Hike of the Month

HIKE OF THE MONTH The Kachina Trail in Fall Is a Naturalist's Paradise

I was autumn, and the elk were bugling in the high country of Arizona. The trumpeting of a bull elk in rut is a ritual of fall not soon forgotten. One October morning, my husband, Michael, and I heard that frenzied sound coming from a grove of aspens along the Kachina Trail. We spied movement among the trees, and Michael spotted the bigracked male and his harem of nearly 20 females. A strong high pressure sat on Arizona, and a few lingering lupines reflected the blue of the cloudless sky. There was no better place to be that day than high on the San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff.

The trail rambles through the Kachina Peaks Wilderness, a cool, moist forest of spruce, fir, and pine nestled amid lichen-splattered boulders. The open meadows along the way afford eye-popping views of the highest mountains in the state. From the meadows, we caught sight of Flagstaff below; on that incomparable day, we could see all the way to Granite Mountain near Prescott.

Although the aspens were dillydallying in their change into autumn finery, their branches bore tinges of yellow, a hint of the glory soon to come. A few heart-shaped leaves lay on the trail, like gold coins dropped from the heavens. Luminous bracken ferns lined the path, frosted the color of toast.

The Kachina Trail is a naturalist's paradise. Squirrels and jays chirred and chittered as we passed through their home.

Soon into the hike, we paused to watch a gray squirrel on a log, devouring the seeds of a big sticky limber pinecone. One by one, the animal nipped off a cone scale, ate the seed, and tossed the scale aside. Occasionally it stopped to clean sap from its paws. A month from then, its home could be under deep snow, and the squirrel would need all those calories to carry it through the long dreams of winter.

Around a bend in the trail, a rumpled porcupine scrambled up a small fir tree, hiding in the branches and hoping we'd go away. Three mule deer snapped twigs as they turned tail and fled. A sapsucker flew into the soft-chattering branches of an aspen. A black bear had marked its passage by clawing away a tree's tender white bark.

WHEN YOU GO

away. Three mule deer snapped twigs as they turned tail and fled. A sapsucker flew into the soft-chattering branches of an aspen. A black bear had marked its passage by clawing away a tree's tender white bark.

A walk like that, on a day like that, reminded me that everything in the wilderness has a place, a job to do. The elk, the deer, the birds, the squirrels, the ferns, the trees, all need these places, and so do we.

The words of philosopher Aldo Leopold ring in my ears: "To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution."

To reach the Kachina Trail, travel seven miles north of Flagstaff on U.S. Route 180. Turn right onto Snow Bowl Road and drive seven miles to the top. Turn right into a parking area at the well-marked trailhead. For a one-way hike, travel up Snow Bowl Road 2.3 miles and turn right onto Freidlein Prairie Road, Forest Service Road 522. Bear left, go four miles to the end, and leave your vehicle here. In your second car, return to Snow Bowl Road and continue up to the main trailhead. This will allow a hike of almost six miles, mostly downhill. For information on trail conditions and Wilderness regulations, contact the Coconino National Forest's Peaks Ranger District, 5075, N. Highway 89, Flagstaff, AZ 86004; (520) 526-0866.