Humphry's Peak

[mcontreras]

Me and my husband are in pretty good shape. How difficult/dangerous would it be to hike up with me holding our 22 lb son and him packing our 34 lb daughter. I hate leaving the kids with a sitter and we just love the flagstaff area.

[az420dude]

In response to mcontreras' reply:

Venturing above the tree line during the monsoon season is always a risk - with or without extra weight. Early morning start times are best to avoid unexpected weather - lighting and such. Most storms form around 11am almost on a daily basis.

If you're wondering about just general trail conditions, The Humphreys Trail is very well maintained with limited obstacles. I've witnessed many piggy back rides on it.

[Al_HikesAZ]

To put it in perspective, would you go up & down Piestewa Peak 4 times in one day with the kids on your back? That is somewhat equivalent to Humphrey's in distance and elevation, but it still does not give you the full effect of the thin atmosphere on Humphrey's above timberline. I'm not sure where you live, but that is the closest example I can give to someone in the Valley.

Now add the weather above timberline on the ridge from Agassiz to Humphrey's. Look at the weather forecasts for Flagstaff. In addition to the monsoons mentioned in the prior post (40% chance for this weekend), the temperatures will be significantly cooler than Flagstaff (20 degrees?) and the winds will be significantly stronger than Flagstaff (four to five times as strong). I have hiked Humphrey's when the winds were gusting between 40 & 50 mph. It was a little scary at times. I would not have wanted a 34lb child in a carrier on my back in those conditions.

Then there is the issue of the thin atmosphere above timberline. This can cause altitude sickness. The symptoms are headaches, nausea and disorientation.

If you are still thinking of hiking with the kids on your backs, best of luck.

[Al_HikesAZ]

Flagstaff is beautiful. Instead of Humphrey's you might consider the Kachina Trail. You won't get the summit, but you will have a great hike and you can choose how much distance you want to cover. Then there are some great hikes in the Mt Elden area, these range from easy to moderate.

[joebartels]

If you're good hikers, know your ability and start at 5 or 6 am I think you're okay. If there's doubt in your mind I wouldn't go in July or August. I've been pounded by golf ball size hail up there and sick as a dog. Other times the altitude doesn't phase me and the weather is perfect.

maybe just consider going to the saddle, the views are great and the trail is easy

or consider the Inner Basin, it seems to be the rave this year

[mcontreras]

Thank for all of the information. I wouldn't want golf size hail to be hitting the little ones on the head, I don't think they would like that much. One has a rain/shade hood and the other doesn't. I think maybe we will hike as far as we can without going past the treeline. I don't think a little rain will hurt the kids, in fact I think it's good for them to experience that. Again, thanks for the information.

[mcontreras]

I was looking at the Inner Basin hike and that looks like a great hike also. We may consider to do this one instead.

[PeggySue]

In response to mcontreras' reply:
I just did Inner Basin trail - just to the inner basin - and would highly recommend it to you all with kids. Saw many groups with kids and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. And do be prepared for some rain in the afternoons. This is the most beautiful one I've been here in AZ - could easily mistake it for Colorado territory.

[mcontreras]

The baby has a rain/sun hood, so he should be fine if it rains, but our 3 year old's Kelty carrier doesn't have one. I might pack an umbrella for her incase the rain gets bad otherwise she should be fine. We will probably go this weekend. Looks like a great place to take a blanket and eat some snacks and let the kids run around. Thank you for the information. I will be sure to take some pics and post them up.