EDITOR'S LETTER

That Was Way Too Easy

There’s no shame in taking the easy route every once in a while. One of the best hikes of my life was a short walk I took with my dad. It was a few years ago. We were up in Zion, and we “hiked” a small trail along the Virgin River. I took another memorable walk last summer. It was with my mom. She wanted to see the Canyon from a quiet place, so I took her out to Shoshone Point. Neither of those routes is more than a mile or two, but that’s the thing about hiking, miles don’t matter. It’s more about who you’re with and what’s around, whether you’re climbing a peak, strolling a riverbank or making your way to a natural wonder.

In Arizona, we have a lot of natural wonder, and some of it is easy to get to. Shoshone Point is the epitome of that. Cape Final makes the point, too. Of all the scenic viewpoints on the North Rim, Cape Final is one of the best, and the trail that leads to it is an easy 2 miles. It’s so easy that when you’re standing out on the rim, looking down at Jupiter Temple and Freya Castle, you’ll think: How is this possible? That was way too easy. But that’s the nature of all the hikes in this month’s cover story. They’re painless, and their payoffs are exponentially greater than the energy it takes to get to them. The Horse Crossing Trail is one of those hikes.

Although it’s only a mile and a half down, the hike leads to East Clear Creek, a riparian oasis that repudiates stereotypes about Arizona. Again, you’ll think, That was way too easy.

About 15 miles to the southeast, an even easier trail winds along the shoreline of Bear Canyon Lake, and up on the Kaibab Plateau, the Buck Ridge Point Trail ends with a beautiful panorama of Southern Utah. It’s a great little hike, but if you’re looking for something with more grit, head for the Beale Wagon Road Historic Trail, which runs for 23 miles through the Kaibab National Forest.

The trail was established in the 1980s, but the route’s history dates back to the mid-1850s. That’s when Edward Fitzgerald Beale showed up at Government Prairie. He was traveling through uncharted territory near Williams, in search of a new migration route that would stretch from Arkansas to the Colorado River. Based on his journal, Beale liked what he saw in Northern Arizona: “The view was so grand and extensive that we sat on our horses for a long time in silent admiration.”

Not much has changed since then. The grassland Beale was admiring in 1857 is still idyllic today. That’s why we sent writer Annette McGivney and photographer Shane McDermott out to retrace some of Beale’s steps. Specifically, those 23 miles of “established” trail. In theory, it was a good idea, but it wasn’t that simple. The trail was overgrown in places, and poorly marked in others. However, our duo persevered and, in the process, inspired the U.S. Forest Service to spend four months GPS-mapping all 23 miles of the recreational trail. In On the Wagon Road, you’ll read about the history of Beale’s route and what you can expect to experience on the trail today. And you really should experience this beautiful trail. Or at least parts of it. Cosmic Ray would tell you the same thing.

“Cosmic Ray” is a nickname. The guy has a surname, too, but “in the interest of his family’s privacy,” he asked us not to use it in our story. I’m not sure what that’s all about, but Ray is eccentric, and he’s made a living off those eccentricities. Most notably, the hippie author has sold more than 150,000 copies of his self-published book, Fat Tire Tales and Trails. The book has rounded corners — “I know how bikers and hikers think,” Ray says, “and they want something that fits in a pocket.” Inside, the book features crude maps and text in a handwriting-like font called Tekton. “The pages look like an expertly rendered napkin map,” Martin Cizmar writes in You Can Call Him Cosmic Ray.

As you’ll see in our story, Ray’s books reflect his off-the-grid personality. “I’m trying to change the way people look at the world,” he says. “Our bodies were meant to be something other than what we are. We’re all sold cars and oil to keep it moving, but we’re supposed to be out there moving ourselves.”

That’s Ray’s way of saying, “Get off the couch and hit the trail.” Even if it’s an easy stroll along the river or a short walk to a natural wonder.
 

COMING IN JULY ...
A portfolio of mountain lakes — yes, we have lakes in Arizona. Plus, a behind-the-scenes look at life in Yarnell, a year after the devastating fire that claimed the lives of 19 firefighters.