Shakedown for future AZT hiker

I want to thru hike the Arizona Trail in the next 4 years (a personal goal of mine before I turn 40). I live in New England and don't have super easy access to that part of the country, but will have an opportunity to take some time off of work next winter and am hoping to find a "shakedown” desert hike to know what I'm getting myself into and just to have fun hiking new places in this window of time.

Some specific criteria I'm looking for in a trail that would be idea for me:

Area: Southern CA, AZ, NM

Timeframe: January-March 2027

Distance: 70-100 miles

Resupply/logistics: It'd be cool to have one resupply/town in the mix, be in an area where it'd be possible to find shuttles at trailheads/termini and be able to set up water caches beforehand.

Format of hike: I don’t want to hike on a super popular trail such as the PCT or CDT. Im leaning into the idea that this hike will be a route (not an actual off trail route, although I’m not against parts being off trail) that stitches together random trail systems within national forests.

My experience: I've been a thru hiker on multiple occasions, some of which has been out west and required water conservation, but I've never spent multiple nights in a true desert.