Humphrey’s Trail

4.8 miles to the summit. There’s a sign to Humphrey’s Peak that will direct you to a dirt road parking lot on the way to the Arizona Snowbowl. You start off walking through a grassy meadow before entering a forest with tall trees galore. After about 3 miles of switchbacks, you emerge to the saddle, where the tree line begins to end. After ¾ of a mile, you finally enter the only tundra in Arizona, where there are just rocks and no more trees to be seen. From that point there are 3 false summits that you ascend before going up the real summit. The view is incredibly beautiful. I went during late August, started at 6am and reached the top by 8:30am. It was pretty cold throughout, and it became windy at the top, but there was enough sunlight at the top to make up for it. There are plenty of markers once you reach the tundra so that you don’t wander off trail or get lost. This is the highest point in Arizona, so would highly recommend if you ever visit Flagstaff.

Hiked humphreys trail yesterday & absolutely loved it! Coming up from the valley we decided to go up to flagstaff a day before to get acclimated to the higher elevation and it helped SO MUCH. Take plenty of waters and go early. We planned on going up at 5 am but it was raining then so we had to wait until 8 to start & there were already a lot of people on the trail :(all were friendly but I enjoy the peace & quiet when I’m hiking. A lot of people had music playing when we were passing them. It’s fairly easy for the elevation and you actually gain the most elevation from the saddle to the peak — according to the park ranger there.

I made it the summit again!
Last year I started hiking at 5am and by the time we arrived at the saddle, it was very windy. From the saddle (11,800 feet) to the summit (about a mile), strong wind made it very challenging.
So this year, we started hiking at 2:45am. We wanted to start at 2:00am but didn’t work out the way we originally planned. I thought we were the only crazy people hiking in the dark but I saw several others with head lamps. Some started at 1:00am. A group started hiking just before us was there for wedding. We were able to witness a beautiful wedding there.
At the beginning of the trail, it is relatively easy, and hiking with headlamp wasn’t too difficult at all. The original plan was to reach the saddle before the sun rise to enjoy the beautiful sunrise. By the time we arrived at the saddle it was 6:00am and we missed the sun rise.
From the saddle to the summit, it wasn’t as windy as last year. This made my experience more pleasant. I highly recommend starting as early as possible to avoid strong wind. I was told by others wind could get to 70 mph in the afternoon. Nonetheless, it was still windy and cold at the summit. We still enjoyed our time at the summit.
For food, I packed several different kind this year as I got really tired of eating cliff bars only last year. Having options was good but hamburger I ate after hiking in Flagstaff tasted so good.
«The BOX» is located outside the main shelter area, just in case you want to leave something.
I had 3.2 litter of water in my CamelBak. When I got home, I still had some water left. My friend run out of her water. Another friend only consumed 2.0 litter of water. Drinking plenty of water will help with altitude sickness. Hydrate is the best way to help your body adjust to high altitude. Double the water intake.
This year, I brought both snow hat and baseball hat. This really helped me keep warm when it was cold and keep me cool when it was hot. I also had three sets of jackets. Gloves, two pairs of socks, hiking poles were helpful again.
I learned more from this year’s shortcoming. I will do better next year.

