The San Francisco Volcanic Field is the name given to the series of conical, often highly-prominent mountains and hills that rise suddenly above the forests of the Coconino Plateau north and west of Flagstaff. These various peaks are vestiges of the ancient volcanism that took place (and still does, relatively speaking, near the Bonito Lava Flow, which dates to the 11th century). While it's inaccurate to tie all these peaks into one "range" since they are not interconnected in the way we usually consider ranges to be, they can be lumped into this useful heading since it does describe each peak's common heritage. The famous Humphreys Peak is the most grand of these peaks; other peaks that lump into this category include Bill Williams Mountain, Sitgreaves Peak, and this one, mighty Kendrick Peak. We have known about Kendrick Peak for years as it is one of the state's most popular hikes. Hiking up the Humphreys Peak trail, Kendrick Peak stands alone and tall not too far off to the northwest. Seeing it so often naturally grabbed our attention. We opted to make a hike of this peak during June when temperatures up in the high country would be nice and the air most likely dry, obviating any thunderstorms that may appear. We left our home on Friday the 17th, making the easy drive up Interstate-17 through Flagstaff, getting some supplies, then up US-180 about 15 miles to a series of forest roads approaching Kendrick Peak. We opted to camp at a nice big pullout below some giant ponderosa, the area seemingly all to ourselves. We ate dinner on my truck's tailgate with a half-moon opffering some light. The weather was superb and we slept very well.

Ironically, Kendrick is well-hidden by the forest from most of the roads that come near it. We caught on to this peculiarity when driving in, we never actually saw the peak! The forst is simply very thick here and long line-of-sight views are not easily had here. The best long-range views of Kendrick come from way north along US-180, and from points south and southwest along Interstate-40 from Bellemont west to Williams.

The next morning started crystal clear. We got up, got situated and drove the extra four miles or so to the trailhead. Only once into the forest did we get our first glimpses of the full mass of the peak. It's essentially a double-summitted mountain, with the western peak highest at 10,418 feet, and the eastern peak coming in at about 10,140 feet. A ridge that stays above 10,000 feet hangs between the two peaks, separated by less than an air-mile; otherwise the slopes of the mountain drop dramatically in all directions. A fire lookout is situated atop the highest point. Three possible hiker's routes lead to the top, but the one we took is by far the most used, as it is the best maintained of the three, has the best overall gradient and the best road access. The books say the peak gets moderate traffic. When we arrived there were already 4-5 vehicles parked at the trailhead. After some time getting ready, we started in about 8:30 a.m. in very nice conditions.

The trail immediately begins a steady uphill gradient with little variation, and fortunately, set at a nice slope. The first portion is through thick forest, then as it gains up a canyon on the peak's south, the views start to open up aided, ironically, from a large burn from 2000. Forests are hardy beasts and we are happy to report much new growth in the wake of the heavy burn scars. Gaining up the ridge we had outstanding views of might Humphreys Peak to the east, completely unobstructed. As we moved further up the canyon and ridge, below the prominent south headwall, we could spy the lookout sitting way high on the summit. We took a breather at a point before the trail gained onto the headwall itself.

On the headwall the trail makes very long sweeping traverses, with few switchbacks and again, with very reasonable grades. We made good time amid the thicker and more lush flora. About this time we met up with a few hikers already on the downhill after their early morning summit. In time, the trail works its way more toward the base of the eastern lower summit, before a sharp turn back northwesterly, in which it finally gains onto the ridge connecting the two peaks. Views opened up nicely here, with lovely meadows and a nice mix of forest, grass and rocky outcrops. We walked for a bit further to an old cabin which in the past had been used by the lookout personnel. We took a very short break, then decided to go on to the summit, just a mere couple of hundred feet further up. We made the top, tagging rocks and searching for the highest natural points amid the base of the massive lookout tower. Views were stunning in every direction; the humidity must have been in the single percents because we could make out fine detail on peaks 50 miles away. Humphreys looked so close we could almost touch it. A stiff breeze was the only source of minor discomfort. We decided to go ahead and descend back to the cabin and take a nice long lunch break and rest. The trail had become busier, and we had pleasant chats with the various hikers. Most were coming up (or going down) our way, but a few had come up from the other routes (one guy reporting his way was very overgrown and hard to follow).

Eventually we began our hike down, which went without event other than taking it slow for Beth's knees and ankles. At the very bottom, within sight of the parking lot we heard a long extended creak, then some cracks... and about 20 feet to our right off the trail, a tree fell! A first for both of us, to see a tree actually fall. And yes, we can report that we actually heard it. It was a standing snag, a casualty of the fire from 2000, but even then these things can stand for a generation before finally falling. We just happened to be walking by when this old guy finally gave out. Fortunately we were well clear of its path. Back to our truck by 3ish, we drove back into Flagstaff and found a hotel room. We slept like fallen logs that night (reference intended).

The drive back to Phoenix the next day had one interesting incident, as a small grass/brush fire on the median of Interstate-17 near Camp Verde was generating smoke and flames. But no fire trucks were there so we assume it had just started. Traffic slowed into a single file as the flames were lapping the edge of the highway and sending dense acrid smoke across our road. We just held our noses and pointed the truck through the haze, and got through. The rest of the drive was uneventful, and hot.