Day 13, near Walker Lake Peak to Fort Valley Experimental Forest

A hiker named Andrew came by this morning while I was packing my gear. He told me he camped a little more than a mile back, close to the water cache.

He mentioned that while he was at the cache yesterday, he was swarmed by bees. This surprised me because I didn’t see any bees there.

I began hiking soon after Andrew left. The time was 7 a.m., and I had 8.8 miles to go before reaching the next water. I was carrying almost three liters of water to get me there. The no-camping zone was about 13.5 miles away.

I was passing through an area known as the San Francisco volcanic field, which includes a variety of volcanic features dating from almost 6 million years ago to less than 1,000 years ago.

My campsite was near Walker Lake Peak, but I never got a good view of it because of the terrain. The mountain is 8,515 feet high and is one of more than 600 volcanoes in Northern Arizona. Most are classified as extinct.

Walker Lake Peak has a small lake in its cone and is geologically young compared to some nearby peaks. Although I didn’t get a good look at that mountain, a break in the trees allowed me to see the White Horse Hills soon after I left my campsite.

These volcanic landforms are roughly 850,000 years old. The highest of the hills is 9,065 feet high. The White Horse Hills were mostly barren, most likely because of a wildfire.

Soon after passing the view spot, I entered a forest of pine trees that had been burned, perhaps in the fire on the White Horse Hills or maybe in a prescribed burn. The trees were still alive, just blackened at the bottom 10 feet or so.

A little farther up the trail, aspen began to appear among the pine trees. Unlike the aspens I saw yesterday on the slopes of Humphreys Peak, the leaves on these were still green.

The trail was now following a snaking route through the trees. For the next 3.5 miles, it zigzagged several times.

At first, I thought there were many more switchbacks than necessary for the elevation change. Then I realized this part of the trail was probably made by and for mountain bikers. That was the only reason I thought would explain why it wasn’t straighter.

Not more than 15 minutes later, I found proof I was walking on a trail made primarily for mountain bikers. A large sign warned that a stop sign was ahead. That wouldn't normally be found or needed on a hiking trail.

When the trail briefly exited the forest, I saw a sweeping view looking west, where there were more peaks in the San Francisco volcanic field. The tallest mountain of these, seen on the far right, was Kendrick Peak (10,425 feet).

It is the 12th-highest summit in Arizona. Much of the mountain was burned in a wildfire in 2000.

I was soon back in a dense forest of tall trees, and again it contained a mix of pines and aspens. This was a lovely section of the trail, and I was glad I didn’t have to rush through it.

The trail ended its zigzag path where it looped around the west boundary of Kachina Peaks Wilderness. 

Many long-distance trails cross wilderness areas, and the Arizona Trail crosses seven of them, but not this one. One reason for that is probably due to mountain bicyclists. Bikes are classified as a mechanized transport, which is prohibited in wilderness areas. The Flagstaff area is filled with mountain biking enthusiasts, so it's likely the trail was routed around the wilderness for them.

Secondly, Kachina Peaks Wilderness was established to protect the fragile slopes of the San Francisco Peaks. It contains Arizona’s only alpine tundra landscape. The mountains are subject to repeated freezing and thawing, which makes trail maintenance difficult.

Keeping the trail out of the wilderness was a practical decision for easier access by trail crews.

Just before noon, I arrived at Alfa Fia Tank. I expected to arrive there sooner, but as I got closer, I kept running into people who wanted to ask me questions about my hike.
 
First were four women walking with their dogs. A short time later, I was stopped by a couple who said they hiked the AZT about five years ago. Then I had a conversation with a truck driver who told me he wanted to get into long-distance hiking.

Everybody I talked to asked questions about my hike, or thru-hiking, or other hikes I’ve completed. I’m always happy to chat with anyone interested in my hikes, so it was good that I had extra time. The boundary of the no-camping zone was now just 4.5 miles away, and I would have no trouble getting there before dark.

It seemed odd to come across so many people near the tank, and they all seemed to arrive around the same time. I couldn't figure out why.

Soon after I left, I met two women day hikers and asked them why so many people, including school-aged kids, were here on a Monday. They agreed it seemed odd. We figured today must be a school break day.

The sky began to get cloudy while I was at Alfa Fia Tank, and though I wondered if it might rain before I found a campsite, it never did.

Not far past the tank, the trail started down a long slope. It was all single-track here and was sometimes a little steep. This was the first time I'd hiked a descent that steep since entering the Grand Canyon.

I met yet another hiker a couple of miles down the slope. He was hiking the AZT northbound and told me he had been jumping around sections of the trail because of the weather. He was now on the last leg of his hike.

The hiker warned me to expect several poor-quality water sources as I continue south. I didn’t want to hear that, but the news wasn’t surprising.

I also passed a couple of mountain bikers and a trail runner, but didn't talk to them. The trail was so busy today, it almost felt as crowded as the Grand Canyon.

I began to carefully check the map on the FarOut app as I approached the no-camping zone. I wanted to get as near the boundary as possible without getting too close to Snow Bowl Road. I knew it was a busy road leading down to Flagstaff, and I didn’t want to hear traffic noise or be within sight of drivers.

It wasn’t easy to find a flat spot large enough for my tent. The ground was mostly sloping, and it had been torn up by equipment during an operation to clean up the forest floor. Large slash piles, similar to the ones I saw on Day 9, were stacked in several places near the trail.

It took several minutes to select a site. I carefully looked at three potential spots before choosing the one that seemed the flattest. It was less than a half-mile from the no-camping zone.

I will be sleeping in a real bed tomorrow night, or at least I presume that. I'll try to figure out where to stay in Flagstaff when I get a cell signal strong enough for Google searching.