How early can I begin an AZT trip going south to north?

[bong crosby]

I'm putting together an AZT trip for next spring and would like to start as early as possible.  I have the luxury of unlimited time so I won't be in a hurry unless I know there's a hot spring or beers waiting.  I'm on the lower side of average when it comes to pace, so I'm thinking four weeks for the entire trip.  I assume snowpack will be my limiting factor and see that the Tonto NF will be my first sustained elevation, so will this decide as to how early I can begin?    

Also, I'd like to hike the Grand Canyon but have no desire to carry my bike on my back.  Are there work arounds to this problem?

Finally, I'd like to ride all the way home to Boise, Idaho and am interested to hear about any routes people have between the north end of the AZT and Boise.

Thanks,

BC

[AZTtripper]

Yep snow pack will be the limiting factor. And there is no way of knowing that until we see what kind of winter we have.

It's 215 miles around the canyon on the pavement. Back in 04 that's what I did, but I don't recommend that. In the past the main shuttle service has not been willing to carry a bike if you are not there to load and unload it. I should think that a shuttle company out of Flagstaff could but the price might be a bit much. Maybe you could hike a bit at the south and then get you and your bike shuttled to the north side.

Any use of a shuttle service will mean that you have to wait for May 15th for the north side to open. So the simple answer is April 15th.

Going north from the state line you can head east and then North again on a dirt road signed as the Escalate staircase. Of course snow pack will be an issue as well as you head back. I should think that you can get there by staying in the valley's but trails in the mountains may not be open yet.

Hope this helps.
Tim

[offroute]

Thanks for posting the info, AZTim.

[Adam Alphabet]

To throw this in the mix... The AZTR is scheduled for April 7th this year. The fast guys (Neil) are done in just under or (everyone else) just over a week, which is a pretty early season start. If you look at past race reports and blogs past events have had everything in terms of weather from 100 degree scorchers to blizzard like conditions.
Tim is the go to knowledge guy for all things Arizona so I'd take his advice to heart.