I heard that the forest service reopened the South Kaibab area after fire season and I immediately made plans to head up there, with my husband and dog in tow. I figured that since we’d mainly be hiking in shade,  and wouldn't be doing any rock scrambling, it would be easy enough for all of us.

It was more challenging than I expected after I did Humphreys, and the distance to the summit and posted at the trailhead undercounted the distance. It’s 4.2 miles to the summit, not 3 miles. We had a beautiful, clear day, though. We started at 8:30 AM and we reached the lookout tower by 11 AM.
My husband and dog were pretty exhausted, so we spent additional time up there. That’s OK because the views were amazing! The Lookout Tower can also be reached by a dirt road, and on this Sunday, it was filled with ATV’s. It was unexpectedly noisy up there.  A group took a curve fast Heading down from the tower and we had to grab the dog and jump to the side quickly to avoid them. Heads up about that!
It was nice to share this final hike with my husband but I wonder if he’ll ever do another climb with me?! ????
I’m looking for other challenges, now.  The best gift I could’ve given myself was completing both the Winter and Summer AZ Peak challenges. Now, I’m going to try for a Sixpeak Challenge in a nearby state!
The mountains are calling…⛰????????