With another hikeless weekend fast approaching on the club calendar, I scheduled this hike at more or less the last minute. And once again, with time being short, I went back to an old favorite rather than take time planning something new.

That, however, takes nothing away from the trail. It’s a good distance, well-maintained, varied in terrain, and has some fantastic views. And with June usually being the hottest month in Arizona, some extra altitude and the shade of aspens and ponderosa pines seemed like key attributes.

Fourteen Trailblazers signed up and began hiking from the Kachina Trailhead a little before ten o’clock. The altitude at the trailhead was 9,266 feet and with the exception of Ralph, no one was acclimated to hiking at that elevation. So I gave everyone a short lecture on shortness of breath and altitude sickness and then we were off.

As expected, nearly everyone found themselves getting winded. The solution, of course, is to slow down and not out-hike your lungs. The amount of oxygen each breath is giving you should dictate your pace.

Everyone loved the trail, the aspens, and the views overlooking Flagstaff. About twelve people made it to the designated turnaround point, the Weatherford Trail junction. The rest turned around when they met the lead group coming back.

There are no trail junctions between the Kachina Trailhead and the Weatherford trail, so keeping on-trail was a snap. There is one collection of boulders that obscures the trail route but everyone found their way.

The Kachina Trail is a popular one and we did occasionally meet some other hikers. One even called me a celebrity and cited an article in Phoenix magazine!

One hiker did, in my opinion, experience some altitude sickness and had trouble finishing the hike. He thought it was lack of hydration and maybe it was, or maybe it was a contributing factor. Fortunately, he felt better after we descended the 2200 feet down to Flagstaff and he rested for about half an hours.

WebMD has a good article on altitude sickness.

After the hike most of us tried a restaurant in Flagstaff called Fat Olives. Another hiker had recommended this to me a few weeks earlier and it was fabulous! Definitely a place to come back to if you like Italian. And who doesn’t?