Despite much of the Flagstaff area being closed due to fire restriction, this area remained open. We were therefore able to continue the tradition of an annual Sycamore Rim hike.

Unfortunately, at the last minute, Jim could not join us due to a sprained ankle, but we pushed on. There were 6 of us on this hike. One car left from Phoenix and picked up Scott in Flagstaff while Daniel met us at the trailhead. It was an absolutely gorgeous day for a hike, with the high targeted for 82. While it was definitely hot in the sun, but luckily there was a coolish breeze.

The hike ended up being 12.75 miles, per Ramona’s calculations. I am still not sure why the hike distance varies each time we do it. We kept a good pace, even with many stops to enjoy the scenery. While everything was dry, we were pleasantly surprised to see several flowering, fragrant rose bushes here and there along the trail. In addition to the wild roses there were various other flowering shrubs, onions, cacti etc.

We met a few people as we approached the Rim but we had the place to ourselves as we stopped for a snack.

On the way back we passed a large pond with flowers. The pond had some really huge tadpoles (mutants perhaps??).

We enjoyed walking along the green space. It was such a treat!

We got back to the cars about 3:30, agreeing that it had been a wonderful hike and a beautiful way to spend the day, enjoying the scenery while chatting and hiking.