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Your Week with AZCentral
A SPOTLIGHT ON THE JOURNALISM YOUR SUBSCRIPTION HELPS BRING TO LIFE.
Fri Dec 12 2025
Corina Vanek | Development Reporter
Hey readers,
I’m Joan Meiners , The Republic’s climate reporter. Since early 2022, I’ve been covering how warming average temperatures resulting from human fossil fuel emissions alter life as we know it in Arizona, and what can be done about it.
It’s often (but not always!) a fairly depressing story, and a beat that requires a sustainable mental approach. So when the outlook on U.S. climate progress went from bad to worse this January, I started to dream more seriously about a project I’d pitched years earlier that seemed to offer a fresh take on this topic that can be tough for writers and readers alike.
What if, I asked my editor, instead of driving my car around to document how climate change is affecting the economies and health of Arizona communities, I strung that coverage together as a series while riding my mountain bike across the state on the 850-mile Arizona Trail?
Thus began six months of intensive spreadsheet building, gear testing, endurance training, route mapping and pre-reporting research and interviews to prepare for the journey and outline relevant issues along the way.
I’ve been mountain biking and backpacking in remote places for 20 years and organizing my whole life into spreadsheets for even longer. So I felt confident that, if I did my due diligence and brought all the right tools, I should be able to pull this off.
The trail, at times, had other ideas. I spent the first day heading south from the Arizona-Utah border pushing my heavy bike up steep switchbacks in the rain. And the adventure only got more dynamic from there.
In 38 days of riding over two months, I crossed forests decimated by climate-intensified wildfire where volunteers were filling in for defunded federal workers to restore trail access. I nearly ran out of water in the steep, drought-stricken Mazatzal Mountains. I marveled at unexpected wildlife sightings through the Sky Islands. And I confronted a range of accelerating human impacts near the border with Mexico.
Each week, I interviewed sources and travelers on the trail and fired off dispatches to the newsroom about the climate context of what I was seeing whenever I had glimmers of cell service from high points. I carried all my own gear and spent most of those days alone, with time to consider what it all means for Arizonans.
You can binge all eight dispatches now at the links below. Or pick your favorite region and experience a piece of the trail while learning about some of the climate risks, conflicts and solutions at play there. Just as building the Arizona Trail was a collaborative effort between state and federal agencies, experts say that addressing climate change will require coordination and commitment across many sectors of society.
The path is mapped out and wild adventure awaits. Thank you for supporting local news.
Joan’s journey on the Arizona Trail: Utah to the Grand Canyon | Grand Canyon to Flagstaff | Flagstaff to Payson | Payson to Superstitions | Superstitions to Tortillas | Tortillas to Sky Islands | Sky Islands to Santa Ritas | Santa Ritas to Mexico
Trail volunteers work to fix what wildfires blackened
The Republic’s climate reporter started her journey on the Arizona Trail with detours that were forced by wildfires and left for volunteers to fix.
Arizonans weren’t notified as E. coli outbreak spread
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Accused Charlie Kirk assassin has 1st court appearance
Tyler Robinson’s lawyers told a judge they were worried about “media chaos” and leaks of information that could block him from having a fair trial.
Extreme fad diet kills infant, hospitalizes siblings
Phoenix police found a 5-month old boy dead after his mother called 911. Prosecutors blame parents for the death and for illnesses of other children.
Long-stalled Camelback project gets new life
The project, called One Camelback, was about 85% complete when construction stalled for several years.
Durant’s in Phoenix reopening. See the changes
After nearly a year of being closed, Durant’s is reopening in Phoenix. See the changes made to the iconic restaurant.
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