Hiking The Arizona National Scenic Trail – From Mexico to Utah
December 5 @ 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
Free
Bring your family and friends to Daytonโs original Backpacker Campfire, featuring adventure, nature and travel programs. The programs are free and open to the public. All ages are welcome. The programs are on the first Thursday of the month at 6:30 pm and last about 90 minutes.
Program: Hiking The Arizona National Scenic Trail – From Mexico to Utah
Presenter: Andy “Captain Blue” Niekamp
Description: Take an 800-mile journey from the Mexico border to the Utah state line on the Arizona Trail (AZT) across the entire length of Arizona through deserts, mountains, forests, canyons, wilderness, and history. The AZT winds through the Sonoran Desert, the Superstition Mountains, and the Mazatzal Wilderness on its way to the Mogollon Rim and majestic San Francisco Peaks, through the Grand Canyon, and onto the North Rim conifer forests of the Kaibab Plateau. Learn how Andy endured sun, heat, rain, wind, snow, sketchy water sources, and trail closures on our nation’s newest national scenic trail to complete this epic thru-hike in the spring of 2023.
Bio: Andy “Captain Blue” Niekamp has over 20,000 miles of backpacking experience, including five end-to-end hikes on the Appalachian Trail, a continuous footpath from Georgia to Maine that travels throughout 14 different states. He has also hiked the Buckeye Trail, Florida Trail, Arizona Trail, Camino de Santiago (French Way and Portuguese Way), Colorado Trail, John Muir Trail, Sheltowee Trace, Long Trail, Ozark Highlands Trail, Superior Hiking Trail, Benton McKaye Trail, Ohio To Erie Trail, and other trails. He is the founder and organizer of Dayton Hikers, a Meetup hiking group with 9,500 members, and the Chief Adventure Officer of Outdoor Adventure Connection, a backcountry guide service. His passion lies in organizing special hiking events and encouraging others to get involved in trail maintenance.
