A Walk to Town, Mormon Lake to Flagstaff
Apr 26, 2016 21:02:08 GMT -8
red dog, rebeccad, and 6 more like this
Post by desert dweller on Apr 26, 2016 21:02:08 GMT -8
A Walk to Town, Mormon Lake to Flagstaff – Along the Arizona Trail
Well, it’s taken about twelve years to get here. Twelve years!, you say. What’s wrong with you? Thru-hikers do the 820 miles in two and half months. Twelve years? Yep. I’m a working man. I do these treks as I can plan for them. Sometimes on my vacation time I visit family. Sometimes, I stay home and just veg. But, I’ve pretty much always have been able to set time aside every year to do another section or two of this relatively new Long Trail. Besides, true to my hiking mantra, there is no hurry. I have good health, good enough friends to help me manage the logistics and, after thirty-five years of backpacking in the Southwest, I still have the desire to do wilderness travel. Every year I get to do a hike to a place that is completely new to me. It’s like all the effort, planning and volunteer time that has gone into creating this trail was done just so that I can do the hike, write up the experience and share it. So, here it is.
Day One
We’re starting at mile 542. Larry joined the effort a few years ago when, after dropping me off at trail heads, he decided to gear up and start hiking. This first day is a half day. We spent the night before discovering pubs and nightlife in Flagstaff. It was all we could do to get started around noon. We made it about seven miles to Horse Mesa and set up camp. The trail followed an old railroad bed that was used to haul logged trees to make more railroad beds. Horse Mesa was a nice enough place. But, it was somewhat near a popular remote camp used by families and hunters. Not many were out that night.
Old Railroad Bed
Horse Mesa Camp
All that afternoon, the wind blew, howled, really. Up to about thirty or forty miles an hour we figured. It was relentless. I waited till just before sunset to put up the tent, hoping it would die down around then. No way. The wind kept going all through the night. No problem. That’s why tents have vestibules to cook in.
Day Two
The next morning, the wind was still howling. I had a cold breakfast, packed up and we were on the trail by 8:30. By mid-morning it was gusting up to sixty miles an hour, literally. We were blown off our feet. The only sound was the wind. A steady west wind. We saw birds fly backwards and clouds outpacing planes. Larry had gotten a new filter and wanted to give it a try. We stopped at one of the old stock watering holes. Normally, they’re just a small pool of calm brown runoff water collected in a shallow basin. I sat in the trees along the edge and watched Larry do his thing.
Take a look at this photo of Larry trying to filter in sixty mile an hour wind. He’s hunkered over trying to stay upright. In the background are the three foot waves whipped up by the wind. I watched as sheets of water were picked up and carried off to the east. He didn’t get much water filtered.
Larry at the Tank
Around one o’clock we made it to Prime Lake. Which is actually a spring fed pond. We found some shelter behind trees and got a break from the howling wind and had lunch. The lake was popular with birds and waterfowl.
Male Mountain Bluebird
Female Mountain Bluebird
Canadian Geese
The trail parallels Lake Mary road high above. Upper Lake Mary was at a good level. The wind was still howling.
Upper Lake Mary
We made second night’s camp above Walnut Canyon, just southeast of Flagstaff, in a wooded area. Our first concern was for the Widow Makers. But, the wind finally calmed down and for the first time in days, it was silent. We drank the flask of tequila Larry had brought so that he wouldn’t have to drive home with an open container in his truck. It did wonders for my aches.
Second Night’s Camp
Day Three
We got our start early the next day, the last day. The trail meandered through the forest and dropped down into Walnut Canyon. The first thing we noticed was all the people doing day hikes to the Canyon. But, the trail we were on soon left the canyon and joined the FUTS. What’s FUTS, you say? It stands for the Flagstaff Urban Trail System. Basically, it’s dozens of miles of abandoned logging roads turned into bike/hike trails that are very popular with the outdoorsy folks of Flagstaff.
Desert Dweller above Walnut Canyon. San Francisco Peaks in the background.
Now comes the part that provided me with something I’ve never done before. That is to hike into a town, directly to the motel where we left Larry’s truck three days before. It was really different to see trail markers along the sidewalk. I walked into the office at the Western Hills Motel, Route 66, Flagstaff and said to the guy, “We’re back! Got a couple of more rooms?” We ate steaks at the Horsemen Lodge. Mine was a T-bone larger than the plate it was served on. It was excellent. To drink? Well, I usually rehydrate with ice-tea. I drank 5 pints with ice and lemon.
FUTS and AzTrail sign in Flagstaff
AzTrail sign next to the power sub-station
Larry heading for the motel
A few more photos here
Well, that leaves about 230 more miles of the Arizona Trail till the Utah Border. One thing that is in the way is a big ditch. The trail will drop down 5000 feet to the Colorado River and then back up 6000 feet on the other side. I plan on doing something else I’ve always wanted to do when I get to the Grand Canyon. I’m going stay at Phantom Ranch for a night, at the bottom. That’s still a couple of years away. There’s no hurry. It’ll still be there.