After seeing that movie about the guy who got trapped while hiking Humphrey’s and had to cut his own arm off to escape, I was pretty intimidated… and curious to find that detached limb. And once I learned the hike was 10 miles round trip, with a 3300ft elevation gain, I dreamed this was the next daunting adventure I’d write about in my hiking journal… which is also Unilocal.
So I trained, for months, on Camelback and Piestewa, culminating in a jaunt up to Flatiron. Then I considered myself ready.
Experienced hiker, and proficient pianist, Yuko H, organized the outing and provided a comprehensive «things to bring» list, which really saved my bacon. Down where I live, the temps we hovering near 110… but thanks to her suggestions, this first timer brought and wore the appropriate amount of clothing, which was:
* 4 layers: short sleeve, long sleeve, with 2 thick hoodies
* 2 layers: shorts with sweat pants
* A thermal beanie, baseball cap, and two hoods
* 2 pairs of socks and hiking boots
* A pair of thermal road biking gloves
Even with all that cotton up on me, I was still feeling a tad hypothermic at 12,633ft… but who cares? I had arrived… I made it! All those months of training were worth it.
Little secret… the climb wasnt that hard… its just long. Like sitting through Waterworld long, followed by sitting through Waterworld again… except you’re not sitting.
I had a backpack full of Clif bars and 3L of water. I returned with 1L of water, and an excess of energy bars. I should have handed them out to passers by during my descent. Now its whats for dinner…
My knees were feeling all rusty by the time I passed the sign-​in sheet… momentarily causing me to walk all straight-​legged, like Frankenstein, until I received a few curious glances which made me all self conscious.
All in all, a great hike, and quite fascinating at 3am wearing a headlamp, whose comforting glow gives off a 30ft visibility. I’m checking this one off the list. Grand Canyon, here I come…

Awesomely beautiful trail. For the elevation you’re climbing it’s really not that tough. It’s about a 8 – 9 mile hike to summit and back. With that being said, you don’t have to go to the top there’s other trails leading off of this one. Bring water and lunch that way you can picnic at the top

This was definitely the easiest 12,000+ feet peak I’ve hiked. That being said, it was probably the most beautiful one as well. Not sure why it felt so easy, I was trying come up with reasons, there weren’t any horrible switchbacks, no horrendous scree slopes, no super steep uphill portions. I think the entire hike was so gradual, it made it really easy to acclimatize to. Only thing I could come up with.
Starting out at the Arizona Snowbowl Humphreys Peak trailhead, we got to walk through a huge field of Wildflowers that were incredible (I’m easily impressed when it comes to flowers). Once we actually hit the trail, again it was so beautiful. Tons of trees and vegetation throughout. The trail was well maintained, lots of rocks, but easily walked over. There were a few large trees that you did have to get yourself up and over tho. My friend kept calling this an aspen trail, it was almost like being in Colorado. There is a lava rock boulder area that was so crazy to look at. I kinda wanted to scramble up it. But alas, you’re not allowed off trail.
Once you hit the saddle, you start up to 3 false summits, and TONS of people. We did this during monsoon season, and started a little late (in my opinion) at 7am, but these people had to had started way earlier. Tons of trail runners, people with dogs, a few with kids. I enjoyed this last part, I like to scramble, there were just a few spots I was able to. The views from the top were incredible.
We made it to the top before any storms started moving in, but the clouds stated forming fast, and we were advised to get off the mountain if we heard thunder. Luckily we had perfect weather, it wasn’t even windy at the summit.
I did this hike without using my trekking poles, and I thought the downhill was relatively easier on my knees than other hikes I’ve done.
This is now one of my favorite peaks. Can’t wait to go back and do it again! Next time I want to start from the Weatherford Trail.
*side note, I’ve never seen so much used toilet paper on a trail. It was terrible. Take an empty plastic bag on your hike with you and take your TP with you people! Leave no trace!

Let’s just go hiked the highest peak in AZ… that’s what I once said when my wife and I decided to do this hike one day. Well on the night before we decided to do some bar hopping the night before. Not the best thing before a 8 hour hike clocking in at nearly 9. Ike’s total! Oh don’t forget altitude sickness setting in starting over 110 000 ft. I admit I was totally unprepared for how hard this hike really was. Took a lot of mental toughness for me to keep going. Once we reached the saddle at 11 400 ft we figured that we didn’t have much left and continued. Oh wow!!! With passing up 2 false summits we finally saw it and made our way up the 3^rd and final summit. With the air so thin up there it’s almost like taking a few steps then pausing to catch your breath.
The. The top you finally reach. Actually I felt all the pain and wanting to quit was over and I finally felt like I accomplished something. Hiking the highest peak in AZ, 12^th in the US. 12 600 ft was amazing. The way down wasn’t all that bad too. I just really recommend hiking poles because your legs will be tired and you are more prone to injury on weak legs.
I do gone up here 3 times in 2 years. Getting ready to make it our 4^th summit in Aug, so that tells you how much I really like the hike. You really feel like you accomplished something! I say if I can do this each year even when I’m old then my life will be dang good! If you never done this then plan to bring the right equipment, backpack, good boots, rain coat, head cover, sunscreen, and lots if water and snacks. Oh don’t forget 2^nd pair of socks. I changed on top. I admit first time I did this I was sore for a week but it was worth it!

