The morning of this hike there was one cloud in the entire sky. Only one, and it happened to be covering my destination, the summit of Humphreys Peak. As I drove north from Flagstaff toward Snowbowl Ski Resort, I couldn't help but think of reaching the highest point in Arizona and not being able to enjoy the view. By the time I started on the trail at 8:30 AM I convinced myself the cloud would not want to rob me of such a site and would oblige by lifting from the mountain.

What a contrast from the previous day's hike at Kendrick Peak! At Kendrick, there was no one in the parking lot. At the lower parking lot of Snowbowl, which provides the parking for the Humphreys Trail trailhead, there must have been 30 cars. From Kendrick I was able to enjoy the view of the tallest peaks in Arizona. At Humphreys I set out to reverse that image.

The trail began from the northeast end of the well marked lower parking lot of Snowbowl Ski Resort. It headed across a ski run, under a ski lift and past a sign designating the boundary of the Kachina Peaks Wilderness.

This first part of forest I encountered struck me as somewhat depressing. There seemed an endless display of downed trees. The trees living in this area are quite tall which succeed in blocking most light which would be necessary for smaller plants and trees to grow. As a result, the ground is quite bare. The color in this area makes it quite easy to imagine having to live in a world with only shades of gray. After a short while I began to imagine this area much the same as the imagery of the movie Interview With A Vampire. That same eerie and quiet darkness which created the mystique to the movie, was present in this forest.

After hiking for about 20 minutes I came to a Y. Here there was a sign pointing the way to Humphreys (to the left) and the ski lodge (to the right). At the base of the sign was an ammo box doubling as shelter for a wilderness register. I took the time to sign in, marking my destination as "TOP", then headed for Humphreys.

40 minutes into the hike I was greeted by a sign noting Humphreys Peak 3 miles away, and the Weatherford Trail 2 1/4 miles. Another 10 minutes later, the forest had just begun to open up, as small patches of grasses were present on the forest floor. A bit further I started to see small wild strawberry plants at the edges of the trail - however, no strawberries.

Three miles into the hike I found myself making my way across a 50 foot wide landslide of boulders. In the middle of this stream of rock was a sign stating "Stay On Trail - Fragile Tundra." Just beyond the boulders the trail began a steepened ascent. From here I was able to look toward Agassiz Peak, which is about 300 feet shy of Humphreys Peak, to see that the cloud had indeed obliged me and was now hovering above the peak.

A small distance later I stopped momentarily to talk with someone making their way down the trail. He mentioned it was very cold and windy at the summit, but windbreaks were available there. At 2 hours into the hike I got a feel for the wind I had been warned about as I reached a saddle which joins with the Weatherford Trail. Taking shelter behind a wall of rock, I sat for a while to enjoy the view east over the back side of the mountain I'd been climbing. This popular place to take a break provides a view into the Inner Basin of the Wilderness. To the south, the Weatherford trail can be seen snaking along a bare ridge toward the looming Agassiz Peak. To the north is one of the false peaks toward Humphreys. After a good break I added an extra layer of clothing and started the final 3/4 mile to the summit.

The wind made its presence known immediately upon leaving the saddle. Coupled with the feeling of the temperature dropping as each false peak was reached, a more primitive trail which happened to be above the tree line, and the fact I was now around 12,000 feet above sea level, I felt as if I were plodding along. With each false peak, I was able to look south to Agassiz and gage how much higher I had to go. A half hour from the saddle I resorted to putting on a third layer as the wind blew harder, and the temperature dropped further.

After another 10 minutes I had reached the top of Arizona at 12,633 feet! After taking a moment to take in the full 360 degree view, I headed for one of the windbreaks made of stone. One of the them is quite large, as a group of 6 to 8 can sit comfortably within it. I found the shelter of a smaller one, which did a mediocre job of cutting the wind, and sat to enjoy a well-deserved break.

At the top of Humphreys, I felt the extreme of hiking in Arizona. This was the highest there is. Looking toward the west, the peaks at Kendrick (10,418 feet) and Bill Williams (9,256 feet) appear as smaller siblings to Humphreys. To the south are the formidable Fremont and Agassiz Peaks (Agassiz is in the picture above) standing as the next highest peaks in Arizona. Books I've read of this hike mention the ability to see the Grand Canyon. That didn't happen the day I went, as there was a white haze toward the northwest. Before leaving the summit, I managed to have another hiker take a picture of me with my camera, but I did forget to sign the register that sits in an ammo box next to the largest of the windbreaks. My picture will have to serve as proof that I made it.

10 minutes after leaving the summit, I started shivering. I surrendered to the cold and wind by finding an extremely comfortable rock which made an excellent windbreak. Sitting there for perhaps 5 minutes I was surprised at just how warm it felt once I wasn't battling the wind. This small break warmed me enough that I was actually quite comfortable the rest of the hike down the mountain.

As I again reached the saddle, I began to entertain the idea of taking the Weatherford trail for a ways toward Agassiz. Though it is not permissible to hike to the peak of Agassiz (due to the endangered Senecio Franciscanus plant), it would have been novel to have hiked the tallest peak, Humphreys, and hiked within a few hundred feet of the second tallest peak, Agassiz, on the same day. However, as I descended from the peak on Humphreys, I began battling a nagging groin muscle, and decided it just wasn't going to happen.

Just below the saddle I was surprised to run in to John coming up the trail. He and I had planned to hike Humphreys together, but John awoke to a sore throat and flu-like symptoms. He chose to sleep a couple extra hours which enabled him to do the hike anyway. Just below John I stopped to talk to someone who said this was his fourth time up Humphreys and the first time it hadn't rained on him. Either this guy has very bad luck or I have very good luck as this was my first time up Humphreys.

The rest of the hike, I followed the same way down until I came to the Y with the sign-in sheet. I chose to skip the last of the gray-colored forest and follow the trail to the lodge. The ski run is perhaps 10 minutes from the Y. This made for a more direct route to the parking lot as I followed a small trail down the south side of the ski run under the lift riblets and back to the parking lot.

As I drove from the ski area, I felt a true sense of accomplishment. Less than a year ago I was laid up for 4 months with a bad back. Now I'm back - on top of Arizona.

Getting there: Take Highway 180 north from Flagstaff about 7 miles. Look for a sign on the right side of the road pointing the way to Snowbowl Ski Resort. The sign directs you to turn right on FR 516 (which is paved). Follow this road a little over 7 miles and watch for a huge sign for Humphreys Trail. This sign will direct you to turn left into a large parking lot. The trailhead is in the northeast corner of the parking lot.

Tips: No Fee. No water is available on the trail. A porta-potty was present at the trailhead. The last mile of this hike is very strenuous. Take rain gear and a couple extra layers of clothing. Nearly everything I've read of this trail warns of bad weather occurring here year-round.

Stats: Humphreys Trail climbs 3,600 feet to 12,633 feet in 4.5 miles. My ascent took approximately 3 hours 15 minutes to reach the summit, and another 2 hours to return to the trailhead.