Well, it’s taken about twelve years to get here. Twelve years!, you say. What’s wrong with you? Thru-hikers do the 820 miles in two and half months. Twelve years? Yep. I’m a working man. I do these treks as I can plan for them. Sometimes on my vacation time I visit family. Sometimes, I stay home and just veg. But, I’ve pretty much always have been able to set time aside every year to do another section or two of this relatively new Long Trail. Besides, true to my hiking mantra, there is no hurry. I have good health, good enough friends to help me manage the logistics and, after thirty-five years of backpacking in the Southwest, I still have the desire to do wilderness travel. Every year I get to do a hike to a place that is completely new to me. It’s like all the effort, planning and volunteer time that has gone into creating this trail was done just so that I can do the hike, write up the experience and share it. So, here it is.
Day One
We’re starting at mile 542. Larry joined the effort a few years ago when, after dropping me off at trail heads, he decided to gear up and start hiking. This first day is a half day. We spent the night before discovering pubs and nightlife in Flagstaff. It was all we could do to get started around noon. We made it about seven miles to Horse Mesa and set up camp. The trail followed an old railroad bed that was used to haul logged trees to make more railroad beds. Horse Mesa was a nice enough place. But, it was somewhat near a popular remote camp used by families and hunters. Not many were out that night.
Old Railroad Bed
Horse Mesa Camp
All that afternoon, the wind blew, howled, really. Up to about thirty or forty miles an hour we figured. It was relentless. I waited till just before sunset to put up the tent, hoping it would die down around then. No way. The wind kept going all through the night. No problem. That’s why tents have vestibules to cook in.
Day Two
The next morning, the wind was still howling. I had a cold breakfast, packed up and we were on the trail by 8:30. By mid-morning it was gusting up to sixty miles an hour, literally. We were blown off our feet. The only sound was the wind. A steady west wind. We saw birds fly backwards and clouds outpacing planes. Larry had gotten a new filter and wanted to give it a try. We stopped at one of the old stock watering holes. Normally, they’re just a small pool of calm brown runoff water collected in a shallow basin. I sat in the trees along the edge and watched Larry do his thing.
Take a look at this photo of Larry trying to filter in sixty mile an hour wind. He’s hunkered over trying to stay upright. In the background are the three foot waves whipped up by the wind. I watched as sheets of water were picked up and carried off to the east. He didn’t get much water filtered.
Larry at the Tank
Around one o’clock we made it to Prime Lake. Which is actually a spring fed pond. We found some shelter behind trees and got a break from the howling wind and had lunch. The lake was popular with birds and waterfowl.
Male Mountain Bluebird
Female Mountain Bluebird
Canadian Geese
The trail parallels Lake Mary road high above. Upper Lake Mary was at a good level. The wind was still howling.
Upper Lake Mary
We made second night’s camp above Walnut Canyon, just southeast of Flagstaff, in a wooded area. Our first concern was for the Widow Makers. But, the wind finally calmed down and for the first time in days, it was silent. We drank the flask of tequila Larry had brought so that he wouldn’t have to drive home with an open container in his truck. It did wonders for my aches.
Second Night’s Camp
Day Three
We got our start early the next day, the last day. The trail meandered through the forest and dropped down into Walnut Canyon. The first thing we noticed was all the people doing day hikes to the Canyon. But, the trail we were on soon left the canyon and joined the FUTS. What’s FUTS, you say? It stands for the Flagstaff Urban Trail System. Basically, it’s dozens of miles of abandoned logging roads turned into bike/hike trails that are very popular with the outdoorsy folks of Flagstaff.
Desert Dweller above Walnut Canyon. San Francisco Peaks in the background.
Now comes the part that provided me with something I’ve never done before. That is to hike into a town, directly to the motel where we left Larry’s truck three days before. It was really different to see trail markers along the sidewalk. I walked into the office at the Western Hills Motel, Route 66, Flagstaff and said to the guy, “We’re back! Got a couple of more rooms?” We ate steaks at the Horsemen Lodge. Mine was a T-bone larger than the plate it was served on. It was excellent. To drink? Well, I usually rehydrate with ice-tea. I drank 5 pints with ice and lemon.
FUTS and AzTrail sign in Flagstaff
AzTrail sign next to the power sub-station
Larry heading for the motel
A few more photos here
Well, that leaves about 230 more miles of the Arizona Trail till the Utah Border. One thing that is in the way is a big ditch. The trail will drop down 5000 feet to the Colorado River and then back up 6000 feet on the other side. I plan on doing something else I’ve always wanted to do when I get to the Grand Canyon. I’m going stay at Phantom Ranch for a night, at the bottom. That’s still a couple of years away. There’s no hurry. It’ll still be there.
