We had a good size group of 18 for the Picketpost Mountain Exploratory hike, and this really did turn out to be an exploration, so we lived up to our Trailblazer’s name! The guidebook we used said that we begin on the Arizona Trail, so we started off on the trail next to the Arizona Trail sign, and then followed a wash. We went about a mile total before we realized that we had not yet started going uphill, so we knew we were not on the right trail. Strike 1.

Sue, Bobbi, Sandi [photo by Cyd]

Success! Actually, as far as bushwhacking goes, luckily it was pretty mild – no nasty catclaw, and it was fairly easy to maneuver around any cactus along the way. Wayne and David made good time and were already with Cyd and Sandy by the time our bushwhack group arrived.

We took a quick headcount and had all 18 people again, so after a short snack break, we carried on with the scheduled hike for the day.

Before too long, we came across field after field of colorful poppies! What a wonderful sight! Anyone who had a camera was busy capturing the floral glory, so we started spreading out again from the faster hikers. There were also several other types of flowers providing a rainbow of color along the way.

We all tackled the first couple of slickrock climbing areas along the trail, and then some people started turning around at various points to head back to the trailhead, since the going got a bit more challenging, especially for anyone having a fear of heights and precipitous drop offs.

We had 2 separate groups of 5 people make it all the way to the top of Picketpost Mountain, so 10 out of 18 total.

Notable areas on the rest of the way to the top were The Chute, the hoodoos, narrow ledges and challenging boulder climbs.

And of course the views, which included the town of Superior in the distance:

BYOB — Bring your own bench.

We took almost as much time going down as we did going up, since it was quite slippery. Those who brought gloves definitely used them, and most everyone (at least in our group of 5) had a minor fall, even with the hiking sticks. No injuries, just a bit of surfing on the gravel. This hike was certainly a full body workout, and according to my body, we apparently used every single muscle we had. Oh well, no pain, no gain, right?

We continued to keep in touch on the radios with those waiting for us back at the trailhead. Once we got back, we couldn’t believe that the trail we should have taken in the first place was just steps away from the one we started off on! How in the world did 18 people miss that?! Ah well, we had fun despite the mix-up. It just goes to show how important it is to take the walkie talkies with you. It was another beautiful day for a hike!