By James LaJocies
Spring has sprung and the blue skies of
the Southwest have returned. Freedom awaits after wintering indoors and the
thermometer reaching a welcoming temperature. The calling of Mother
Natures Granite Mountain is whispering to me. So with enthusiasm, I
pack it up and step onto the Granite Mountain Trail and seek her hidden
rewards.
The trek starts off with in the cooling Prescott National Forest under towering pines and juniper trees. A well groomed rocky mountain sand, covered with a blanket of cushioned pine needles under foot, starts your trek as you gently ascend to the summit. Along the way you began to notice the colors of spring starting to exhibit their splendor.
This part of the hike is peaceful and enjoyable. Once you reach Blairs Pass, (gate along side the trail), trail conditions become increasingly more difficult with a considerable amount of loose rock and sand. Continuing upward your trek will lead you into a series of mountain switchbacks and degrading trail conditions with granite boulders, rocks and mountain sand. For the next mile and a half, it’s up and up and again up.
While traversing the strenuous switchbacks and ascending up the mountain, there are a number of side trails opening into vistas along the way offering grand views of the northern and western ranges of the Prescott Nation Forest. Thumb Butte, Spruce Mountain, Watson Lake, the Granite Dells and the southern half of the Lonesome Valley will fill your eyes and consume space in your memory banks.
Once you reach a saddle on the North side of the mountain, you can look up and see that it is a short scramble to the summit, and by this time you may wish the trail did scramble up to the summit. But it doesn’t, as it continues onward to the east side of the mountain affording vistas of the Black Hills of Prescott National Forest, the Red Cliffs of the Mongolian Ridge. The Verde and Lonesome Valleys and standing tall and proud are the San Francisco Peaks. All spectacular and worth many clicks of the camera you are sure to bring. On this day, visibility was greater then hundred miles.
Continuing to traverse the east face of the mountain, soon you come across two areas in which there are huge house size slabs of flat granite surrounded various rock formations and cooling pine and juniper trees. This is an excellent place for a picnic and very welcoming indeed.
After the picnic spots, it’s a short distance to the summit. The reward is well worth it. Again more grand vistas to soak in. If you are a bit more adventurous there is a side trail from the summit in which you can free climb to the very peak of the mountain. From this vantage point, you will enjoy a three hundred and sixty degree unrestricted view. But, strength and experience are certainly recommended for the last scramble up to the peak.
This trek is a popular hike, so there is not to much likelihood of being alone on the trail. Not only from hikers, but also those who enjoy enhancing their skills of free climbing the many granite formations that are welcoming the adventurous. Not only do climbers like these areas, so do also the Peregrine Falcons, which nest and soar among these cliffs and mountain.
After enjoying your lunch and becoming rested, your descent from Granite Mountain will be all of that of which your ascent was, but much easier. And as you finally cross the trailhead, you too will be rewarded with the satisfaction of being a part of Mother Natures Southwest Wonderland.
The trek starts off with in the cooling Prescott National Forest under towering pines and juniper trees. A well groomed rocky mountain sand, covered with a blanket of cushioned pine needles under foot, starts your trek as you gently ascend to the summit. Along the way you began to notice the colors of spring starting to exhibit their splendor.
This part of the hike is peaceful and enjoyable. Once you reach Blairs Pass, (gate along side the trail), trail conditions become increasingly more difficult with a considerable amount of loose rock and sand. Continuing upward your trek will lead you into a series of mountain switchbacks and degrading trail conditions with granite boulders, rocks and mountain sand. For the next mile and a half, it’s up and up and again up.
While traversing the strenuous switchbacks and ascending up the mountain, there are a number of side trails opening into vistas along the way offering grand views of the northern and western ranges of the Prescott Nation Forest. Thumb Butte, Spruce Mountain, Watson Lake, the Granite Dells and the southern half of the Lonesome Valley will fill your eyes and consume space in your memory banks.
Once you reach a saddle on the North side of the mountain, you can look up and see that it is a short scramble to the summit, and by this time you may wish the trail did scramble up to the summit. But it doesn’t, as it continues onward to the east side of the mountain affording vistas of the Black Hills of Prescott National Forest, the Red Cliffs of the Mongolian Ridge. The Verde and Lonesome Valleys and standing tall and proud are the San Francisco Peaks. All spectacular and worth many clicks of the camera you are sure to bring. On this day, visibility was greater then hundred miles.
Continuing to traverse the east face of the mountain, soon you come across two areas in which there are huge house size slabs of flat granite surrounded various rock formations and cooling pine and juniper trees. This is an excellent place for a picnic and very welcoming indeed.
After the picnic spots, it’s a short distance to the summit. The reward is well worth it. Again more grand vistas to soak in. If you are a bit more adventurous there is a side trail from the summit in which you can free climb to the very peak of the mountain. From this vantage point, you will enjoy a three hundred and sixty degree unrestricted view. But, strength and experience are certainly recommended for the last scramble up to the peak.
This trek is a popular hike, so there is not to much likelihood of being alone on the trail. Not only from hikers, but also those who enjoy enhancing their skills of free climbing the many granite formations that are welcoming the adventurous. Not only do climbers like these areas, so do also the Peregrine Falcons, which nest and soar among these cliffs and mountain.
After enjoying your lunch and becoming rested, your descent from Granite Mountain will be all of that of which your ascent was, but much easier. And as you finally cross the trailhead, you too will be rewarded with the satisfaction of being a part of Mother Natures Southwest Wonderland.