General
CORT
WAREHOUSE/DRIVER Construction
Komatsu Equipment Co
Mechanic Education
Assessment Technology, Inc
Social Studies Content Writer Health Care
Rio Salado College
PA's/Online Instructors General
CORT
Warehouse Supervisor

Long the dream of avid hikers, the Arizona Trail shifted into reality in the summer of 1985.

That's when Flagstaff schoolteacher Dale Shewalter walked from Nogales to the Arizona-Utah border, all the while mapping out a tentative route of interlocking trails.

"At that time, it was not the route we have now," says Shewalter, 57, who's retired from teaching. "When I walked from Nogales to Fredonia, I went on back roads. It was a reconnaissance kind of thing,"

He walked for 24 days straight, beginning in July. "It was plenty hot down there," says Shewalter, who still lives in Flagstaff. The route also covered a mere 540 miles.

Today's 800-mile route does intersect some roads, says Shewalter, which allows hikers to do segments and have drop-off and pickup points. "In a sense that's a positive thing, but we want to leave it as primitive as possible."

After his initial hike, Shewalter eventually got state and federal agencies, service groups and corporations on board.

The first segment, seven miles of the Kaibab Plateau Trail, was dedicated in 1988. Today, less than 60 miles remain to be finished. Hikers are advised to use alternate routes through these segments, as well as through those affected by flood or fire.

Built as a primitive trail for hikers, horseback riders, mountain bikers and skiers, the trail begins at the U.S.-Mexico border.

It crosses through parts of the Huachuca, Santa Rita and Rincon mountains, as well as the Santa Catalinas, before heading north.

It follows the Highline Trail on the Mogollon Rim, skirts the San Francisco Peaks, then snakes toward the Grand Canyon and the Kaibab Plateau.

Since that first hike, Shewalter has spent considerable time on the Arizona Trail, much of it on horseback. "I've worn out my knees over the years," he says.