BACK ROAD ADVENTURE

hike of the month Hike View Point Trail

THE LAST TIME I VISITED Mingus Mountain in Prescott National Forest, I saw crazy people jumping off its highest cliff. They were hang gliding. To the best of my knowledge they landed safely, although I didn't stick around to peer over the edge and see for myself. I feared the whirling wind would hurl me over the side, too, without benefit of wings and a crash helmet. This time, even with scant wind blowing, I kept thinking of those hang gliders as I hiked down View Point Trail from the Mingus Mountain Campground. Especially in its early going, the trail descends at a sharp angle, and a good rain had recently fallen. I defy anyone to attempt SEE FOR MILES The town of Cottonwood glitters into view below the aptly named View Point Trail in Prescott National Forest (above). this plunging, slick, rockstrewn course with bifocals and not imagine taking a false step into eternity. But isn't that whiff of danger part of the fun?

Designated Trail 106 in Forest Service trail guides, its top allows visitors an eagle's look at the breadth of the Verde Valley. The view includes the blossoming town of Cottonwood, the famous red cliffs of Sedona to the east, the San Francisco Peaks on the north, and far out amid the mist, a grand panorama that probably encompasses 30 miles of mountainous Arizona. I've always considered this view one of the best in the state's central region. It offers a different thrill every few moments, depending on the weather and the season.

My trip came in mid-September, just days before the colors of Mingus' maple and oak trees turn the whole mountain into a picture book. But evidence of fall abounded. Yellow and purple wildflowers dotted the meadows, and I saw patches of light gray on the green of the mountain slopes. I knew those grays would soon explode to the brightest oranges, reds and yellows.

At the peak, I enjoyed watching a rainstorm develop over the valley, first with occasional flashes of lightning splitting the sky, then with the arrival of bulging black clouds as the storm dropped its payload onto Flagstaff. With beams of sunlight streaming through low-hanging clouds, it looked as if the old town was getting a lecture from on high.

Recent rains had brought thick greenery to the slopes at my feet. But the colors changed as the landscape plunged to the valley floor, going from money-green to sun-washed tan and a very pale pink-more evidence of the impending fall.

Even as I descended from the trailhead and felt the embrace of the cliffs around me, the Verde Valleystill looked vague and unfathomable, hardly a place of booming growth. But that changed again when the intermittent sun found the steel of a passing vehicle, and threw back a sparkle of light like a wink from civilization.

MORNING HERALD Dawn peeks over the Bradshaw Mountains, casting a warm glow that drapes the Verde Valley in north-central Arizona.

Don't try enjoying these sights while walking. The narrowness of the trail won't permit it, and neither will the tight switchbacks, which paperclip off the mountain's east side in quick succession.

The View Point Trail offers a number of boulders on which to sit and let the day pass, a nice respite. But if you're like me, and have wobbly legs, this isn't optional. The trail's down-slope, at 1.9 miles, is moderately challenging, at least in comparison to the return hike, which can be downright painful.

The Forest Service warns that the View Point Trail descends sharply for the first three-quarters of a mile. At 1.35 miles, the trail intersects with Trail 105A. After this, Trail 106 descends more gradually and ends on Forest Service Road 413. Hikers interested in looping back to the Mingus Mountain Campground area can do so along Trail 105A or Trail 105.

The uphill portion turned my legs to railroad ties, and I had to stop several times to catch my breath. The elevation at the trailhead hovers around 7,600 feet, and at the trail's bottom, where it intersects with FR 413, the elevation is 6,000 feet. That climb can leave any desert dweller struggling in the thin air.

But the views make the effort worthwhile, even for those facing old age without wings and a crash helmet. Allength: 1.9 miles, one-way. Elevation Drop: The trail drops 1,600 feet from top to bottom. Difficulty: Moderate. Payoff: Spectacular views. Location: On Mingus Mountain, between Jerome and Prescott. Getting There: Drive north from Phoenix on Interstate 17 to Camp Verde, then take State Route 260 northwest to Cottonwood, a total of 106 miles. From Cottonwood, take State Route 89A west up the side of Mingus Mountain to Jerome and follow it through town. This paved, winding road peaks at 7,023 feet. Turn left onto Forest Service Road 104 and drive 2.5 miles on this climbing dirt road to a four-way stop at the Mingus Mountain Campground. This intersection is .2 of a mile past the entrance to the Mingus Mountain United Methodist Camp. The View Point trailhead is located off the parking lot straight ahead. Travel Advisory: Always carry plenty of water, at least 1 gallon per day per person. This trail is popular in the spring, summer and fall. Additional Information: Prescott National Forest, Camp Verde District, (928) 567-4121; www.fs.fed.us/r3/prescott/recreation/family_cg/mingusmtn.

trail guide

Cutting Corners Through the Carrizo Mountains

A fair-weather road runs through Navajoland SOMETIMES YOU SHOULD cut corners, and a good one to cut is from Rock Point on the Navajo Nation to Sweetwater, then on to Pastora Peak. Not the fastest route, but it does showcase the unending vistas of Navajoland with a detour to folk art and a vivid culture. At Rock Point, where the red rock-faced trading post is the gas station, laundry, grocery store and post office, my husband, Richard, and I take U.S. Route 191 a short distance to Indian Route 35. Paved for the first 7 miles, the road climbs a mesa and then turns to dirt. The red rock country fades to the south, and we wind through washes and over flat grazing lands scattered with occasional Navajo homes and traditional hogans. We often see horses, cattle, sheep and roping arenas since livestock is the chief source of income here. Indian 35 is a fair-weather road. It's a beautiful fall day, and we make about 25 mph. But when it rains, the washes become roiling streams and the dirt turns to tire-hugging mud. After the pavement ends, we follow the road past mesas, their top layers so straight they seem drawn with a ruler. By contrast, the bottom layers are convulsed and vaulted, an indication of the turbulent geological history of this peaceful region.

meeting places. Sweetwater, more a scattering of houses than an actual town, is home to several Indian artists, who create jewelry, weave rugs and fashion witty, whimsical forms of Navajo folk art. Mainly carved from soft wood, the folk art ranges from dramatic to humorous, including laughing horses, fuzzy sheep and wildly colored carved chickens with cornhusk tail feathers.

