Humphreys Peak

Monday August 23 2021

Took a week off close to my birthday and decided to attempt the Arizona Summer Six Pack of Peaks – Not certain how my body would hold up hiking every day as I’m usually a weekend warrior – I thought it best to do the last hike first, which I presumed would be the most difficult

The Humphreys Peak trailhead starts at an elevation of over 9,000 feet, which is slightly lower than the height of Mount Wrightson, the tallest peak in Southern Arizona – Presumed elevation would be a factor for me since I live in Tucson at roughly 2,400 feet above sea level – The hike starts close to the Snow Bowl ski lift area and then passes through an Aspen grove and climbs into mature conifers – There is evidence of recent fires with down trees, some stretching across the trail – Most of the hike is shaded by trees and there are a lot of low lying tree roots to navigate in the beginning – There were no clouds in the sky and the temperature felt like it was in the 60’s when I started – Started the hike with trekking poles –  A lesson learned, which unfortunately I didn’t think about or apply until my fifth hike was to keep my heart rate at or below 80% of max to minimize fatigue – Staying at max heart rate for a significant period of time reduces endurance and leads to exhaustion – I was pretty tired when I reached the saddle and started taking frequent breaks – Not long after the saddle the trail rises above the tree line and becomes primarily loose rock increasing the difficulty in identifying where the trail is exactly – I attached my trekking poles to my pack at that point as they were not helping – I didn’t feel cold, yet my finger tips and toes started to feel numb – I took my hat off and put on a beanie as the wind kept blowing my hat off anyway – I would have lost it had I not attached a tether to it at the saddle – I put on a sweater and my jacket which took the numbness away – Trail posts helped to maintain the correct path until the peak became visible – It was so windy above the tree line that a couple ahead of me simply turned around and headed back down the mountain just before the summit – The view at the is summit is spectacular – The most difficult part of the hike to me was traversing the smooth loose rocks for the last mile or so to the summit and dealing with the unbelievably strong wind that day