Seven sagacious Trailblazers set out from Buffalo Park on a perfect hiking day in Flagstaff. We started on one of the Buffalo Park trails but didn’t like the way it was turning, so we walked over to the main trail.

Soon we left Buffalo Park and walked downhill from Switzer Mesa to the wooded valley between the mesa and Mt. Elden. We were on the Oldham Trail, which was adopted as part of the Arizona Trail, passage 33: the Flagstaff re-supply route.

Quy had a new camera to try out, and it did rather well. Recent rains had brought the summer flowers out in colorful profusion. From the mesa and from the valley we could see rock formations on the south and west sides of Mt. Elden, finely sculpted by eons of weathering and erosion.

There are many side trails the valley. Of these, only the Pipeline Trail is identified. A few small Arizona Trail signs help us go the right way.

On the topographic map, Mt. Elden is shaped like a flower with rounded petals. The Oldham Trail takes us partway up the mountain between two of the petals on the west side, then down to an area fenced off to protect the young aspen trees.

Here the Arizona Trail branches off to the northwest. We head on up to Lower Oldham Trailhead. Somewhere on this stretch is a rock shaped like a sea turtle. But where is it?

The rock is finally re-discovered within sight of the trailhead, where we soon arrive. This is as good a lunch spot as any, with plenty of shade, boulders to serve as picnic benches, and an endless parade of people passing by.

After lunch we cross Elden Lookout Road to take the Rocky Ridge Trail westward. The trail stays well below the ridge but provides some views of it through the trees.

Signs at a three-way intersection direct us to go across the road and southeast on the Arizona Trail. Once again there are side trails. “What looks like the main trail is the main trail,“ Ted advises.

Then we come to a triangular intersection where not three, not four, but five trails come together. Two of them turn out to be the unmarked Easy Oldham Trail, which is our route.

The Easy Oldham Trail passes by some rustic residences. The last one has horses running in a fenced enclosure.

From there it’s a well-traveled route down across the stream and up to our junction with the Arizona Trail. Soon we are back in Buffalo Park, on an afternoon that has turned breezy and partly cloudy but very pleasant. We all stop for dinner in Camp Verde on our drive back to Phoenix.