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| | | Snowy Kachina Aspen Wander, AZ | | | |
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Snowy Kachina Aspen Wander, AZ
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| Hiking | 12.37 Miles |
2,425 AEG |
| | Hiking | 12.37 Miles | 6 Hrs 3 Mns | | 2.31 mph |
| 2,425 ft AEG | 42 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | The forecast called for snow and I didn't want to camp in a cold storm, but knew that in October we'd have to be there early to catch the best conditions before it melted. So after an early drive up north we were presented with a perfect wintry autumn morning.
To avoid the cluster that is Aspen Corner, we set out from Hart Prairie, crossed Snowbowl Road, and found our way up to the Kachina Trail. A handful of other hikers were enjoying the day in the first 12 feet of the trail, and after that there was nobody else. Borderline comical if you really think about it.
On the return, we considered hitting Agassiz for a bevvy, but the traffic near HP quickly put the kibosh on that plan, and upon seeing the shoulder to shoulder line of people heading down the nature loop, we opted to skip that part for a more direct path through the prairie. As is 100% reliable here, we encountered at least a dozen deer enjoying the afternoon.
The forecast had called for scattered snow showers with some accumulation all day ... none of which materialized as clear skies dominated. That changed as we set out to find somewhere to camp, with a fierce evening snow squall that quickly dumped 3-4 inches, reduced visibility, and made finding somewhere dry and clear impossible, even 2000 feet lower in elevation.
So, alas, camp was a bit of an adventure, but we were prepared enough to make it an enjoyable night. It never did stop snowing, though the ground melt offset the snowfall somewhat with only about 8" of accumulation in the morning.
We spent a few hours enjoying the hills around the peaks before heading back down to the valley.
You can never be sure when the first real snowfall of winter happens (sometimes not until January!), so I'm glad I made the effort to take advantage of this brief October aberration. |
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| I'm not sure what my spirit animal is, but I'm confident it has rabies. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
Route 
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at Snowbowl in the morning. It was a little bit jarring to my mental psyche exactly how many vehicles were already at the trailhead at this somewhat early hour! This is exactly the feces this planned route was supposed to avoid! ](https://hikearizona.com/dex2/images/smilies/eusa_wall.gif "Brick wall"){kind=small}
I mean a literal pack of 30 or so ho hum people that swarmed upon the tank like a flock of thirsty Wildebeests.
