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| Hiking | 8.17 Miles |
988 AEG |
| | Hiking | 8.17 Miles | 3 Hrs 2 Mns | | 2.69 mph |
| 988 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | The last time I had been out to Rogers Lake was for a weekend-long Army ROTC FTX just before we were commissioned. The seniors acted as cadre, while the underclassmen were good guys and OPFOR. Unlike the previous year, when we had to EndEx before dusk for safety reasons — hypothermia, as it was low 30’s and sleeting — we went 24 hours straight, before I returned to my ghetto apartment at Franklin & Verde St. across from the old football stadium. 
After my wife & I spent some time looking at the info displays on Rogers Lake wildlife and bird migration, life-size metal replicas of elk antlers and various critter skulls, I started walking south on Two Spot Trail.
Rogers Lake is usually dry, so I was not surprised by the lack of water. I was kind of hoping for flowers, since the lake must retain some life-giving moisture. Nada. There were tons of cattle though! 
If you see some blue roofs across Rogers Lake, that is the Frontiere Ranch, which was owned by Georgia Frontiere, who finally scored when husband #6 conveniently drowned. I wonder if she's who the Gold Digger Trail is named after? 
The ranch is now operated by Coconino County, though after 5+ years they still haven’t figured out what they want to do with it.
I started finding flowers along Gold Digger Trail: western yarrow, lupine and especially thistle. The thistle were deep pink-purple. Some of the prettiest thistle I’ve ever seen.
When I arrived at the fire lookout access road, I turned right towards Woody Mountain.
A few hundred yards from Gold Digger Trail, there is a gate. The vehicle gate was locked. The pedestrian gate open, with no chain. I closed it and stuck a stick where the bolt would have been.
There’s quite a bit of stuff to check out at the top of Woody Mountain — see it all in my video below!  — but the highlight is obviously the fire lookout.
Woody Mountain fire lookout’s bottom section of stairs was quite wobbly. I figure because if they were solidly anchored, then the flexing of the tower in high winds would break the stairs. Even on the steadier upper sections of stairs, it was still disorienting to have that open space so close by.
Unfortunately, the observation deck was locked. Still, there were great 360° great views from the Nearly Top: A-1 Mountain, the San Francisco Peaks, Mount Elden, the U.S. Naval Observatory, Flagstaff, the airport, Mormon Mountain, etc. Not Bill Williams Mountain, though: That was obscured by smoke from the Platypus Fire controlled burn near Sycamore Canyon. (The smoke would get so bad that later in the afternoon you could not see the Peaks from downtown Flagstaff.) 
Afterwards, my wife & I repaired to The Lumberyard where I had a few beers while we watched endless trains go by. (One was, no lie, 211 cars, with pusher engines not only at the end, but in the middle!) 
Hike Video: https://vimeo.com/495469493
Fire Lookout: https://vimeo.com/495469583 |
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Autumn Foliage Observation Isolated
Mostly near the picnic ramada. |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
Still some flowers here and there. Thistle were deep pink-purple! |
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| http://prestonm.com : Everyone's enjoyment of the outdoors is different and should be equally honored. |
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Route Editor
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— but the highlight is obviously the fire lookout.
. We climbed the tower and were able to see great views of Humphreys and the surrounding areas including a view of smoke in the distance. Hopefully this was a controlled burn. The hike was closer to 9 miles than 7, and was perfect for our first hike in a long while. The weather was perfect, and the route 60% shaded, but the sunny areas in the altitude were pretty hot. Overall, it was a beautiful day with big pines, a fenced-off Aspen grove and beautiful views. We saw 2 eagles & heard them call to us - most likely this was ‘stay out of here, we are hunting.’ The only other wildlife were a couple of horny toads. Finished off the day with dinner in Flag & a crowded drive back to town.
