Today we hiked the Old Caves Crater Trail. It is listed in "The Best Short Day Hikes in Flagstaff, Arizona," and the trailhead is just up the road a piece (1.8 miles from home). The altitude gain to the summit is only 500', and the long switchbacks make it reasonably easy.
The trail starts out through widely spaced Ponderosa Pines, which we were glad of because they make a great wind break, and today was another "breezy" day in Flagstaff (winds 25 mph with gusts to 44 mph). As we ascended, we noticed a rather abrupt change in the vegetation, with more Junipers and pinon pines and smaller bushes replacing the Ponderosas. We also started to notice views of the city and the nearby mountains.
At the top of the trail, we turned right as directed to explore the "Old Caves," small volcanic caves once used by the Sinagua peoples.
At the summit we really had to hold onto our hats! The wind was very gusty out in the open. We started down the far side of the cinder cone and found a sheltered spot to sit down and eat our apple slices before continuing down to the Crater Loop Trail and back to the truck, for a round trip of 3.74 miles. We were on the lookout for mule deer or other fauna, but the only animal we saw was a jackrabbit bounding away from us.
When we got home we decided to wash our hats and day packs. They've been accumulating sweat and dust from our hiking in the southwest.
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