#4 Highest Peak: Kendrick Peak
Summit Elevation: 10,418 ft.
Trail Length: 7 miles
High Point: 10,418 ft.
Elevation Change: 2,718 ft.
18 August 2013
Talk about rolling with the punches... From start to finish, this day was an adventure. I decided to drive up to Flagstaff, hike Kendrick, and drive back all in one day. I left a little after 6 am and made really good time on the way up to Flag, getting there before 10 am. The directions I found online to the Kendrick Peak trail head ended up being completely ridiculous. First, I had to "go west on the north service road" off of my exit. Since there were no signs, I used the Sun as a guide. I drove all the way to the end of the service road until I ended up on private property. (In my head) that means people have shot guns and aren't afraid to use them, so I quickly turned around. Just when I thought I would have to completely back track and try another way or get directions from the nearest gas station, I saw a brown sign reading "Kendrick Peak - 13 mi." about 20-30 feet down a small dirt road. I wasn't expecting driving on a dirt road since my directions mentioned nothing of the sort, but it didn't look so bad... How wrong I was. Seriously, I might as well have been off-roading. It took me over 45 minutes to drive 13 miles, and I was terrified the entire time that I was going to get a flat tire or something. At one point, my car literally got stuck in a deceivingly deep puddle (took me about 5 minutes to maneuver my way out).
When I finally reached the trail head, I was already a little annoyed that I would be starting my hike an hour later than I planned - but that was the least of my worries. Literally as I was driving into the lot, the sky darkened and thunder came rolling in - along with lightning right behind the mountain I was about to climb. I had no idea what to do: I knew that I didn't want to hike in a thunderstorm, but there was no way in hell I was about to turn around and drive 4 hours back to Tucson without hiking a mountain. I didn't really have to think about my options for too long, because 10 seconds after I parked it started pouring rain. The rain turned into hail... which turned back into heavy rain... along with crazy thunder and lightning. In Tucson, storms last for 5-10 minutes, so I was expecting this to roll right over. Wrong again! I sat in my car for almost an hour, waiting out the storm and growing more and more annoyed. Finally, the rain died down a bit and I saw a young couple starting the trail. I jumped out of my car, put my poncho on, grabbed my pack, and followed. If I was going to get stuck on a mountain in the middle of the thunderstorm, at least I wouldn't be alone!
I passed that couple up really quick (they were snails) and hiked most of the way up alone, in 75 degree, sunny weather. The trail was beautiful; very similar to Humphrey's, but a fire in 2000 wiped out a bunch of trees along the trail, so you had a view of the surrounding mountains for a good portion of the hike. The thunder never let up, although it seemed to be getting farther away. The couple I first passed up commented that it was like the thunder was "serenading us." It was pretty intimidating, but the sunny skies made me hopeful... for an hour or so. As I neared the top, the skies became overcast once again and it started to lightly rain. About a quarter mile from the summit, there was a cute little cabin (not sure what it was formerly used for). Another hiking couple I met asked if I went inside, but I was alone at the time so hell no! It looked like the perfect place to be murdered...
At the very top of the peak there was a lookout tower, where 2 guys (one 70ish years old, the other probably younger than me) actually live on the weekends (2 other guys live there during the week). They have 2 cots, a bunch of snacks, radios... and that's about it! Looks like the most amazing job ever. I signed a book at the top and met the 3 other hikers who I'd end up facing the rest of my adventure with: a young-ish girl from the Czech Republic and an awesome young couple from Wisconsin, Jason and Tami. All 3 of them had been caught in the hailstorm on their way up and had been hanging out in the lookout tower for over an hour. I only stayed for about 10-15 minutes before we all decided to hike down together. From the top, we could see rainstorms in every single direction; I think I counted at least 5 distinct rain pockets surrounding us. The sky was completely gray and it was getting chilly. It seemed very unlikely we'd back it back down dry. Aside from the menacing storms around us, the view was gorgeous. We could see Humphrey's, with clouds covering its top, and a bunch of other mountains in the area. On a clear day, we would have been able to see the North Rim (like on the top of Humph).
About 10 minutes into our hike down, it started pouring again. And I mean pouring. On the way up, I couldn't decide if I wanted to wear my poncho because it was only sprinkling, so I kept putting it on and taking it off, and I ended up ripping it right down the center. It was basically useless so I hiked in shorts and a long sleeve shirt on the way down, which were soaked and freezing cold almost immediately. The thunder got louder and louder and the lightning closer, until they both came at the exact same time, meaning they were directly overhead. I have never ever in my entire life been in a storm like this. It was so scary and lasted the entire hike (1 hr, 20 min) down. If I had been hiking alone, I guarantee I would have been sobbing the entire way down. Luckily, I had 2 awesome new friends from Wisconsin! We talked the entire way down about running, hiking, rafting trips they'd been on, etc., and it totally took my mind off the terrible storm we were in - until, of course, the thunder clapped so loud that I couldn't hear Jason, who was 2 feet away from me, or until the lightning was so bright that we felt like we would go blind.
By the time we got back to our cars, we were all totally soaked and freezing cold. Luckily, I thought to bring extra clothes in my car, so I went into the outhouse to change - and it was one of the most difficult things I've ever done! My fingers were so cold that I could barely move them. Despite the less than ideal conditions, this hike was great. The views were beautiful, and hanging out in the lookout tower, listening to random facts and stories about the area from the 2 guys up there, was awesome. The weather actually ended up being the best part of the whole experience. Sure, it would have been easier and more enjoyable to hike in the sun, but hiking in the middle of a ridiculously bad thunderstorm was a challenge. And best of all, it helped me make 2 awesome new friends. Stuff like that makes for the best bonding opportunities!
