There are bears in Arizona, lots of them depending on where you are.

Those stills don't work well enough to fuss with. Try one before you rely on it. We did some in depth tests along with others and had shovels. We placed them in several locations, it was a sunny day and the ground was damp from recent rains. You will loose far more water through sweat when building them than you will get back.

Not all of Arizona is sand. LOL

There are many zones here so it depends on where you are going to be. There are places we go where we will carry 2 to 3 gallons of water per person. Water is the serious issue depending on the conditions, time of year and reliable springs. People have died within sight of interstate highways here for lack of water and heat related problems.

Where exactly do you want to go?