Thanks everyone for the helpful comments. I was thinking about the ice axe anyways so this confirms it. (BTW - didn't Joy go on to essentially:stay home and sit ???).

I'm considering attempting the Mt. Humprey's summit on November 4. Would appreciate any info on what to expect for trail conditions, especially snow and ice. Thanks!

A friend and I are planning a 3-nighter starting Nov. 30. We'd like to be within a couple hours of Phoenix, and cover 20-35 miles in 4 days. We've been looking mostly at the Superstitions, Mazatzals, maybe Agua Fria, or the Verde River. Our biggest question is, given the longstanding drought in AZ, ...