Humphreys
Peak: A Travelogue
I personally had
planned to hike Humphreys Peak with two different sets of friends and had
backed out twice. Lightning at the peak and catastrophes had been the most
deterrent statistics that made us cancel our plans. However, when a friend from
our neighborhood asked who was interested in training for Humphreys, my hand
shot up first! She has a lot of experience with such difficult hikes and has
the needed leadership skills to guide a big group, to motivate and to deal with
all our varying levels of strength, motivation, and availability, among so many
other factors.
Organizing a
common slot when the majority is available and when Arizona weather is
conducive for hiking is a challenge in itself, yet she made it possible. Just
to give you an example, we had planned a girls-only trip to Vegas with few
friends but had ended up settling on simply watching a movie after our
families’ dinners— that too after 8 out of 12 of the friends dropped out! So
honestly, I had zero hopes of Humphreys being a reality.
Without much
knowledge of statistics & what it takes to reach the summit, many of us
showed interest. We started off with of course, Telegraph Pass hike, which
itself seemed bit challenging for many of us. Our leader friend came up with a
detailed plan for next few weeks suggesting varying difficulty levels of hikes
including Pyramid Trail, Camelback- Cholla/Echo, Piestawa Peak, Bursera, Flat
Iron, Tom’s Thumb, Peralta, Sunrise Peak & what not. Her plan included good
mix of challenging elevation & distance. Weeks over weeks we used to wait
for her telling us on which hike we are going that weekend & what time to
start. As it became evident that this is a tough journey, slowly the number of
friends joining the weekend hikes started dropping. Around February’2020, we
had rooms booked for the committed ones. Dates were finalized keeping the
conducive weather & family obligations/summer plans in mind, for six
families! That itself was a biggest hurdle to conclude at a common date, somehow
all of us prioritized our hike & committed to it. And boom- COVID-19 became
prevalent in mid of March 2020! Our world came to standstill. Kids didn’t
return to school after the spring break. Everyone started working from home
& it was evident that we had to cancel our plan.
Rest of 2020 everyone was coping up with the pandemic & keeping safe inside their homes. Around Januray’2021 our leader friend pinged for starting the hikes one more time. By then, few of us were feeling iffy about how it would be to go for hiking outside with masks on. Around mid-February’2021 vaccination news came & we became hopeful. Despite of different challenges, everyone kept training on their own pace. There were many hurdles along the way. I had to challenge myself to go hiking solo. I personally had never been hiking on my own, so this was an uphill battle to motivate myself to get out of bed early in the morning, sometimes even at 4 a.m.! Amongst these hikes, there were funny and not so funny incidents, including, terrifyingly, confronting a coyote.
In 2020, we had
bought all our gear, prepared our checklist for what to pack, and sorted out
all the details. Only the starting date was missing! By the end of March, we
had to make a decision if we were actually going to do it and finally took the
bold step to make our cabin reservations. With concerns about internal air
circulation, we opted to book individual cabins at Ski Lift Lodge and Cabins.
This establishment had an option of cancellation that was 4 days prior to our
trip, so if anything came up, we were prepared to cancel at the last
minute.
Our leader kept
motivating us, preparing us week after week till the date of the hike. She shared
so many valuable tips from choosing the right shoes, what to pack for
emergency, filing the nails prior to go on hiking (which seems trivial but such
an important step) & what not! Her lead gave all of us confidence that we
should keep going forward no matter what!
With the hot
Arizona summer on the horizon, we kept on going on varying levels of
challenging hikes per her plan without questioning. If our leader said you need
to go for an 11-mile hike after waking up at 3:30 in the morning, we did it!
Because of the warmer temperatures, it wasn’t exactly fun, but we kept at it
religiously. Then came the day, just 4 days prior to our travel when we could
still cancel the trip. We were watching the weather closely, as the weather
would make all the difference during the hike. If there was any sign of clouds,
we knew we would have to turn back, as the weather could change very quickly at
that elevation. And due to the lack of a tree line, there would be no cover,
and lightning could become a reality very quickly.
We were relieved
that it was finally going to happen, but boom, a day before our trip, the
weather channel showed a cloudy day on the 29th and even later that weekend. We
were cautiously monitoring the weather conditions in the area, and it showed no
rain but cloudy after 2 pm. Considering the 10.7 miles we were to hike, I
estimated it would take about 7 to 8 hours to finish the hike, whereas few
others were more realistic and suggested that we should have an early start so
that we would have enough buffer room if it were to take longer to complete.
After bargaining on sleep time, we settled on starting at 5:30 a.m. from the
cabin.
We began at the
Snowbowl base trailhead at 6:15 a.m. Within few steps, we could feel that this
was a different hike than the ones we had practiced, the main challenge being
elevation! By then, the distance didn’t scare us, but we had no idea of what to
expect at that elevation. To give you a relative idea, Phoenix is at 1,085 feet
of elevation whereas, Humphrey’s peak is at 12,633 ft! The saddle, which is
about 3 miles from the trailhead up to the end of the tree line. After that,
all vegetation ends and the tundra region begins.
From the saddle
to the summit is a totally different experience than what it is up to the
saddle. There are rocks, loose gravel, and absolutely stunning views throughout
the hike! Even though we knew there would be false peaks, once we reached the
first false peak, the path in front of us seemed impossible. The summit seemed
to be receding back with every step. It became a sheer mind game to keep
pushing forward, and because of the lack of vegetation in the area, it was
super windy in that stretch. The air became so thin that I could hear my own
palpitations! Breathing in through my nose and sharp exhaling through the mouth
seemed to help a bit. Finally, we reached the summit at noon! After taking in
the 360-degree views and fueling ourselves for the descent, it was time to
start the hike back.
Although I usually enjoy the descents of most hikes, the challenge on this one was the slippery path. There was loose gravel, melting snow, and slippery, muddy patches all along the hike. I stopped counting the number of times I almost slipped but didn’t hit the ground, although few people along the way were not so lucky and fell down multiple times, only to lift themselves up with a zeal that they were not aware they had! We experienced wobbly knees due to continuously managing our balance, aching shoulders due to carrying heavy backpacks, and of course, squished toes begging for freedom.
Descending,
however, felt so much easier than the arduous climb up, and we couldn’t have
asked for better weather! Thankfully, it was a clear, sunny day with pleasant
temperatures. We even managed to play silly games to keep our minds occupied
while hiking down. By 5 p.m., we returned to the trailhead to conclude the most
memorable, fulfilling hiking experience of our lives! We concluded the night
with comforting dal-rice arranged by Girish. All our families supported us
throughout our hiking journey including the weekend hikes. Without them this
was never possible.
You might ask:
would I put myself through this ever again? Surprisingly, the answer is yes; I
have already started plans to visit again & again. Our leader has willingly
accepted the challenge to prepare us for the next adventure, and our group has
already started brainstorming for the next one!
