TRAILING ABOUT FLAGSTAFF

April – June, 2020

Flagstaff is 35 miles east of Williams along Interstate 40, and is home to the Northern Arizona University Lumberjacks, the Lowell Observatory (its been around since 1894 and from there in 1930 Clyde Thombaugh was the first to see Pluto!), the Arizona Snowbowl (learn to ski AZ!) and, at 12,633 feet, the State’s highest point, Humphreys Peak. As of 2019, the City’s estimated population was 75,038 with a metropolitan area estimated at 139,09 lives. Being so close to Williams, Flagstaff feels like an extension of our summer of 2020 campground.

Flagstaff is within and surrounded by the Coconino National Forest. Hiking trails are easy to find and range from an easy loop walkabout with little elevation change to several hikes not for the fainthearted – 20 miles out and back with an elevation gain of more than 3,300 feet. Some hikes are part of the City Park and Recreation Department, some maintained by the National Park Service, and some in the Kachina Wilderness are still rustic. Hiking trails traverse Ponderosa Pine and Aspen forest, volcanic rock and/or redstone.

After a volcanic explosion, a hollowed out crater or caldera usually forms at the apex of the volcano’s cone. Occasionally though the side of the cone, rather than the top, blows out. Scientists estimate that Red Mountain last erupted about 740,000 years ago, when a good portion of the side of the cone was blown out. North of Flagstaff along AZ Highway 180 is the Red Mountain Trail.

The Red Mountain Trail is a 2.7 mile out and back hike with little elevation gain. Glorious views of the San Francisco Peaks accompanied us for the first mile or so on an easy walk passing through prairie and then pine forest before the trail became very interesting as we entered into towering red rock formations and volcanic rock. There’s a ladder to climb before entering into a pocket canyon that gives access to hiking amongst the red rock . After exploring for a while we stopped under an old, old tree for a great picnic lunch.

The Mount Elden hiking area is a little northeast of town, and from the trailhead there are 5 trails to consider completing.

The Elden Lookout, Heart, Sunset and Pipeline trails are for the more experienced hiker, each with elevation gains of 1,500 feet or more and length in excess of 5-8 miles with steep grades and switchbacks. Fatmans Loop Trail is the 5th trail, and is rated as a moderate out and back 2.4 mile hike suited for most hikers; i.e., us old folks.

Fatmans Loop Trail starts out benign enough with an easy walk through Pine and Oak Forest, but at about 3/4 mile into the hike things take a turn. From that point until the summit, oh, in about a half mile, it is a scramble up a rocky path and at times up and over small boulders. Since we had chosen the counter clockwise route (who knew?) the first half mile of our descent became very steep and on loose rock and sand. Not much of a problem for Barbara, but with Brian still rehabbing his bum right quad tendon he had to figure out a different way down. Ever heard of the sit and slide hiking technique?

Other than Brian’s dirty britches and calves we made our descent without incident. Heading back to the trailhead a family that had passed us earlier in the hike was just hanging out on the trail and staring into the brush. They reported that a snake had just crossed their path. We just had to take a look and found a rather handsome red/orange, white and black banded snake sliding along (sorry Elyssa).

Now we didn’t know what kind of reptile we were encountering, which simply means whether or not it would bite and if so was it poisonous? As Brian kept getting closer and closer to take pictures we tried to remember how to tell a venomous coral snake from a benign milk snake – both have bright colorful rings. Isn’t there a rhyme about it? Oh yeah…”Red touch black, safe for Jack. Red touches yellow, kills a fellow.” Or at least we thought that was correct, and figured since there was no yellow banding we were safe.

And then just before getting back to our Jeep this fellow crossed our path. We were sure it was to wish us bon voyage from Fatmans Loop Trail…

The Northern Sinaugua peoples occupied this region over 1000 years ago and in the Picture Canyon Natural and Cultural Reserve the evidence of their residency can be found in the nearly 800 petroglyphs etched onto the Canyon walls and nearby boulders.  The canyon is a unique geologic find as well, because it was formed by the gap between two lava flows along the Rio de Flag (Flagstaff River) east of the City. How strange is it that the lava flows didn’t merge?

Because of the archeology associated with the Northern Sinaugua peoples and its geological uniqueness Picture Canyon was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.

The hike is a fairly easy ramble through wetlands and forest. There are 2 well maintained hiking paths, one that takes the hiker to the base of a small waterfall, well into the canyon and past the majority of petroglyphs, and a 2-3 mile loop trail we chose.

We happened to stop while crossing a short wooden bridge to admire the view down river, and, well, this fella just happened to be hanging out in the water!

Then a little further on Brian almost stepped on a milk snake, which coiled up as if to strike. He must have really startled the snake – milk snakes are not known to be very aggressive at all.

And to cap the day off, a rather long (we believe it to be) gopher snake was making its way through the brush, and just off of our path.

Flagstaff has any number of very nice urban parks, hiking paths and bike trails.

Buffalo Park is a 2.2 mile loop trail. The path is gravel, and if hiking the trail in a clockwise fashion the first half mile is of moderate difficulty beginning with a rather steep drop in elevation followed by a challenging incline – the remainder of the trail is flat. Cutting through the Park and a half mile long is part of the Arizona and Lower Oldham Trails, which if followed will take the hiker to the trailhead of several more hikes in the Northern Arizona wilderness.

Sandys Canyon Trail starts out by skirting the rim of Walnut Canyon, a scenic rift in the same layers of rock that form the upper cliffs of the Grand Canyon.

The trail heads north from the trailhead following the Walnut Canyon Rim for a short distance before it drops down Sandys Canyon into the main gorge. Sandys Canyon Trail then continues along the Walnut Canyon floor on an old jeep track to an intersection with the Arizona Trail (guess we could have gotten here from Buffalo Park?). During our 3-mile hike we stopped for a picnic lunch amongst the deep red hues of petrified Permian Age sand dunes.

At 12,635 feet (2.39 miles above sea level!) Humphreys Peak is the highest point in Arizona. From its trailhead at 9292 feet (1.76 miles above sea level!) there’s a 10 mile trail with an elevation change of 3,343 feet (just about 2/3 of a mile!) that will take you to the top, which, of course, means a steep 10 mile descent back to the trailhead. The trailhead is at the base of Arizona’s best ski area (Arizona, ski area? go figure) – Snowbowl (of course that’s its name).

About 9 miles west of downtown Flagstaff we found a great drive through the pine and aspen forest of the San Francisco Peaks up the mountainside 3,000 feet to Snowbowl. Turning left at the entrance we found Humphreys Peak trailhead. The view from there west is pretty nice.

We didn’t, and probably couldn’t while Brian’s in rehab, hike ourselves to the top of Humphreys Peak. It certainly would be fun to give it a try down the road.

After checking out the Humphreys Peak trail from its base we found a parking lot just across the road, which lead us to the trailhead for the Kachina Peaks Trail. Most hikes in the San Francisco Peaks region head to a summit, but not the Kachina Peaks Trail. This trail winds its way 10.2 miles through beautiful Aspen, Pine and Fern Forest, and for the most part is a great hike for anyone -families included. Hike as much or as little of the trail as you want. This is one of Barbara’s all-time favorite hikes – just beautiful.

It seems that the more we hike, the more we find to enjoy in nature and the more we find ourselves appreciative of this time in our lives. The days we spend discovering new trails, the sights we see along the way, and the feeling of accomplishment in meeting nature’s challenges (and knowing our limits) brings us a tired smile at the end of the day. Turns out we found Flagstaff is one of those places not to be missed for some great hiking adventures.

Barbara and Brian