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Mount Humphreys Peak Hike, July 23rd 2005
Written by: Paul & Jennifer
Grube
At
last, our long awaited hike into cool temperatures
was upon us. We abandoned the 113 degree weather we
were having in Henderson NV and headed down to meet
Curt (Paul’s father) and Anna (Paul’s sister) in
Flagstaff AZ. We left a little later than planned,
but still made good time. When we arrived, food was
the first thing on our minds. After eating dinner
and shopping for our basic camping necessities, we
headed up to the base of Mount Humpreys to camp. Curt
and Anna, who arrived earlier,
found a nice car-camping area suitable for all of
us. We quickly set up camp around 9pm and went to
bed, eager for our hike in the morning. We awoke
around 6:30 am and enjoyed our surroundings. The
temperature was perfect! Tall pine trees and
wildflowers surrounded our camp. Our Jetboil
performed flawlessly, despite the elevation being
near 8000 ft. We enjoyed a nice cup of coffee and
small breakfast packed up our tents and headed to
the trailhead to begin our hike… the highest peak in
Arizona!
A
quick drive led us to the base of Snowbowl. The
trailhead is well marked and located at the Snowbowl
Ski Resort parking lot. After a quick
 group
snap shot we were on our way! We started hiking
close to 9am. The trail starts off crossing a
beautiful meadow filled with an abundance of
wildflowers and insects. To the left you can view
the inoperable ski lifts and Mount Agassiz. After a
short walk, we soon hit the forest line. Here we
entered into a moist, cool atmosphere. Tree roots
stuck up through the trail, which made for tricky
footing. The higher up we hiked, the tree roots
faded, and large boulders appeared. About 20 min up
we hit an Y in the trail. Here you can go right to
the Ski Lodge or left up to Humphreys Peak. In the
middle of the Y was the register. A quick sign in,
and we were off!
The
trail twists and turns up the mountain. You know you
are almost to the peak when the trail becomes very
steep and zig-zags its way up the saddle. Once we
reached the saddle, we needed a short respite. We
rested a bit at the saddle (11,800 feet in
elevation) and refueled with snacks and drinks. Not
long after, we started the one-mile ascend to the
top. This mile is grueling! The trail
 becomes
narrow and extremely rocky. Along the way “Fragile
Tundra” signs appeared as a warning to fellow
hikers. This section on the hike is above tree line
and windy. Even though it was July in Arizona we
spotted a large patch of snow, and knew we were
close. It was about this time we started to worry
about the weather. Huge storm clouds were
approaching fast and some load cracks of thunder
shook the ground. We knew we better hurry to the top
if we didn’t want to get stuck in the impending
storm.
 
Once
we arrived at the summit we were surrounded by an
array of sights. Our trip down the mountain was
quick and we arrived at our cars just before the
heavens opened with sheets of cold rain.
Hiking time accent: 2:50
Hiking time decent: 2:10
Temperature: 78
at the base, 68 at the saddle, 55 at the summit
Photo album
For
more information visit these sites:
http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/coconino/recreation/peaks/humphreys-tr.shtml
http://www.public.asu.edu/~bvogt/20-20/humphreys/in-humphreys.html
http://www.localhikes.com/Hikes/Humphreys_Trail_2620.asp
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