This was a “double header” of day hikes because the two hikes were rather short. Going this far, some 33 miles north of Flagstaff, i.e. 150 miles north of Phoenix, it was warranted to make the hikes long enough by combining a 2.5 miles short sprint to visit the inner guts of an extinct volcano, namely Red Mountain, and a 5 mile round trip hike at a nearby Slate Mountain. The combination of both hikes on one day was just perfect.

At 7:00 AM, 13 hikers gathered at our usual starting point, Bell Road and I-17 Park & Ride. We were to meet two additional hikers at Target in Flagstaff, namely Rudy and Monika. Car pools organized, we started out on our drive north about 7:15 with our usual first stop at the famous McDonald’s at Camp Verde. At the designated place in Flagstaff we meet Rudy and Monika and proceed to drive 33 miles north to the Red Mountain trailhead, a short distance in from the main highway 180.

Red Mountain, northwest of Flagstaff

In addition, a large natural amphitheater cuts into the cone’s northeast flank. Erosional pillars called hoodoos decorate the amphitheater, and many dark mineral crystals erode out of its walls. Studies by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Northern Arizona University scientists suggest that Red Mountain formed in eruptions about 740,000 years ago.

At the trailhead we are welcomed by a USDA sign that describes what we are about to witness. We saddle up and pose for our traditional group picture.

At 10:30 AM we started our 1.5 mile trek to the volcano’s entrance. The temperature was already hot at 81° but felt like 90°. The trail was pretty flat, but mostly in the sun and with backpacks full of provisions, it felt hotter. The trail was interspersed with shade trees under which we took refuge to cool off and to wait for all fifteen of us to regroup.

Once inside the crater the view of the volcano’s walls reveals unusual forms. There was a lot of shade cast by some large ponderosa pine trees.

We spent about half an hour exploring the insides of the crater. The walls were smooth and rounded from erosion and one could see many hoodoos. Never have I seen so many hikers taking so many pictures with regular cameras or cell phone cameras.

Chuck was correct in telling me that I will have no problem getting enough pictures for my trip report. I stopped counting at 400.

Some Trailblazers will go to any length just to get the right shot with the right angle whether lying on the ground or performing an acrobatic stunt on a slippery rock.

We seem to have geologists on our team. Barbara and Chuck want to inspect the volcanic rock to determine its authenticity or its age — yes, about 740,000 years old.

While Rudy negotiates the slippery rocks gingerly, others are scaling the smooth ridge like goats.

After 30 minutes of exploring and photographing every nook and cranny, it was time to exit the crater. We are back to what I would nickname “Jacob’s ladder”. We go gingerly, one by one, down this steep ladder. To our left one can see this large mound of black and loose volcanic cinders.

This short hike took us 1½ hours in total. We started the trailhead at an elevation of 6,760' and by the time we reached the crater we were at an elevation of 7,047', pretty flat. This was a short and easy hike; mind you that our elevation here is the same as that of the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Though it is short, just the elevation and the heat, in and of themselves, make it more challenging. There is less oxygen in the air and muscles need oxygen in order to be nourished and to function properly.

It is noon and it is time to drive south to pick up Forest Road 191, where two miles in we find our next trailhead. This is Slate Mountain.

Understandably, the early settlers, unbeknownst to them, made a mistake in naming the gray scattered rocks across the mountain “slate” and naturally, they named the peak “Slate Mountain”. As it turned out, it wasn’t slate after all, but a type of volcanic rock called rhyolite. But, as the old name was well established and “Gray Rhyolite Mountain” doesn’t have much oomph to it, so the original name stood.

At the trailhead we rest and take our lunch break before ascending to the top of the mountain, a gentle but consistent climb of 855 ft. in 2.5 miles trek. Our starting elevation now is 7,408 and by the time we reach the top it will be 8,190 ft. The mountain peak is actually higher than the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, which stands at 8,000 ft. We needed the energy and hydration as the temperature now was 83° but felt like 90° and we could feel the humidity in the air. Just look at everyone’s forehead and you could see the sweat.

At 1:30 PM we started our ascent, but not before having our group picture taken to memorialize this hike.

Slate Mountain offers hikers a fine trek through piñon, juniper, yucca, alligator juniper, ponderosa pines, rabbit brush, fir, and many less preponderant vegetation, capped by tremendous vistas of much of northern Arizona, leaving one breathless at the beauty of it all.

