Up at 4am I checked the radar and Prescott what getting nailed with a heavy thunderstorm.
I knew it would be a humid one. Temps on the day ranged from 62 to 78. Not bad for a July.

Ray was our shuttle commander today. He dropped us at the Groom Creek TH. Clockwise on the Groom Creek #307 up to Spruce Mountain, we stopped at the Fire Lookout. Red is gone and Suzie is back in the tower. All the windows were open and the hummingbirds were flying feeder to feeder through the tower.

On to Isabella #377 and down to Potato Patch.

Dandrea #285 is my least favorite in this loop. A group of hikers pointed out the best example I've seen of an Arrastra, which made this trail a plus this time.

The off trail to Mount Davis is always a worthy track. Some really good views.
Video from the Top of Mount Davis https://youtu.be/UJ ... HT8Y

Next it was off to Mount Union to visit with John for a bit before lunch on the Helipad.

The planned route had to be adjusted after we ran into some Private Property. This is the first time I'd taken FR52B to the top of Mount Tritle. A worthy route with some nice views. We searched for the Summit Register with zero luck.
We meddled with the Peter Medal route off the north side. This route was a super highway for about half the way down. After that, not so much. Finally in the Hassayampa, travel was much easier.

Our shuttle driver picked us up while walking on...Walker Road. Thanks Ray!

Starting at the 4 way road junction just off of the Senator Highway, Shauna and I started hiking down FR 52B toward Mount Tritle, enjoying the high Bradshaw Mountain country in full summer glory, replete with numerous flowering penstemons and agave stalks. The unstable atmosphere, charged with hurricane remnant moisture, was causing ragged clouds to boil up overhead. With a close eye on the sky, we climbed up the southern slopes of Tritle, sweat dripping from the strong sun and intense humidity. To my amazement, we reached the top before any storms grew threatening. We didn't stay long on the summit at my urging, as it is not a place I want to be if a thunderstorm rolled in. In the distance, Mingus Mountain was buried in a dark, surly looking storm, which rumbled angrily with thunder. We stopped at the Davis Dunkirk mine for a break, and then continued back to my truck. The drive in had been via the Senator Highway and Groom Creek, and our drive out was through Walker and past Lynx Lake. Not a drop of rain the entire time! Great hike!

Parked near the Mount Union divide and started hiking south on the Senator Highway. Turned off onto FR52B and followed it to the summit of Mount Tritle. I had been wanting to try Prescottstyle's north ridge route for some time, so I took that way down. Very nice fir forest and a cool old mine (Sundance) on the north ridge route. Thanks for the suggestion! Back at the Senator Highway, daylight was fading, so I shortened my original Mount Union loop hike plan and walked the Highway back to my truck. I couldn't not go up Union though, so I parked at the locked gate and walked up in the moonlight. I surveyed the moonlit Bradshaws from the helicopter ramp, then hiked back down.

Finishing work early, I hurried home, grabbed a sandwich, chips, and my tripod, then hit the road for the Bradshaws. My first stop was FR 52B along the Senator Highway, where I parked and started hiking up Mount Tritle. I puffed up the hill past the Davis Dunkirk mine and some nervous deer, and arrived on the summit in time to enjoy the sunset. I took some photos, signed the register, then headed back down in the growing dark.

Once back at my truck, it was time for part two of a fun filled evening: a mountain-top picnic, fire photos, and some back road travel. I squeezed past some other Gladiator Fire spectators who were parked in the middle of the Senator Highway, then turned onto Poland Road to look for my own vantage point. I settled on the south slope of Mount Davis, where I set up my camera, opened the shutter, then sat down to enjoy dinner with a spectacular, albeit sad light show in the distance.

Afterward, I went west to Mount Union for a few more photos, then headed east down the rough route of Poland Road all the way back to highway 69. Made it home at midnight, having had a perfect and satisfying evening in the mountains.

After waiting forever at the Mount Tritle/Trail 65 trailhead for the rain to stop, I gave up and drove south to hike Tritle from FR 52B again. I drove FR 52B for a short ways, then continued on foot, meeting two other hikers along the way. I was treated to a great sunset on top, but a rapidly developing thunderstorm sent me down a short time later. A short distance down from the top the deluge began, and I was walking in a full downpour, soaked. A few nearby blasts of lightning spurred me on as I approached my truck. I hoped that those other two guys had descended from the peak.

I drove home along the Senator Highway, romping through puddles of muddy water, and listening to hilarious songs of white trash living, while all around me lightning flashes illuminated the driving rain. It was a great adventure in a pretty area.