SummitPost.org

Hi,

I understand camping isn't allowed above 11,400 feet on Humphreys Peak, but does anyone know if there are actually any half decent camping spots below that i.e. somewhere between 10,500 and 11,500 feet??

Thanks,

David

Nothing convenient. You wouldn't want to be along or near the trail. Too busy with people.

Camping directly on the mountain is generally not allowed, and logistically not worth the trouble. If your intent is the summit, it's easily done in a day. Down below, you have hundreds of square miles of forest land and smaller hills to explore and camp where the mood strikes you. My wife and I camp up here often, just randomly driving forest roads until we find a place to call ours for the night.

If you have other motives to camp on the peak, it's not impossible. Just stay hidden. I've done it once (part of an avalanche awareness class at about 10.8k), so we had the okay to be there, and we were well away from the trails. Lugging a big overnight pack may attract the attentions of the rangers.

Lockett Meadows campground has seventeen individual sites at $12 a pop, and is seasonally open May 15 - November 15.

It's located at 8,600' on the EAST side of the Peaks.

[For more information, call the Peaks Ranger Station Monday through Friday at (928) 526-0866.]

http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/coconino/recrea ... ow-map.pdf

Lionel wrote:Lockett may not be open this season due to last years Schultz Fire.

Man, that sucks BIG TIME. What the hell is taking them so long? The fire wasn't anywhere NEAR Lockett Meadows.

Guess I have to go up to Utah, which also sucks because of having to buy gas. For crying out loud ... THEY get you both coming and going !!!

Well technically you cannot camp above that. Its more except-able in the winter, but alot of people do it anytime of the year. Its up to you, but if you wanted to camp legally close to the summit of Humphreys, there is a "flattish" spot above the Flying Dutchmen. The Flying Dutchmen is a basalt scree field/avalanche chute visible just off the Humphreys Peak Trail at around 10,400ft. I have seen people camping above there mostly in snow, but I have also heard people say they have camped there without snow. Its decent, but not the best.

Alex Wood wrote: The Flying Dutchmen is a basalt scree field/avalanche chute visible just off the Humphreys Peak Trail at around 10,400ft.

Hey Alex, are you absolutely sure about that ??? I always thought it was rhyolite or andesite.

Yup. There is lots of crazy stuff that happens with volcanoes. The lavas are rarely consistent and change throughout an eruption. There is lots of andesite and rhyolite on the peaks, but this scree field is more of a basalt.

David, I suggest you contact the Peaks Ranger District (directly) to avoid legal hassles.

If the FS is going to CLOSE everything, then they SHOULD provide an alternative place to recreate. Man, this looks like a great spot ...

Lionel wrote:I'm not getting involved in the geo talk again, but it is not scree. It is not even talus, it's a boulder field. Scree is the small gravel sized stuff, talus is the larger hand sized rock to small boulders that are still pretty movable by hand, and the Dutchman is definetly a boulder field. No scree and the talus is minimal.

Your right, my bad. Its definitely a boulder field