Mingus Mountain

Weather: 75º, sunny, breezy

About this Hike:  Earlier in September I blogged about my experiences in the Mt. Union Fire Lookout.  While the U.S. Forest Service Ranger in the tower rambled about his libertarian views (I mentioned he was quiet a character), I heard 'Mingus Mountain reporting' crackle over the two-way radio.  'What's Mingus Mountain?' I wondered.  Upon returning home I did some research.  Another Prescott trip was inspired.

Mingus lies between Prescott Valley and Jerome.  It's an easy drive up from Phoenix on paved, two-lane highway nearly the entire trip.  As you approach Mingus you traverse some ugly golden grassland that I can imagine one careless cigarette-butt-out-the-car-window may set ablaze.  As you wind your way up the Mingus Mountain Scenic Byway grassland rapidly gives way to ponderosa pine forest.  And on a side note, the mountain passes were a blast, pushing the handling prowress of my recently acquired Mazda CX-3.  But I'll digress...this blog is for reviewing my hikes, not cars.

Mingus Mountain is a well-defined recreation area.  At the base is what's known as the picnic area,  with a vast paved surface lot, two picnic tables, and a latrine... A well-graded dirt and gravel road leads to the top of Mingus.  We opted to park on pavement and hike up the road.  Note if you choose to do this:  bring a bandana to cover your nose and mouth with.  The road can be dusty whenever a vehicle passes by, so use caution. 

While driving to the top is an option, you'll miss some beautiful scenery doing so.  There was ridge of firey fall color (and pretty much the only fall color we got on this hike).  You pass through several meadows and then by Mingus Lake (basically a fishing pond).  At Mingus Lake there was a meadow full of cattle grazing.  Only they were bulls.  And there was no fence/pen.  I nervously walked to the other side of the road.  Up the embankment was a wire (not razor nor electric) fence.  I seriously considered getting on the other side.  How is it legal to allow bulls to graze without a pen?! Regardless, there were people fishing in the lake, including some children that were running around.  The bulls seemed far more interested in the grassy meadow...

We reached the Mingus Fire Lookout only to discover it was closed for the season.  I've been up enough of these now that it wasn't a total crusher that this was closed.  Mingus is a very tall, narrow fire tower with a ladder up to the hatch.  My fear of heights would've kept me in check.

There are a number of side trails to explore from the Mingus Summit.  There's also a scenic vista and hang glider launch ramp.  The vista affords fantastic views of Sedona and the San Francisco Peaks in Flagstaff.  Cathedral Rock and a few other Sedona landmarks are visible to the naked eye.  It's time for me to get new binoculars.

A few additional things about this hike:

• Parking at the summit is $5. It's free at the base
• With radio warning signs everywhere, plenty of communications towers greet you at the summit.  I had great cell service, although it was spotty on the side trails
• Maps on U.S. Forest Service's website are OK, but I noted a few confusing points

Free-range bulls...literally

Sedona in the distance

End of the World at Piestewa

Weather: 80º, sunny, breezy

Time:  27 minutes

About this Hike:  Enroute to Piestewa I passed the Circle K at E. McDowell & 24th St.  The sign read $4.44 for regular unleaded.  What happened that gas nearly doubled overnight!?  Did conflict with N. Korea escalate?  Did another hurricane or earthquake severe vital pipelines?

I hadn't watched the morning news or checked Facebook prior to leaving for my hike. Was I out of the loop on some major occurrence?  We live in scary times, after all.

The main road to Piestewa is tore up with construction, but parking was abundant at the trailhead upon my 11 AM arrival.  I whipped out my phone and tried to get news feeds.  My phone wasn't connecting to a Verizon tower.  Instead I received a 'No Service' warning. 'Great...whatever happened last night severed telecommunications too,' I thought.  

So I began my hike.  I used the Samsung Fitness app to record my time to the top, as I always do.  It argued and protested since there wasn't a reliable cellular/data connection, but it still allowed me to record my time—a run-of-the-mill 27 minutes.

The empty parking lot did not betray how crowded the summit was today.  Up at ~2600 feet, my ancient Galaxy S5 had regained service.  I checked news feeds.  I checked Google for current gas prices.  All seemed stable.  While some were predicting the world was going to end today, it apparently hadn't.  My nerves were beginning to calm down.

