Let me first start by saying the drive to reach the Kendrick Peak trailhead is an adventure in itself! I was not anticipating miles of Forest Road – but loved every second of it! Surrounded by the pines with not another soul in sight was honestly so peaceful and rejuvenating for me – it was a little slice of heaven!

This trail is a great climb on a nice, easy trail. After completing Wilson the day before and car camping outside Flag, I was grateful for a non-technical trail that let my body loosen up a bit! After encountering a few downed trees in the first mile or so of the trail, I was amazed at how it opened to a massive field of wildflowers. Honestly, yellow everywhere I looked – it was incredible!

Long, sweeping switchbacks take you through sloped meadows and areas of thin pine forests. For most of the trail, if you look up and search, you can see your final destination – the tower! A few hours in I reached the cabin – which incredibly is still standing and in beautiful condition. Since I was under a bit of a time crunch, I did not stop and investigate too much, but instead continued all the way to the top.

I did this hike on a Monday and was on the trail by 7:30a so I did not see anyone else until I had summitted and had time to relax a bit on the concrete pad. The tower was closed off, so there were no additional steps to gain – just ample space and time to take in all of nature’s beauty.

After a snack and *almost* a little nap in the beautiful sunshine and thin air, another group of 6 hikers and 2 dogs joined me on the concrete pad and had a picnic of their own. As always – other hikers are dope sauce and a very nice lady shared her trail mix with peanut butter cups with me – thank you awesome stranger!

I wished them a wonderful afternoon and started my trek back to my car…and then back to PHX. It was a great two days of hiking and with three of the mountains now checked off the list, I can’t wait to hit the trails again and get closer to closing this challenge out!