Old Glory, Kendrick Peak Lookout, July 4th, 2011
Hiking the Kendrick Mountain Wilderness trails on the 4th of July weekend has become something of a tradition for me. I usually do the 17 mile loop in a clockwise direction so I can avoid having to climb the steepest godawful part of the Pumpkin trail when I'm already tired from Bull Basin. But today I felt stronger than in years past so I did the course counter-clockwise. It was tough, but I made good time and beat the monsoon rains back to the summit. For a while I was a little concerned that a downpour would catch me in the burned area, but the clouds were having trouble getting their act together and the rain didn't come until later in the afternoon, well after I was heading back down the safer south side of the mountain.
At the summit I stopped to chat with the Kendrick fire tower lookout, Bruce, and took some pictures of the Peaks with monsoon thunderstorm clouds building over them. He was on his first season in a tower, so he had no interesting stories of fire-spotting or life on the peak to relate, but still a very friendly and helpful person. His big ol' floppy dog was snoring so loudly from the bunk along one wall of the tower that I'm surprised that people back in Flagstaff didn't hear the ruckus. Bruce showed me his fire-finder and how lookouts triangulate smoke sightings with other towers. I took some pictures of the finder and when I have more time I'll post a couple.
I hope all you blog peeps had a fun and safe 4th of July weekend.
