Elden Mountain overlooks Flagstaff, sitting right above town and is an attractive, broad-shaped peak popular with local hikers and mountain bikers. While the mighty Humphreys Peak gets all the sexy notoriety for its sheer size and status as the state's highest point, Elden is no slacker by any means, with a summit elevation of 9,299 feet and an outstanding network of trails snaking all over the mountain. For the Flag hiker wanting a quick, fun and energetic workout but not interested in driving 15 miles to the Humphreys trailhead, Elden is the place to be, with a hiker's trailhead (one of many) easily found on the east side of town, off of US-89 just north of the mall. A good forest road snakes up the back side and is the realm of bicyclists as well as motorized vehicles. The top is very broad, with three or four distinct peaks and high, open meadows connecting them all. The easternmost peak is the highest, and is topped by a lookout and some antennae and buildings. The other peaks also have their share of antennae - no surprise given its proximity to Flagstaff. One such peak even gets the evocative name 'TV Hill'.

Beth and I were eyeballing Elden as a possible hike, moreso to give us an excuse to spend a weekend in the high country and Flagstaff. Even so, all reports we came across spoke highly of Elden's trails and scenery - and popularity. With summer temperatures moderating - but still kind of hot in Phoenix - we figured Flag would be real nice, with nippy mornings and pleasant days. Light jacket weather, maybe. We left our home and drove up an alternative route, planning to camp in the National Forest about 20 miles southeast of Flag near Lake Mary. Instead of dealing with the nightmare of Interstate-17 on a Friday afternoon, we went up the Beeline Highway through Payson, then up onto the plateau through Strawberry and Pine, catching Forest Road 3 near Clint's Well. The road was paved all the way to our campground at Pine Grove. We arrived just as darkness fell. Some clouds had collected and we had a smattering of rain, but quickly they lifted and the stars were out in abundance, this being very nearly a new moon night. I built us a nice fire and we enjoyed sitting around it and having dinner - until a bunch of idiot drunk yahoos rolled up in the diesel trucks and over-sized trailers - the kind you take to NASCAR races with but not into the hills - and started making endless noise and din. They were in the spot next to us, maybe 60 feet away, drunk and getting drunker. Five guys, no women. Grudgingly - and not wanting to tell five drunks to shut it up - we packed camp and rolled down the road to another open site. Too bad; we had a nice fire going. It was late anyway and we just got into bed: the back of Beth's Subaru.

The next morning was cool and I built us another fire. We took it slow and got dressed for the hike. Alas, Beth pulled a muscle pretty bad in her back. Just a random, bizarre event, but very frustrating. I massaged it and we hoped it would work itself out. We drove on to the trailhead, arriving in the late morning, but Beth's back continued to hurt her. Nevertheless we got our boots on and pack in order and started hiking, but just a few hundred feet up the trail Beth's ailing back just wasn't going to give in, so we stopped and thought about what to do. We considered taking the road up the back side and making a short hike to the top. Ultimately, Beth felt bad enough and prompted me to go on by myself. We agreed to drive up the road the next day, hoping her back would feel better. I went ahead in on my own, and Beth - I found out afterwards - went to the mall and found some massage chairs that she sat in for therapy. She said it was heaven!

So, me, I was hiking up the trail. It's flat at first, passing through the usual pinion and juniper woodlands with significant wildflowers and brush included. It passes a couple fences, bends right and works its way up some steep rocky bits and switchbacks for about a half-mile. There are other trails herein, so I had to watch the signs, some of which weren't necessarily obvious. After about a half-mile, the Elden Lookout Trail shoots left (west) and starts a grueling 2-mile grunt directly up the steep eastern slopes of the mountain. I hiked for a few minutes with a National Park girl from Nebraska in town for a conference, then continued on my way. There were lots of people going up and coming down but it never felt crowded. The trail itself just works its way up a long series of switchbacks, sometimes clambering over some bare rock and always at a moderate-to-steep grade, given that it has to gain about 1,800 feet in these two miles. In places big rocks have been moved into a series of stair steps, while big logs in other places achieve the same effect. More toward the top the trail crosses an old rock-slide from about 30 years ago (my guess). Here it's a bit loose and sketchy, but not too bad. It was always easy to follow and I made good time. Others were making great time - I was passed by a couple of runners working their way to the top. Piece of cake to them, I imagine. The forest gets thicker the higher up I went, with fir and aspen. The trail angles to a nose on a ridge, then enters into some cleared areas from an old burn from 1977 (says the books). The top and its lookout tower come into view, now much closer. The trail then gains the main ridge, from which a spur heads off to the summit, now just 0.2 miles up the way.

The final spur went quick. with a brisk cool wind now adding to the fun. The trail comes out to the road, from which it is an easy stroll to the top rocks, towers and antennae. I found the highpoint rock underneath the tower. A sign posted on the side of a building has the elevation at 9,300 feet - I wasn't going to quibble there. The Nebraska girl showed up about 5 minutes later and walked up the stairs to the top, while I just relaxed at the rock and sent a text-message to my wife that all was well and I was on my way down. It had taken me just under two hours to make the top, a gain of 2,400 steady feet. I was pretty bushed, but I did stick around a few minutes to take in the views and check out big ol' Humphreys off to the northwest. I have to admit - the hike up took a lot out of me. I made good time but I could really feel it in my legs. I think I was also a bit affected by the elevation, too.

The hike down went great, and the gradient was just right for me so that I jog-walked the three miles back down the hill, arriving back at the trailhead parking lot in exactly an hour. Beth was just pulling into the lot as I emerged, so we brought out the chairs and relaxed, having some cokes while I changed into drier clothes and Beth told me where she had been. At least she felt better about her back. She was pretty bummed about missing the hike, although in this case had we pushed it, we probably would have run into trouble. We stayed in a cheapo 'budget' hotel, one of thousands in Flag with the word 'Budget' in its name. Actually, we thought we'd made reservations for one we've stayed at before, but Beth wasn't sure when we drove up because there were three (!) 'Budget' hotels all within a stone's throw of one another. Turns out we were supposed to be at a different one, and in retrosepct, this one was a lot nicer for the same price. We'll be staying at this one now instead! All are near our favorite tacky 50's diner, The Galaxy on old Route 66, where we ate for the evening. We both slept well that night.

The next day we did drive up the back road, following US-180 northwest out of town to Schultz Pass Road, then quickly onto Elden Mountain Road, which is paved for a couple miles, then dirt for the remaining 5+ miles to the top. It's a decent road, but has sections of rocks, ruts and steep grades, but the Subaru Outback took it all up very nicely. We got ourselves onto the top meadows, where we parked in a pullout just west of Elden. From this angle we could see all the beautiful Fall colors on the trees a lot better. We relaxed, sat in our chairs, made short hikes and generally played it lazy. Beth's back still hurt, so a hike to the top was probably not going to happen for her. When another car rolled up, nearly plowing into my chair and without a peep of 'sorry' or even a hello, we decided to scoot and drove out to another secluded area on the upper meadows (called Turkey Park on the map), where our only visitors were some mountain bikers and an old blue truck body full of bullet holes from who-knows-when. We actually had a great time up on top, spending almost 4 hours enjoying the lovely weather, although we both got some sunburn. The drive back down and home to Chandler went without any significant events. Just the usual traffic and hot weather.