Day 20: Humphrey's Peak, Flagstaff

All throughout my road trip, the one constant was having access to National Public Radio (NPR). I was always able to hear my news no matter where I was. There were only a few areas where I had interrupted service, but I always kept abreast of worldly affairs.

This morning I heard the tragic news that another Malaysian Airlines plane had been shot down over Ukraine from an altitude of over 30,000 feet. NPR wasn't sure if it was shot down by Russian forces or Ukrainian separatists. All 298 people died. As I was driving to the trail head for Humphrey's Peak, I envisioned the terror the doomed passengers must have felt when they sensed they were falling to earth. That's assuming they were not burned by the missile or unconscious beforehand.

The crisis in Ukraine with Russia has gone too far, and yet nothing is getting any better there. But why shoot down a civilian aircraft?

This early morning news was not a good start to the day, as I meandered up the Snowbowl road, passing early-morning joggers and cyclists. I arrived at the trail head parking at 7am and the parking lot was already crowded, with two women having just left with a pretty Border Collie. Sadie and I didn't get started until 7:30am. Hopefully that gave the women enough of a head start. For the first time on my road trip, I traded my water sandals for hiking boots. I only carried water and snacks to last the two of us for this hike up. Weather forecast sounded optimistic with the monsoon "taking a break this weekend."

I had hiked this trail four years ago, after returning from my John Muir Trail backpacking trip. This time I was a little slower getting uphill, as the trail switch-backed through the Douglas Firs, aspens and finally the lava rocks above the timberline. The trail uphill was as I remembered it to be, a constant switchback up this tree-studded mountain side, with views only toward the end.

Today I was the 17th person to ascend, more than expected on a weekday. That's assuming everyone signed in at the registry near the start of the hike, a metal desk top planted among aspens along the trail. I noted used toilet paper near a tree as I signed in. Seriously, people? Do you have to shit right on the trail and then leave all the waste behind?

Sadie was on her best behavior on this hike. She stayed by my side the entire time. She only reacted once, when a young couple descending with their pitX dog came running toward us. I held on to her harness, reassuring the young couple that despite the dogs' barking, it was all harmless.

Five were already coming down as I neared the peak, and soon there were so many people coming and going, that I lost count. A man and his two dogs told me he hikes up the peak once a week and that his dogs were experienced on this mountain. I counted at least five dogs that were on this peak before Sadie and I arrived. A man who looked to be in his 70s came to the peak as I was leaving it.

It took me four hours to reach the peak. That last mile on that rocky ridge is perhaps the worst part of the trail, as the wind blows and there's nothing holding a hiker back. Unevan lava rocks surround the hiker. The forest service now has new poles marking the trail, to keep hikers off the protected alpine flowers that struggle to grow through the rock surface. The poles help navigate confused hikers as once on this ridge line, it's nothing but sharp lava rocks and two false summits before reaching the true peak. It's not a particularly pretty hike up once at this ridge line, especially if the sky is hazy.

It took me 90 minutes to cover that last mile, stopping a lot for Sadie who needed shade and could only find it near piles of rocks. It wasn't the elevation that was slowing me down. It was the lava rocks and the unstable trail!

A young New Zealander, wearing a sleeveless shirt and shorts passed us on this lava field. His father was behind us. He was visiting for a few weeks and wanted to bag this peak. "We don't have mountains like this in New Zealand!" he said, and scurried off. We passed him again not that long after that as he was descending.

"That didn't take long!" I told him.
"Too many biting insects on the peak!" he exclaimed. "I was there long enough to take pictures, then got off of there!" He was quickly off that ridge line. Lesson learned, I hope.

Indeed, the bugs were bad today, but I was covered in long sleeves and long pants. The little biters still managed to bite the back of my neck, though, and tried getting to Sadie's ears. Weather otherwise was much better than my first ascent in 2010, when a drizzle and wind kept me wet. Had the wind been stronger, the bugs wouldn't have been biting so hard. I counted three wild fires burning. These are fires that NPR said the forest service would allow to burn out naturally, since they were not threatening structures and were burning in areas badly infected with beetle infestation and dead trees.

We stayed on top for a while. The forest service has a new peak sign here now, and gone is the old tribal pole people posed with as a sign of having bagged Humphreys. I had raw steak for Sadie to enjoy on the peak, while I ate another chicken salad sandwich. I picked up other peoples' trash, enjoyed the solitude, and then the crowds started coming around noon. A trio from the Phoenix area joined us, complimented Sadie and took our peak photo. Later on I met a father-daughter duo hiking uphill. The daughter made it to the peak, but they needed time later to recover further down the trail. Another father-son duo started the ascent shortly before I had finished, so I don't know if that pair made it to the top. Mount Humphreys is an unpredictable peak, and winds and rain can quickly ruin a summit attempt when not properly prepared.

My feet were getting sore from the boots I had on. It took me three hours to get back to the parking lot! My feet had gotten spoiled from wearing my water sandals for the entire trip, and each step down was a calculated step.

A young park ranger was hiking up that last stretch to pick up today's registered hikers. At first I thought I was busted: there was a DOGS MUST BE ON LEASH warning at the trail head. And while I did have Sadie's leash with me, she was clearly off of it as the ranger approached. Every other dog on this trail was off-leash as well, though. The ranger didn't say anything to me, much to my relief.

"I'm glad to be able to get out of the office for a bit!" she said. It was 3:20pm, and anyone now on the trail was either finishing the descent or just out for a foothills stroll. I had counted 56 people who had registered for the peak.

The parking lot was full as I got back to my van. I lingered here a bit, taking my painful boots off and putting my sandals back on. I was hungry and tired, and so was Sadie. She bagged another major peak today, and I was very proud of her.

I had nothing else planned for today other than eat and rest. I drove back into Flagstaff, ate a meal at the DelTaco near the KOA site, and got online. I was more tired than hungry. It was still in the mid-80s here. Sadie slept in the van.

I enjoy Flagstaff. Like many other western mountain towns, there's always something to do here, but as I sat at the fast food place I noticed how segregated this town really is. The Navajo seem to only live in the eastern part of town, where some can be seen begging for money outside of establishments. They aren't hanging in the tourist area where the tourists hang. The homes in the eastern half are smaller and run-down, while the wealthy part of town is in the northern half, with huge estates overlooking the skyline.

Dogs were once allowed outside in eating establishments, but now dogs must be outside the designated eating areas. This was another turn-off for me. Sadie was better off staying in the van and resting. There are now signs forbidding dogs from entering restaurant patios, as per city ordnance.

Flagstaff offers free live music (as opposed to dead music?) on Friday nights in Heritage Square, and this weekend the theme was Celtic music. It's not my favorite genre, but I enjoyed walking around, watching people. A lot of people were listening from nearby bars and cafes. Sadie stayed napping in the van, where I know she was more comfortable. I walked around, took photos, but didn't sit down anywhere for a beer, either. Taking an early night off for much-needed sleep sounded more appealing. I will always come back to Flagstaff.