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Agassiz View
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Jim & Bristlecone
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Humphreys summit
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Map - AZ: Humphreys Peak; 9 miles
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Man's deepest need for wilderness is as
an aid in forsaking human arrogance and courting humility in a respect for the
community and with regard for the environment."
Howard Zahniser, 1955.
What a lovely hike to the Arizona high point! Through
deep forests of aspen, fir, and eventually Bristlecone Pine. From dark forest to alpine
stark tundra, a colossal basalt pile.
The trail climbs onto the San Francisco Mountains
in the Kachina Peaks Wilderness; from 9200' to 12,643' = 3443' over 5.2 miles
(FS says 4.5) one-way. This equals 24 ERM (Energy Required Miles).
K., Jim McCarthy, and I start driving for bagels at
6:30 a.m., finding few because it's Labor Day. Up to the Snowbowl Ski Area we go, via
Hwy 180, then FR 516 - it's only about 15 miles out of town. As we start the hike, it's
cool, nearly cold - with mist rolling off the high meadows created for those nasty
environmentally-insensitive alpine skiers before the forest closes in. 3.6 miles
and we are at the saddle near Agassiz at about 11,400' - then it's an exposed route
to the summit. It's a decent and delightful trail. Agassiz Peak (12,356') is closed
to scrambling because of its sacred value to the Native Americans. Also, attempts to
recover the San Francisco Peaks Groundsel, a threatened plant, prohibit cross-country
travel. Elevation is noticeable, and our conversation slacks to a mumble, that and the
wind is fierce at times, piercing our thin attire. We enjoy a lounging lunch at the top,
with views North across deep deserts to the Grand Canyon and South over a sea of mountains
swirling in and out of the clouds, along with bits of Flagstaff, and prairies across the
basalt bump-lands. The weather holds, something of concern in this near-the-end of the
monsoon season. The monsoon, a strange phenomenon punctuated by nearly daily thunderstorms
that boom and roll into the night at times.
The route is not swarming with hikers today, although there are some 'highpointers'
checking another high point off their list of things to do. We meet some folks from
Texas that are actually interested in conservation, despite the awful bushco nature of
this self-centered state. Worst president ever! No contest. The fact that he has
spent (i.e., squandered on an illicit war and corporate welfare) more than all previous
presidents combined should not endure him to republicans or others. Perhaps his name
will be attached to apropos legacies such as the bushco national debt, bushco oil spills,
and bushco superfund sites.
The route down is cool at first (ear muffs, gloves),
then warm. "Too much down!" shriek the slightly-bruised feet and knees, but not severe.
Compared to other intermountain peaks, such as Mt. Borah (high point of the great state
of Idaho), Humphreys is quite easy - where Borah requires an ascent of over 5,000 vertical feet and
some scrambly bits, Humphrey is short of a 3500' ascent on a decent trail tread.
Still, it hikes like a 24-mile adventure. The hike took 8 hours, including breaks.
Our first big hike since moving to Flag on August 17th - delightfully deluxe.
"Should any political party
attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and
farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is
a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes you can do these things. Among them are a
few Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or business man from other areas.
Their number is negligible and they are very stupid." President Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1954.
(Note to all who believe that this quote is too perfect to
be authentic: should you wish to find the source, go to the Eisenhower Presidential Papers,
Document #1147; November 8, 1954. The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, Volume XV -
The Presidency: The Middle Way Part VI: Crises Abroad, Party Problems at Home; September
1954 to December 1954.)
"We simply need wild country available to us, even
if we do no more than drive to its edge and look in. For it can be a means of reassuring
ourselves of our sanity as creatures, a part of the geography of hope." Wallace Stegner
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