My wife, Greta and I had a beautiful weekend in Prescott!  Camped at Lynx Lake Campground arriving on Saturday 4/29 after having some issues with our truck on the way up (replaced alternator and batteries).  Great campground and super nice host, Bob.  Sunday morning we did a three mile hike around the lake.  After a short rest we went and scoped out Metate Trailhead in Granite Basin.  It was a great area and made my wife and I excited to come back the next day for the hike.  We then drove to the downtown area and enjoyed some Bills Pizza (you know, to carb up for the hike LOL) which was amazing!   We loved hanging out in the shade of the trees of the Yavapai County Courthouse square as we indulged.  We made our Granite Mountain hiking plans for Monday morning, we were hoping to start at 5am since the weather was pretty warm on Sunday, then head back to the campground and pack up afterwards.  However the sign at the trailhead said that the gates don't open until 7am.  We had talked with some other hikers who said it took them about 4.5 hours to complete the hike to the top and back and we had to check out of the campground by noon.  So we got up on Monday morning and packed up camp first thing.  It was quiet at the trailhead and we luckily had room to park our truck and trailer in the parking area.  We signed the trail log at 9am and Greta, Vayga (our puppy) and I headed up the mountain.  We were a little worried about the heat but the day turned out to be very pleasant and very windy.  The cool winds were definitely a blessing.   Within the first 1.5miles of the hike, a couple passed by us with their dog off leash and literally 30 seconds later, they were spooked by a rattle snake.  The snake moved on and so did we.   Another mile or so up the trail, we talked with a couple hikers on their way back down the mountain who said they had just seen a rattler as well.  We were stabbing the ground with a little extra force as we headed up the trail in hopes any other rattlers would make themselves known.  Such a beautiful mountain with house sized boulders, wild flowers, many lizards and horny toads!  Such a great view to the North as you reach the first saddle, Humphreys was visible a still covered in snow.  Nice little area near the peak that is like in a bowl, protected from the wind with shade trees where we sat and rested for a bit.  Amazing view from the top!