This is defiantly the toughest/​longest hike I’ve ever done, especially since I’m not acclaimed to the high altitude. It took us all day, about 7 or 8 hours.
You need to sign in before going up the second leg of the hike, just in case. After the summit, you are walking/​climbing up these large rocks that look like boulders. This was the scariest part of the hike for me. We were almost near the top of the peak at this point and the skies started getting dark. We were debating whether or not to turn around because this would be the worst place to ever be during a thunder storm. I think my boyfriend was little nervous about me as well, my lips were a blue-​ish and I was having trouble breathing, but we were sooooo close I didn’t want to turn around at all! So we kept going and luckily it didn’t start raining and we made it to the top!
We hung out on the top for about an hour, ate some bagels we brought with us and took lots of photos. It wasn’t crowded at all, there were two-​four other people up there the entire time we were… this was also a bit different for me because most hikes I’ve been on are tourist attractions and packed. But the privacy of the hike made it even more rewarding and is one of the main reasons I really loved this hike.

They say this is the easiest 12,000′+ peak to hike in the continental US. Knowing that I grabbed my brother, packed light, started early, and had a great time and amazing workout in the process. We went Sunday, September 1^st which is an excellent time of year because the monsoons have moved on for the most part and its not too cold at the top. We started at approx. 6 am before sun up, and after about 4 miles we realized the sign at the start of the trail was incorrect 4.8 miles (maybe by the way the crow flies?). Both my brother and I had our MapMyRun GPS apps and it was approx. 7 miles (one way) and I say that because the app stopped working about 10,000′. We eventually made it past the 3 «false» peaks… more like heartbreak hills. You think its the end and then you get your heart broken by yet another, taller peak. At the top I was hoping to see the North Rim, but alas it was not to been seen that day. We still were able to get some amazing photos/​video. It was great to hike through the forest and the tree line and see the different temperate zones on this mountain.

everytime i do this trail, i forget that it is actually pretty hard for us flatlanders! today was no different and boy can i tell you how nice that flagstaff weather is compared to today’s phoenix heat.
door-​parking lot of trail head: 3 hours. head through flagstaff and make a left towards the grand canyon, towards snowbowl. it’s a few miles outside of town. drive up snowbowl road and the trail head pretty much starts from the ski resort (to the left. the kachina trail is to the right).
at a hustle, with a dog, and with rest breaks, picture stops, and pee stops about 3.5 hours to the summit. half that for the way down.
even during the summer, be prepared for gale force winds and chilly temps as you come out of the pine forests around 11k feet. you don’t have to, but you may be more comfortable if you bring a light pair of gloves and a warm hat for the final push to the summit. the trail can be very loose at times, but it is easy to follow.
a great hike, and it’s AZ tallest!

If you are coming from Phoenix like I was, I recommend getting acclimated to the altitude by staying overnight in flagstaff one day before the hike. If that is not possible then hike it at a very slow pace. I made the mistake of trying to run the trail and boy was that a mistake. Around the halfway point, I felt like I had just taken 10 shots of vodka. I made it to the top and it was well worth it.

