accessories

Worn Clothes

Clothes

Electronics

  • NITECORE NU20 classic – Lightweight headlamp
  • Nitecore NB2000 Gen3 – 2000mAh Powerbank
  • Garmin Fenix 6X Solar Pro – My trusty Garmin watch to track altitude and steps
  • Wall Charger – Anker PowerPort III Nano (18W)
  • Flextail Zero pump – I wanna see what all the fuss is about – do I really need a blower for my Therm-a-rest sleeping pad?
  • iPhone 16 PRO MAX + case
  • Cables – USB-C cable and adapter for Garmin watch (Finally all my stuff is USB-C apart from the Garmin watch.)

Camera Equipment

  • Ricoh GR III – AMAZING camera, and still really small
  • Extra battery for Ricoh GR III – for some reason 1 extra battery is enough to last for a few days. So no need to carry any more 🙂
  • SD Cards – A few extra SD cards for the Ricoh GR III
  • UltraPod – Mini tripod that can strap to stuff via velcro straps. (I am using the old version it seems, but it still works, so why change it)
  • DJI Osmo Pocket 3 – My newest gear addition. I want to see if i can get better videos with a “real” camera instead of using my phone – and by better I mean the picture quality, which the Osmo should be able to do with a sensor that is WAY bigger than that of the iPhone.

Cooking & Food

  • BRS-3000T Gas stove – SUPER lightweight and tiny stove, that so far has gotten me through EVERY trail since PCT in 2018, and it still works..
  • Platypus quickdraw water filter – I think theres still a few filterings left in it, so I will just use it – normally I buy new filters pretty much for each long hike, but with the Platypus I can actually check if the filter is broken, so I don’t need to take any chances… And it still works 🙂
  • Toaks Titanium 750ml cup – had it since 2018, and it still works like the day i bought it, pretty empressive.
  • Toaks Titanium folding spork – used since PCT in 2018, and it is singing on last verse now, but it lasted a long time so well worth it!
  • Deejo Knife – TINY Titanium knife for cutting food.
  • Vargo Titanium Flint Lighter – Amazing lightweight flint lighter

Toiletries

  • Wet ones – nice to have a clean face and a clean bum 🙂
  • Hand Sanitizer
  • Chapstick
  • Toothbrush – Nothing fancy here, just a regular one that i removed the handle to better fit in my ziplock.
  • Trowel – Duece of Spades Trowel, still going strong (it’s the same one that I bought for my 2018 PCT hike)

Misc

  • Black Diamond Distance Carbon FLZ (2023 model) – Amazing trekking poles, that can fold down to almost nothing (and fit inside my backpack while in transit)
  • Repair Bag – Different stuff for repairing shit on trail – patches for tent, sleeping pad, needle & thread, and some Luko tape for blisters.