The trail gently climbs, and is fairly wide. Shortly after you leave the trailhead you come across a small draw rimmed with burned trees from a fire that took place several years ago. You can see several nearby mountains that have been stripped of their vegetation on the account of that fire. The trail makes several long, lazy switchbacks as it works its way up the mountain, looping all the way around the peak as you near the top. We came across several trees that have fallen across the trail and it became an acrobatic challenge of whether to climb over the fallen trees or crawl underneath them – or have your own individual style.

Because of the heat and elevation, we stopped on several occasions for a short break to rehydrate and to allow the slower hikers to catch up with the forward group. There was plenty of shaded stop overs along the trail and on one occasion none other than our Rudy pulls out his harmonica and starts to serenade us.

At 2:45 PM that is, in one hour and fifteen minutes, we made it to the top. We felt a nice breeze but it was still hot. All along the trek to the top we kept a watchful eye on the skies, since there was a 40% chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon. You do not want to get caught on a mountain during lightning! Our hiking poles can serve as lightning rods and there is no safe shelter from the thunderstorms when in the wilderness and certainly not under a tree. The clouds were all around us but they were high and scattered, although a storm can sneak up on you in a flash. We unsaddled our backpacks, rehydrated, ate our snacks and rested our tired feet.

The view from the top of the mountain was magnificent. We could see the North Rim of the Grand Canyon in the distance, some 50 miles away.

Mind you, the North Rim is only 8,000 ft. in elevation and we were from our vantage point at already 8,200 ft. in elevation. Our two “Ham Hikers”, we mean ham radio operators, Jim and Arturo, were testing their skills connecting to some other operators in the area, or who knows, maybe they were trying to connect to some aliens from outer space from this high vantage point.

The view from the mountain top in 360 degrees was just phenomenal. You could see the weirdly eroded inner basin of Red Mountain to the north of us, the San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff in the distance southwest of us, with Mt. Humphreys at 12,633 ft. in elevation, the highest mountain peak in Arizona, and Kendrick Peak to the south of us at 10,418 ft. in elevation. If you had a strong pair of binoculars, you could also see the vast expanse of the Painted Desert, characterized by delicate shades of cream and pink and purple, sprawling across the northeast. Look carefully at these last pictures and try to admire the dark blue skies and the scattered white and gray clouds. They are attempting to form a late afternoon thunderstorm. We were fortunate to escape this time mother nature’s wrath of thunderstorms and I wonder if it had anything to do with our “Ham Hikers” talking to someone of the outer world! After about half an hour of resting, rehydrating, snacking, and photo shooting the views from all angles, we started our descent.

Going down the trail was rather easy and quick. By 4:00 PM we reached the trailhead, where the forward group has already started a “beer party”. There is nothing better or more refreshing than a cold beer after an arduous hike. We sat on a wooden fence and unwound. Some of us changed into more comfortable shoes. All 15 of us were accounted for. Thumbs up! Yeah!

At Michael’s suggestion, since we were so close to the Lava River Cave, and since most of us have never hiked into the lava tube or even seen it, we took a short detour on the way back to Flagstaff. After about five miles of driving in the woods on dirt roads we arrived at the Lava River Cave. Much to our surprise, there were lots of other visitors. We looked around and peeked inside the cave opening. You could not see very much inside the cave because it is pitch dark. However, you could feel the cold air coming out of the cave’s opening. It was refreshing; mind you, the temperature inside the cave is between 35 and 40 degrees all year round. Of course our cameras were clicking away and here are some photos of this event. We are definitely putting this excursion on our calendar for a future combination of hikes with another short hike in this area.

Now comes the best part of the day: we are tired, thirsty and hungry and a square meal and a cold beer is just what our veteran hiker recommended. We took Michael’s advice and patronized Buster’s restaurant on Milton Road, the main drag through Flagstaff.

The menu was good and reasonable and the venue was fine except for the waitress who had a “cocked eye” while taking our group pictures in her restaurant. She left an indelible impression on us though!

While dining, I don’t know what our “Ham Boys” operators did or say to the “One” above, but the skies opened up on us with a powerful thunderstorm of rain and hail. Luckily for us we were safe inside the restaurant.

And when we left the restaurant we saw the rainbow, a promise of no more rain or hail for the time being, and we could see a beautiful sunset reflected in the red skies above us.

We said our good-byes and drove to Phoenix, where we arrived at about 10:00 PM. It was a long day, but a fun-filled day with lots of things to see along the way, and we learned a few new things. Thankfully, it was a safe day for all of us and all 15 members were accounted for by the end of the day.

Thanks to all of you who participated. We look forward to seeing you again on future hikes!

Jim Buyens is our score keeper. Below you will find his statistics on our two hikes as reported by his GPS: