TRAVEL ADVENTURE

HIGH ADVENTURE Sky-riding the San Francisco Peaks

Text by Marilyn Taylor Photographs by Don B. Stevenson I am at Dook'o'ooslid the western edge of Navajo Earth. I am trespassing the Nuvatukyaovi ominous home of all Hopi kachina spirits. Fighting chilling 70-mile-per-hour western winds and gusts of more than 90 miles an hour that force me sideways toward the mountain's edge, I throw myself down on the loose black lava rock and hold on. The wind roars through my windbreaker hood and rips my eyeglasses from my face. On my knees and trying to grab them in midair, I turn toward the blow. It bends me back from the waist and literally scoops the oxygen from my mouth and

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In throat. I turn away to catch my breath. It pounds my back and shoves me down on the rocks. I am less than 50 feet from the top of the highest point in Arizona: Humphreys Peak, at 12,643 feet the loftiest of the four San Francisco Peaks in the Coconino National Forest near Flagstaff. My guide, Don Frankel of Flagstaff, is out of sight. Through teary, wind-blasted eyes, I had watched him crawl toward the top on his hands and knees to avoid being blown off the edge of the mountain. I glanced down to wipe my eyes on my sleeve; when I looked up again, he was gone. Now I flatten my body closer to the hard loose rock and turn my face away from the wind. I will not climb another inch. Frankel is probably on the top waiting for me, but I won't let that intimidate me. He's done this three other times. He has a one-foot height advantage over me, and a 60-pound weight advantage. He can fight the wind. I can't, and I'm not moving. A mere 2 1/2 hours earlier, making it to the top of the peak sounded easy - even pleasant. It was a warm June morning. Frankel and I languished in the dining room of Agassiz Lodge, which is operated year-round by Fairfield Snowbowl, a ski resort north of Flagstaff. Sipping café au lait and listening to the piped-in lazy blues of Leon Redbone, I talked with J. R. Murray, manager of the ski resort, about using the Agassiz Lodge chair lift to get closer to the top base of Humphreys Peak.

Encouraging use of the chair lift for the climb, Murray explained that through a long-standing cooperative partnership between Fairfield Snowbowl and the Forest Service, Fairfield's chair-lift "sky ride" opens in the summer to accommodate hiking and mountain climbing. It is one of only two lifts in Arizona that are open beyond the skiing season. The other is at Mount Lemmon Ski Valley in the Catalina Mountains north of Tucson. Murray described the various hiking trails that are accessible via the lift ride and noted that all trails are being redesigned through a project begun in 1990 by Fairfield Snowbowl staff, the Forest Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The exclusive purpose of the project is to redirect hiking patterns, thus protecting a plant species that wildlife experts have learned grows in only one area on the planet: a delicate alpine tundra region below the saddle ridge that connects 12,340-foot Agassiz Peak with Humphreys Peak. The species, Senecio franciscanus, is a groundsel that ecological experts say has been isolated so long from other plant life on its tundra "island," it has evolved into a unique form. Hikers who traversed the tundra to reach Humphreys Peak from Agassiz Peak were inadvertently destroying the groundsel, Murray explained. The new trail system designates alternate routes to the top of Humphreys and includes new, varying levels of forest trails to better match the skills and experience of each hiker.

Using the new system, the heartier, more experienced hiker can take the Humphreys Peak Trail, an 8.7-mile trek that begins at Hart Prairie Lodge below the chair lift, and ends at the top of the mountain. Hikers with small children or who are inexperienced might choose the new Lodge Run Loop, which is little more than half a mile, circles a dense and beautiful forest area and, as Murray said, "isn't more than a scream away" from Agassiz Lodge. There are several other new trails

HIGH ADVENTURE TRAVEL WITH THE FRIENDS OF ARIZONA HIGHWAYS

that fall between Humphreys Peak Trail and Lodge Run Loop in difficulty, and which incorporate the chair-lift ride. Frankel, a Fairfield Snowbowl ski instructor, suggested that we ride the chair lift to the base of Agassiz Peak, hike down several hundred feet below the protected tundra, traverse lava-rock fields north of Agassiz, and climb the 1,900-foot ascent to Humphreys Peak. We decided to bypass the lift ride on our return trip and hike, instead, from the top of Humphreys down to Agassiz Lodge. The trip would involve the vertical ascent of 1,900 feet, a descent of 3,133 feet, and more than five miles of hiking.

By then, it was 11:15 A.M. We expected to return before 5:00P.M. While we were arranging our light backpacks and equipment, Murray warned us about the precarious and unpredictable weather conditions at the top of Humphreys. summer rainstorms and plummeting temperatures in early autumn.

"It's bad today because it's a little breezy," he said. "About 80 percent of the time, you can wear shorts and a sweater but, today, you could get up there and the wind may be more than 10 to 15 miles an hour and cold. If you want to borrow a pair of gloves or something, I'll loan them to you."

Frankel said no to the gloves, but noted, "It's like a turn on the roulette wheel. Sometimes it's blowing so hard here and in town, but you get up to the top and there's nothing at all up there. I guess the reverse can be true, too. The winds get pretty heavy up there. That's definitely happened to me."

A blond, sunny chair-lift operator gave us a blanket, warning that the ride would be cold closer to the top of Agassiz. We were off.

The most popular pastime of peak visitors is the chair-lift ride itself, rather than hiking or camping, according to Fairfield Snowbowl statistics. As we ascend, it's easy to understand why.

Beginning just outside Agassiz Lodge at an altitude of 9,500 feet, the lift climbs to 11,500 feet and affords a spectacular sweeping view of northern Arizona. It spans more than 100 miles on a clear day and takes in the layered, blueand claycolored North Rim of the Grand Canyon, the burnt red rocks of Sedona, and the entire city of Flagstaff.

On a "slow" summer day, more than 100 people ride the lift, 30 percent of them also opting to hike various trails fingering out from Agassiz Lodge. Busy days are in August and September when wildflowers are in their last full bloom and trees are just beginning to change into fall colors. Then, there are more than 1,000 riders a day and 200 hikers.

Because of the San Francisco Peaks proximity to the Grand Canyon, the chair lift is a popular attraction among international travelers who have read and heard about the breathtaking panoramic views. Agassiz Lodge displays a map dotted with colored pins designating the home countries of visitors. The pins are clustered in Japan, Russia, and Finland.

The chair-lift sky ride is completed in 14 minutes during the winter to accommodate cold and eager skiers. In the summer, however, it slows to a leisurely 23 minutes to give visitors plenty of time to absorb the spectacular views.

Frankel and I are lucky on the lift today. The sun is warm and penetrating. The heat is perfectly balanced by a whispery cooling breeze.

We search for elk, deer, and wild turkey, which are abundant on the peaks, and turn around for a view of the North Rim. From the chair, we get a clearer picture Discover the wonders of Arizona and learn photography from the best. Whether you are a casual point-andshoot photographer, a serious amateur, or just someone who wants to experience Arizona in a unique way, the Friends of Arizona Highways auxiliary has a trip for you.

Excursions vary from one-day Shutterbug Safaris and twoto six-day Photo Tours led by our photographers to Scenic Tours of the state's most spectacular locales, guided by best-selling authors and other experts on the heart and history of Arizona. Here is a partial schedule of entertaining and informative trips you can enjoy this fall.

August 22-25: Join Edward McCain in the cool pine country of northeastern Arizona on a trek to discover the beauty of the wildflowers that carpet Hannagan Meadow.

August 29-September 2: Theresa and Gordon Whelpley explore Canyon de Chelly's prehistoric ruins in the morning and focus their cameras on Native American powwow festivities at Chinle in the afternoons and evenings.

October 1-3: Tom Till leads a trip to Monument Valley, a wonderland where light and shadow add drama to the fantastically sculpted sandstone formations.

October 24-27: P. K. Weis and Peter Kresan focus on the myriad wonders in the Chiricahua Mountains, a land of curious geology and unusual flora and fauna.

Scenic Tours

Twoand three-day tours, held in association with the Arizona Automobile Association, are scheduled regularly to the Grand Canyon and Lake Powell.

Longer Scenic Tours visit the state's most historic cities and towns, significant prehistoric sites, museums, gardens, and nature preserves.

For complete information on Photo Tours (limited to 20 persons) and longer Scenic Tours, telephone the Friends of Arizona Highways Travel Desk (602) 2715904. For details and to make reservations for the AAA scenic tours, telephone 2745805 in Phoenix or 1 (800) 352-5382 statewide.

TRAVEL WITH THE FRIENDS OF ARIZONA HIGHWAYS

of the geologic phenomena that created the San Francisco Peaks.

The mountains weren't here 2 million years ago. This was flat meadowland, similar to Hart Prairie and the area in and around Flagstaff itself. Then the Earth's interior began to boil. Over a period that may have lasted more than 1 million years, the bubbling interior erupted in a series of explosions, spewing mighty lava flows and intermittent bursts of cinder and ash. Cinder and ash fell upon cinder and ash until the peaks were formed layer by layer. Geologists believe the highest point once reached more than 15,500 feet, but erosion has worn the San Francisco Peaks down to today's acme of 12,643.

Ancient tribal lore is that the peaks literally grew out of the Earth. To the Navajo, the four mountains marked the westernmost boundary of the planet. To the Hopi, the peaks were the dwelling place of all kachina spirits.

From the chair lift, Frankel and I also can see most of the seven "life zones" identified by C. Hart Merriam in 1898 during a biological survey of the San Francisco Peaks. The life zones, somewhat modified but still used today by biologists and ecologists, begin with the Upper Sonoran, at 2,000 feet, and end with the Alpine tundra. Each zone is characterized by different plant and animal species and geologic formations.

We reach the end of the ride and begin the trek below the tundra and across to Humphreys Peak. After an hour, we are peering east over the saddle ridge that connects the peaks. Far beyond and below us is the jewel-green expanse of the lush Inner Basin, which collects melted snow from the peaks. Today, the basin looks as magical and inviting as a fairy-tale valley. Beyond it we see Sunset Crater. It also was created by volcanic eruption, but its ultimate formation was as a deep crater rather than a peak because no cinder and ash were blown from the interior to form peak layers.

We can see the Painted Desert on the Navajo reservation in Northern Arizona, and we have another spectacular view of the Grand Canyon.

We continue. With each few hundred feet, we become markedly short of breath and must stop and rest frequently so that our breathing retreats from gasping to a more regular and efficient oxygen intake. The wind has become wild: 30 to 40 miles an hour, and there are occasional gusts that force us to steady ourselves against the teetering rocks.

We continue. About 100 feet below the peak, I tell Frankel I've seen enough. We can turn back.

"Yeah... we can," he says. His speech is slow and his words intermittent as he tries to catch his breath. "But... it's right there... another... 15 minutes, we'll be on top. It's too close... to stop now." We climb higher, and the winds rip through us at 70 miles and more an hour. The gusts are so powerful, we can't keep our footing on the loose rock. Frankel's hat is swept off his head and takes off like a Frisbee out and over the peak's edge. At 50 feet below the summit, I throw myself down for protection. Frankel, now crawling, waves me on and continues to the top. I don't continue. I lie down on the rock and worry about how I'm going to get down through the wind rather than how I'll climb up. Then I see Frankel at the top on all fours, motioning me up. I realize no one's going to come and get me. Either I lie here until the wind quits, which could be days, or I move. If I have to risk perils getting back down the mountain, I may as well risk them going up. Slowly, I grab at the rocks and crawl to the top. There's Frankel, crouched in a man-made lava-rock shelter built as protection from the wind. From a crawl position, I dive in and huddle next to him. There's an old Army-issue supply can next to us containing signature books. We leaf through and read the names and comments of other hikers. A Finn writes that he is cold. A Chilean records his bout with the wind. Most of the writing is barely legible. I try to write but my hands shake uncontrollably, so Frankel finishes. When my courage and breath return, we agree to make the descent as quickly as possible, despite the winds. No stopping until 100 feet below, where the gusts aren't as fierce. Frankel is able to push forward in a stooped position and descend. I stand and try it, but the wind forces me again toward the edge. I drop down and literally scoot, on my back, the entire 100 feet. The rest of the descent below the lava peaks is beautiful and relatively easy. We hike along a trail through the heart of the Coconino forest, still patched with snow. I tell Frankel how afraid I was and that I had decided I wouldn't make it to the top. "I figured that," he says, smiling. "I waited and waited for you until it was obvious you weren't coming. Then I knew I had to get up and convince you." By 5:00 P.M., we are down the mountain and back at Agassiz Lodge. We are tired. My body is bruised from the crawling and scooting and the many times I stumbled on weak legs. But we made it. I admit to Frankel it was worth it to sit at the very top of Arizona.

Travel Guide:

For detailed information about Arizona's many travel locations, we recommend the guidebooks Travel Arizona and Travel Arizona: The Back Roads. Both will direct you to exciting destinations and out-of-the-way attractions in the state. Our Arizona Road Atlas, featuring maps of 27 cities, mileage charts, and points of interest, also is very useful for travelers. For information on these andother travel publications, or to place an order, telephone 1 (800) 543-5432. In the Phoenix area, call 258-1000.

WHEN YOU GO

Located off State Route 180 about 30 miles north of Flagstaff and 2 1/2 hours from Phoenix, Agassiz Lodge and the Fairfield Snowbowl chair lift open at 10:00 A.M., seven days a week, after Memorial Day and until Labor Day. Hotel accommodations are plentiful in Flagstaff if you're planning on an overnighter, as are restaurants both fine-dining and fast-food. You can pack a lunch for your hike or order a picnic pack at the lodge restaurant. Bring clothes for both warm and cold weather, and remember that the climate changes quickly, so keep them handy.Unless you are planning to camp overnight, carry a light backpack containing essentials such as water and energy-boosting snacks. If you want to camp overnight, it's permitted, but there are no designated campgrounds. Often in the summer, campfires are not permitted. It still freezes during the night in some locations on the peaks during the summer. Bring a warm sleeping bag. In July and

HIGH ADVENTURE

other travel publications, or to place an order, telephone 1 (800) 543-5432. In the Phoenix area, call 258-1000.

Marilyn Taylor runs, plays tennis, and is an accomplished biker and climber who has scaled Alaska's Mount McKinley, the highest peak in North America.

An avid skier and biker, Don B. Stevenson spends nearly balf the year working from bis cabin at the base of the San Francisco Peaks.

chair-lift ride up the mountain or take to the trails.

In August, it rains nearly every afternoon, so bring a protective covering. As a precaution, whatever the extent of your hike, before you embark, check in with the lodge and the Forest Service ranger at the top of the chair lift. If you fail to return because you are lost or injured, someone will know and help will arrive more quickly. For more information about the chair lift and hik-ing on the San Francisco Peaks, call 1 (800) 8427293. To inquire about Mount Lemmon Ski Valley in the Coronado National Forest, call (602) 576-1400.