My wife and I arrived at the Manker Flat parking area at around 530AM. The area was packed. Searched for a bathroom and located a nice outhouse just east of the parking lot. Attempted the door and noticed everyone was using the outside of the outhouse for number two. I guess this is the progressive thing to do. Took the Falls Road fire road up with a large number of other hikers. The sign for Baldy Bowl was well marked with a new sign. This is where the traffic really began. If you are like us, you go hiking to listen to nature, get away from large crowds of people, see nature and smell nature. The trip to Ski Hut was moderately tough but what made it tougher was the traffic jam of people. Everyone was carrying on loud conversations (Some political which IMHO is not why I go to nature), smelling like cheap perfume/Axe body spray and passing without a simple excuse me. I felt like I was on the 101 in LA at 5PM. Once we got to Ski Hut, people were taking breaks, using the restroom and enjoying the view. We had a few snacks, took a piss next to the outhouse which smelled/looked like a transient camp inside and headed up to the summit. This area was less crowded as people were taking more breaks and the trail became wider. There are many options as you climb and different switch backs to choose from. This trail was more difficult than the first but definitely doable as I observed many people of different fitness levels tackling it at their own pace. We made it to the top in 3 hours and 41 minutes from parking lot to break times, to snack times, to summit. Cracked a couple of cold ones and took a few pics. Keep in mind, if you are social distancing and afraid of life itself, the summit is not the place for you. Lots of crowds at the top. We took Devils Taint down and there was plenty of places to pass during the initial decent. Spots to drop-trou and use the facilities are not plentiful FYI. Saw a Rattlesnake on the way down. Passed a few people who threw up their arms when I wasn't wearing a mask to hike and eventually made it the Ski Lift. Glad we did the hike, won't be back.
AZ Winter 20% off early-bird rate ends in
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