As I headed back to the trailhead, everyone else at the summit decided to depart at the same time.  It made for a difficult bottleneck getting down.  One ascending hiker comment, 'Was there a fire drill at the top?'  Eventually I broke free of the crowd.  I reset my fitness tracker app not because I'm trying to break any records in the descent, but simply so it records my activity and calorie burn more accurately.  It said I descended in 27 minutes...surprising since this descent usually takes me closer to 40 minutes.  I don't run like some people...I've seen too much fresh blood on our Phoenix Mountains.

So the world didn't end today. I enjoyed cooler fall temps (finally!) and easy parking.  Gas at the Chevron near Piestewa was $2.49.  I can only think Circle K had a glitch or error in their sign...

Cheers to another day and another hike!

Piestewa Under Construction

Weather: 97º, partly cloudy, humid

Time:  27 minutes

About this Hike:  Got a bit of a later start today, closer to 11am. The mountain and the parking lot were a ghosttown. Actually, I expected a bigger crowd today, what with temps just under the century mark and a constant nonsoon errr monsoon tease.

This blog is not for my political opinions, but today I may make an exception. Our wonderful liberal mayor of Phoenix has long crusaded that Squaw Peak Drive and other roads he deems offensive are going to be renamed.  Well, Squaw Peak Drive hasn't been renamed...yet. But the big, overhead sign at the traffic light just says 'Piestewa Peak' with an arrow toward the mountain. A small, unlit sign denotes the name of the street now. Way to go Mayor Stanton....  Granted, I think the story of Lori Piestewa is fascinating and a worthy person to name this iconic peak after.  

In addition to street renaming, there's some construction taking place on the main road. Despite warnings, it didn't seem to impact traffic too much.

Mt. Union & Fire Lookout Tower

Weather:  82º, sunny

About this Hike:  We've conquered another summit with a U.S. Forest Service fire lookout on top. This one was Mt. Union, just south of Prescott, AZ.

The hike up Mt. Union is not difficult. In fact, the 'trail' is actually a 4WD dirt road, and chances are you'll encounter ATVs and the like.  There's no designated parking area.  You drive in along one of two routes—Walker Rd. or Senator Highway, both of which eventually turn to packed dirt.  From the limited information I found online, it seemed both routes were the same in length and reported road conditions.  I can tell you this after going in one way and out the other—Senator Highway is in much better condition than Walker Rd.  Of course we didn't really have the right vehicle for this drive, but the old Honda Accord managed to make it over the bumpy dirt with just a few creaks and groans of dissatisfaction.

One other thing that was NOT mentioned anywhere online during my research.... I had carefully printed maps of the spaghetti-like mess of U.S. Forest Service fire roads that entangle this part of Prescott National Forest.  I never expected to have cell service and/or GPS out there.  On top of Mt. Union are multiple communications towers, and my Verizon phone had five bars and LTE service nearly the entire time.

We encountered a friendly Forest Ranger on the drive in, and he suggested parking just past a cattle guard at the confluence of Senator Highway and Poland Junction Rd. (Route 261). In this area there were barricades, signs, and police line tape reminiscent of this summer's Goodwin Fire closure area. However, the Mt. Union lookout tower has since re-opened.  The hike to the tower is an uphill, but not overly steep, 2.5 miles or so along Route 261.  This hike will take you through beautiful AZ High Country forestland.  

Speaking of the Goodwin Fire, from the lookout tower the fire scar is plainly visible.  At nearly 8000 feet, the Prescott Valley, Sedona, and even the San Francisco Peaks are also visible on a clear day.

We've visited a number of lookout towers throughout AZ, and each one is a unique and memorable experience. The U.S. Forest Rangers that man these towers are often interesting characters. The gentleman at the Mt. Union tower certainly did not disappoint....

Finally, there are alternate ways to access Mt. Union beyond the Senator Highway / Walker Rd. access points.  The Yankee Doodle trail will take you up and over Mt. Union, along with passing through the rest of the surrounding area.  To do Yankee Doodle in it's entirety you may want to plan on backpacking and camping for a night.

Blue spruce

Mt. Union's neighboring peak, Mt. Davis