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Northern Arizona

On the cold and windy summit of Mt. Humphries (elevation 12,643 feet), where thankfully previous climbers have built some rock walls for wind protection.

The view from Mt. Humphries, which is the highest point of what remains of San Francisco Mountain, an ancient volcano that blew itself up after reaching heights of 15,000 or 16,000 feet.

Another view from the summit. Since Humphries is the remnants of a volcano, and therefore stands out from the surrounding topography, the views are superb.

The Inner Basin, which was the outflow point for magma when San Francisco Mountain blew its top.

A silhouette of the San Francisco Mountains.

As I descended out of the San Francisco Peaks, the vegetation shifted from aspens, firs, and spruces to piñons and junipers, and eventually to straight-up grassland.

A water cache left out near the Babbitt Ranch, which I was very thankful for because water was very hard to find, and water that was available was almost always mucked up by cattle.

I've hiked enough in the desert to know that I'd rather hike elsewhere (too hot, not enough water, everything wants to poke or scratch you, dull colors, etc.) but I do appreciate the desert for a few reasons, one is the ability of certain species to thrive in the face of my suffering. One such example is this grasshopper, which measures about 3 inches long.

The endless road...seemed suddenly not so endless in the last days.

An ancient cinder cone, one of many volcanic features in the landscape north of Flagstaff.

In this picture you can imagine San Francisco Mountain before it blew its top and caved in -- just extend the right and left flanks until you get a tip.

Sherman Tank, a nasty stock pond that I retrieved water from because it was the only water for about 30 miles in both directions. Scummy, filled with cow crap, and stagnant…but wet.

Water problems

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