big man tips

GLASSFORD HILL SUMMIT TRAIL Town of Prescott Valley Inside the volcano There�s a little volcano in Prescott Valley that despite its lack of climate-altering fireworks a la Krakatoa or a festering apocalypse like the one under Yellowstone National Park, still managed to create a big enough impression on the landscape to warrant a hiking trail to its summit.   With its out-of-nowhere character, the new route walks out of the suburbs into the spent inferno of an extinct volcano culminating on a scenic highpoint in Arizona�s Central Highlands.   Dedicated in May 2016, the Glassford Hill Summit Trail makes a moderately difficult climb among the crumbling lava flows and eroding slopes of a Miocene-epoch volcano situated at the edge of State Route 69. Prescott Valley with San Francisco Peaks on horizon When viewed from the highway, the rounded form of Glassford Hill doesn�t look that special. With a smattering of subdivisions and shopping centers lapping at its base, the grassy mound...

PALO VERDE TRAIL Tonto National Forest, Bartlett Reservoir Granite boulders above Bartlett Lake From the drive in to the trailhead to its turnaround point, this hike is packed with stunning scenery. Hedged among rough cut cliffs and desert highlands of the Verde River watershed, Bartlett Reservoir fills 12 miles of the canyon bound channel with crystalline waters teeming with bass, catfish and bluegills. Although the year-round recreation site which is located roughly 50 miles north of Phoenix is famous mostly for its boating, fishing, shaded picnic areas and camping opportunities, the Palo Verde Trail offers hikers a surprisingly challenging route with terrific mountain and water views. The trail meanders among the foothills and washes on the lake�s western banks. This is not a hike to try during or immediately after storms because rain rumbling off the foothills turns washes and gullies into raging rivers of debris. Chollas frame Tonto National Forest mountain vistas Don�t be fooled ...

HOTSHOTS and JOURNEY TRAILS Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial State Park, Yarnell Journey Trail I�m not a fan of writing trail descriptions in the first person. Hiking trails are not about me. The staring characters of Arizona trails are the terrain, waterways, scenery, wildlife and plants. That I happened to hike a particular trail is incidental and not part of its theme or the influence it will have on other trekkers. When approaching a trail, I plan for the worst and hope for the best while in anticipation of foul ups, the mantra �suck it up, buttercup� bounces around in my skull. Normally, I subdue my voice so my personal biases won�t dilute a trail�s character or unwittingly seed expectations.   Why rob hikers of the joy of discovery? But occasionally, there�s a trail that�s so steeped in emotion that all I can muster is a stammering, first person account. The Hotshots and Journey Trails at the Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial State Park near Yarnell embody that spirit. Hot...

WINDGATE-BELL PASS LOOP McDowell Sonoran Preserve Windgate Pass In the highly competitive, (oft embellished) sphere of hiking lore, there are precisely two loop circuits in Scottsdale�s McDowell Sonoran Preserve that have earned the title of �epic�.   They are the Tom�s Thumb-East End-Bell Pass Loop and the Windgate-Bell Pass Loop. Both are beautiful. Both will kick your butt. Before tackling the 13-mile, 2,205-foot Tom�s Thumb slog, you might want to do a warm up trek on the later. From a strictly mathematical perspective, the �measly� 1,484 feet from the circuit�s base to its highest point bellies the fact that the mountain�s dips and dives reclaim much of what you gain, multiple times. There�s a 600- foot loss between the two passes alone.   These two ambitious circuits are staples on the training programs of hikers preparing for Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim trips or long distance hauls on the Arizona Trail.   Bell Pass Whether you have eyes on bigger prizes or are just loo...

SCHUERMAN MOUNTAIN TRAIL Sedona Summit of Schuerman Mountain An old dandy standing tall above a hub of new trails in west Sedona, Schuerman Mountain Trail is the gold standard of the bunch. With the opening last year of the Scorpion-Skywalker- Pyramid loops, this moderate trek up an extinct volcanic mound pads it resume with birds-eye views of its newborn siblings and a chance to glimpse Sedona and Verde Valley landmarks from an easy-to-conquer mountain summit. The first section the trail follows an array of solar panels on the edge of Sedona Red Rock High School then passes a junction for the Scorpion trail before turning upward along a thin, cypress shaded path pecked from the mountain�s east slope. A dusting of snow in December On the way up, look for the dominate sandstone dome of Capitol Butte and the flat, pine-coated crown of Wilson Mountain.   At the 0.3-mile point, veer left at a signed junction for the vista spur and make the 0.3-mile hike up a boulder cluttered ridge th...