I am visiting Flagstaff and into trail running. I looked for routes to run and decided that Humphrey’s Peak was going to be on the list to do. It was a really good decision. The route is sort of runnable, some tricky/​rocky parts higher up on the ridge and the altitude (for me) slowed me down at times. I ran in in late June (same date as the review) and the day was perfect, blue sky, no clouds and no wind. The view from the top is stunning and recommend it to anyone not to stop at the pass/​ridge line as the 1 mile or so to the top is well worth it, I could see the Grand Canyon in the distance. There were all sorts of people hiking up there and seemed to be a a regular thing to do for locals that are into that sort of thing. Overall well worth the effort.

CANNOT beat my recent trip up this mountain. Recommended to start early morning so as to reach the summit before the afternoon storms that frequently happen. Fifteen minutes into the trail, just before getting to the log book. a bear sighting. Continuing on up the hill, we were fortunate to stumble upon some wild raspberries. LOVED them. Around 10,000 feet, take a break on the rock fall… a slide of boulders and rocks streaking down the mountain. Continuing up past the 11,400 marker, you are almost to the saddle. The trail gets much steeper and trees thin out as you reach the treeline and edge into the tundra. Rocks, rocks, and more rocks. Altitude may affect those who are not used to it (me) so take it slowly. We had to rush a bit since clouds off in the distance were quickly making there way to us. There are 3 false summits so don’t be tricked and KEEP going! Once at the top there are a couple wind break formations at the top, a wooden bench and military box with a log book and miscellaneous trinkets and reminders of previous hikers. Take some time to enjoy the view and eat some lunch you brought up with you before heading back down. MUST do at least once.

Started this trail after a night of brewery hopping down in flagstaff. Not a good idea. We parked at the lower snowbowl parking lot (there is another parking lot a couple hundred feet higher up, but we didn’t know it at the time). We walked near some ski lifts and crossed an open field and into the trees before we saw a small post that marked the Humphrey’s trail. About 20−30mins later we came to a registry, and I guess this is what marks the real start of the trail head (the second parking lot is closer to this).
It was a very difficult climb for us. We are in decent shape and love to hike, but we had never hiked something at this altitude. We were a tad unprepared, and our bout of drinking till 2am before the hike was just stupid. We were miserable almost from the start. I had woke up feeling great with no hangover, however, I developed a bad headache and was getting a little dizzy the higher we got. Well, I found out it was altitude sickness. We didn’t acclimate ourselves to the altitude. Somehow, we made it to the saddle. At the saddle (the point between Humphrey’s peak and Aggasiz peak, about 2 – 3 hours from the start, depending on your speed) we took a break. It was a popular spot for everyone else to stop at. From what I was told it is also where most people actually turn around at. You can see the peak from there, which is about 1 – 2 hours away depending on how fast you go. We should have turned around. 99.9% of me wanted to turn around. I do not know how that one percent of the battle in my mind won, and we forged on toward the peak.
It was a little bit trickier from the saddle to the peak. Lots of loose rocks and at times the trail is unclear. But we forged on and made it. I wanted to lay down and give up many many times. There is a bench at the top and two rock walls built to shelter you from the wind. There is also another registry in a small metal box. At the top I thought I would feel great with a sense of accomplishment, and a hiker’s high coursing through me. Not this time. I was miserable. My head hurt, it was cold, and my legs didn’t feel like they were still there. And oops, we have to go down…
So you think going down should be easier, but not this time. I was very unsure about my steps because my legs were shakey. And the decline was killing my legs even more. We ran out of water. It felt like the trail would never end. Words cannot describe how awful and fatigued my whole body felt. Total trip time was 8 hours. I have heard of people completing this hike faster and some have took longer. There was all sorts of levels and ages of hikers on this trail, including kids as young as 7.
Even though I didn’t enjoy this trail (due to being stupid the night before) It is a beautiful hike with rewarding views at the top. Rumor is, you can see the grand canyon at the peak on a clear day. Even making it to just the saddle is a great hike with great views. Be sure to look at weather reports before you go because I have heard stories of weather suddenly changing at the peak with snow and wind gusts up to 80mph, even in the middle of the summer.