Before the mid-1980s, only a few Navajos carved in wood, usually just the Navajo singer called a hataalii who performed ceremonies. But then in 1961, Charlie Willeto, the unofficial father of Navajo Folk Art, traded one of his first pieces for flour and sugar at the Lybrook (New Mexico) Trading Post. Today, his early works sell for more than $30,000.

We're lucky enough to meet up with Ray Growler, a well-known artist who creates sheep figures and whose work graces the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C., and the Heard Museum in Phoenix.

He's just finished an angora goat figure that stands about 2 feet high, and he explains his processes to us. After curing and tanning the woolly sheep hide he buys from his neighbors, he stretches it over a dried aspen frame, crafts a face from hide then attaches actual horns.

Leaving Growler to his artwork, we continue east until we come to an intersection with a four-way stop. Signs indicate that Immanuel Mission is 4 miles to the right; Indian Route 5047 goes straight. We turn left (north) to stay on unmarked Indian 35. The road climbs until we see 6,627-foot Toh Atin Mesa (“No Water Mesa”) to the west, the distant Sleeping Ute Mountain in Colorado and the Carrizos looming to the east. In about 2 miles, we pass a road on the left with a sign indicating it leads to the Sweetwater Word of Life Christian Center.

Reaching pavement at U.S. Route 160, we turn left .3 of a mile later for a sidetrip to Red Mesa Trading Post. Obviously named for the nearby mountain, the store sells loops of yarns for weavers, turquoise jewelry, yard goods, snacks and gasoline.

Heading back east on U.S. 160, we move through a landscape dominated by the Carrizo Mountains. Approximately 10 miles from the trading post, we turn right onto an unsigned, wellused dirt road. After crossing a cattle guard, we look to our left and see a windmill and water tank about 500 yards away. In another 1.7 miles, a green house with red trim sits on the left.

Rising steadily, we are out of the grasslands and into the piñons and cedars in 2 miles. Although the road becomes rough, we see parked vehicles. Some Navajos have risked the rocky road to come here to pick piñon nuts, a staple of the Ancestral Puebloan (Anasazi) diet.

Another geological clue is the Carrizo Mountains to the east. These formed when igneous rock domed underground, transforming the overlaying layers of Dakota sandstone into peaks. We'll be near Pastora Peak, the highest point in the Carrizos, by the end of this trip.

Approximately 17 miles later, we reach the Sweetwater Chapter House, listed as Totocan or Tohlikon on some maps or signs. Chapter houses serve as local government and

NAVAJO SUPERCENTER The redand-white Red Mesa Trading Post serves as a center for Navajo trading near the Utah border. The trading post combines a grocery store, gas station, laundry and post office.

Today, many Navajos sell the piñons along the roadside and to trading posts.

We pass a rock spraypainted with the words, “GAS AND FOOD 1 MILE”-obviously a joke. The remote area doesn't have facilities, but the scenery is worth the trip. The road now takes to serious climbing as canyons slice

travel tips

Vehicle Requirements: High-clearance, four-wheel drive recommended.

Warning: Back-road travel can be hazardous, so be aware of weather and road conditions. While in the Navajo Indian Nation, do not travel off road, disturb livestock or visit private residents. Carry plenty of water and don't travel alone. Let someone know where you're going and when you plan to return.

Additional Information: Some travel on the Navajo Indian Nation may require permits. Check with the Navajo Parks and Recreation Department, (928) 871-6647; www.navajonationparks.org.

the mountainside. Patches of golden aspen and red oak bushes break the expanse of pine forest. Several small herds of deer seem in no hurry to get out of our way.

Uranium is plentiful in the Carrizos, but the tribe doesn't allow mining. According to tradition, the Carrizos, along with the Lukachukai and Chuska mountains to the south, constitute a male figure. The Carrizos form his legs. The figure helps the Navajos and can't fulfill its purpose if its legs are cut off. Finally reaching a communications tower high on a peak, we can see thelight-colored, uplifted Dakota sandstone. Blue-green sage has managed to find enough soil to root between the rocks. On the windy peak we study the wispy clouds called mare's tails, which look painted with a fine brush.

The map notes Pastora Peak at 9,386 feet elevation, and our GPS unit indicates 9,204. Several of the nearby points appear to be slightly higher, so we're probably not actually atop Pastora Peak itself, but the view encompasses pieces of Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona. In the far west, the buttes of Monument Valley guard the northern edge of the Navajo Nation. The sun is getting low and it's time to get off Pastora Peak before dark. Backtracking, we see Navajos loading bags of piñon nuts into pickup trucks and pass the track team from Red Mesa High School sweating their way up the steep road. The teenagers are doing cross-country training, but we are happy just doing some cross-country corner cutting in Navajoland. Al

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