Humphreys Summit Trail #151 Photoset • rwstorm • 2000-07-29 • HikeArizona.COM

Humphreys Summit Trail #151, AZ

	2000-07-29
	28 by rwstorm

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Humphreys Summit Trail #151

Flagstaff, AZ

Humphreys Summit Trail #151

Flagstaff, AZ

Hiking	10.25 Miles	3,330 AEG

Hiking	10.25 Miles
	3,330 ft AEG

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This was my second time up Humphreys...30 years after my first ascent!

First time up was on July 4, 1970 with a high school bud from Camelback. We got this crazy idea to go up to Flagstaff and do the hike on the 4th, then watch the fireworks show up there. Spent the night sleeping in his old panel truck before heading back to Phoenix. Worked out pretty good, except for being on the peak when a thunderstorm headed toward us from the Inner Basin area!

On that first time up we cheated and took the ski lift up and then headed for the peak. Can't do that anymore I believe. Anyway, while we were on the peak eating lunch, I asked Mel if there were bugs flying around me, and he said no, but your hair is starting to to stand up. Uh oh! Then the mountain began making a humming sound like a transformer that was getting louder, and there were crackling sounds in the air. We knew what that meant, so we high tailed it behind some rocks off the peak and laid down on the ground. There was one flash as lightning hit nearby, and the mountain went silent again. Phew...let's get out of here! By this time it was starting to rain with small hail thrown in, as we headed down from the peak. I had a psychrometer with me and it was registering 36 degrees briefly.

Luckily, the storm died right by the peak and there was no more lightning action. We were quite fortunate, as it took awhile to get back to the ski lift! The rain didn't last long and the rest of our day was just fine. It was a memorable experience to be sure.

So forward into the future. One of my co-workers at NWS Tucson, Darren McCollum, had transferred up to the Flagstaff office (Bellemont) late in 1998. While he and his wife Cindy were in Tucson we got together on occasion for some epic partying, road trips, and camping.

When 2000 rolled around I decided I would do a 30th anniversary hike to Humphreys, and got in touch with Darren to see if he would be interested. He said yes, so we got our work schedules arranged so we would have July 4th off to do the hike. But of course as the date got closer, because of dry conditions and high fire danger, Coconino NF went to stage 3 and closed the forest (you just knew that would happen, right?

).

As these forest closure scenarios usually play out, the summer storms started doing their thing and the forest was reopened again once enough rain had fallen. So, Darren and I checked our schedules and set up a new date for the hike, July 29th. This time it worked out and we even had a day with no thunderstorm activity!

It was just perfect for that second Humphreys hike. Yay!

I haven't been in contact with Darren in a long time, but I think he still works at the Bellemont weather office (at the time I posted this triplog June 30, 2022).

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