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| Hiking | 10.25 Miles |
3,330 AEG |
| | Hiking | 10.25 Miles | 9 Hrs 23 Mns | | 1.47 mph |
| 3,330 ft AEG | 2 Hrs 26 Mns Break | 15 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | Lotsa people been asking, “Have you hiked Humphrey’s Peak?” Well, now I can say yes. I’m getting ready to do the Enchantments Through Hike (Washington, Alpine Lakes Wilderness) in one day, and thought I better do a little confidence building. By comparison, Humphrey’s is half as far, and the AEG is less, but it makes up for that in thin air. The hike starts about 1000’ higher than the highest point in the Enchantments, Aasgard Pass, so I thought it was a fair challenge.
Compared to most of the wilderness trails in Arizona, the access to this one is incredibly good. The road is paved all the way to the trail. There is an army of portable toilets in the parking lot. Arriving the night before, I slept in my car so I could get a 4:30 am start.
The path across the ski slope is like a freeway, but then you hit the wilderness boundary, and it turns into a normal trail. Still, the best-maintained trail I have encountered in a long time. I even ran into a trail crew on my way down and thanked them for their great work.
I did the first 4 switchbacks, about 2 miles, with my headlamp, augmented by moonlight. As dawn broke, the birds and squirrels began to chirp, the woodpeckers started hammering, and a coyote howled. But most of the time, it was really quiet. When I started, it was 56°, and as I climbed higher and higher, and the sun warmed the earth, the temperature stayed about the same.
After 3 hours, I had climbed to 11,550 feet, about 4.5 miles. The trail here is very messy. Rather, there are many different ways people have gone. I think if you watch for the constructed steps, that would be the preferred route. I reached the saddle, and trail junction with the Weatherford Trail a short time later. It was windy and sunny at the saddle; it had been shady the whole trip up to this point.
Leaving the saddle, the otherwise well-maintained trail becomes vague for a while. Pay attention. Stay to the left of the ridge, but don’t go too far down. Before too long, the trail becomes well marked with tall poles, and navigating the rest of the trip is easy. I reached the summit about 9:20. Still, later than I intended, bearing in mind I wanted to be off the ridge by 11. Nevertheless, the weather was perfect, with no sign of monsoons, so I dawdled at the top. The ammo box with the summit register is full of registers, and the latest register is full. The lid on the box is failing as well.
Although I had been passed by only 3 on the way up, as I headed down, I lost count of the number of people I met. There were over 30 cars in the lot in the bottom when I got back. As I headed down, the altitude started to get to me as well, not an unfamiliar experience. When I got to the car, all I wanted to do was get to lower altitude. After Flagstaff, a coke, and a half a bag of Fritos, I was feeling good again. |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
A little paintbrush, mule's ear (I think), a few asters. Not a lot. |
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