Permits
Good news!
The Grand Enchantment Trail is mostly free of beauracratic red
tape. The only permit you'll need is for access to Aravaipa Canyon
Wilderness, a one or two day traverse for most hikers.
In order to
protect the canyon's unique and fragile ecosystem, the BLM limits
visitation to 50 people per day - 30 of whom may enter the wilderness
from the west end, and 20 via the east entrance. (Pets
and mechanized equipment are not allowed, but pack animals are.)
Spring and fall are popular seasons at Aravaipa, particularly
on weekends, and permits sometimes sell out, so it's advisable
to reserve as far ahead as practical.
Permits are
available up to 13 weeks in advance, and may be reserved online.
Alternatively, you can reserve by phone or in-person from the
BLM Safford Field Office: (928) 348-4400. If reserving by phone
your permit will be mailed to you upon payment, or you can request
to pick it up in person at the Safford Field Office or at either
of two ranger stations located near the trailheads: Brandenburg
Ranger Station on the west side, or Klondyke R.S. on the east.
(Please note that the ranger stations are only sporadically staffed.)
Permits cost $5 per person per day in the canyon; you're paying
simply for access here, regardless of whether you camp overnight.
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Aravaipa
Canyon Wilderness
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Unfortunately
for G.E.T. thru-hikers, Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness permits are
date-specific and non-adjustable after purchase, so you'll need
to give the matter more thought than you might prefer. Here are
some suggestions:
Eastbound
The west entrance
to Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness lies 124 miles from the G.E.T.'s
terminus near Phoenix, or 78 miles from the town of Superior.
Based on these mileages, eastbound hikers in planning can estimate
how long it will take to reach Aravaipa Canyon, then choose their
permit date(s) accordingly. Be sure to start your hike according
to schedule, and consider giving yourself a day or two of leeway
to account for any daily mileage shortcomings.
Westbound
Westbound
thru-hikers will reach the east entrance of Aravaipa Canyon toward
the end of their journey, so would find it impractical to reserve
date-specific permits before the thru-hike. Instead, wait until
you reach the town of Clifton/Morenci (145 miles from Aravaipa)
or Safford (81 miles), then contact the BLM or go online to obtain
a permit. On short notice you may or may not get the precise date(s)
you'd prefer. But a day or two of waiting around wouldn't be the
end of the world, either.
Eastbound
or west, most long-distance hikers will probably want to spend
a night in the Wilderness itself, even though its sinuous 10 mile
length is traversable in a (fairly long) day. This, of course,
means reserving a two-day permit. Otherwise, hikers could camp
at Brandenburg campsite (free, first-come first-served) outside
the permit zone on the west side, or in the canyon of Turkey Creek
on the east side, thus reserving only a one-day permit for the
canyon - a potential advantage when availability happens to be
limited.
Please refer
to Segment 7 of the GET Guidebook
for more information about Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness and permit-related
logistics.
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| Pay
to Play: signboard along Aravaipa Rd tells the story. |
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