CocoSAR Challenge Hike

This 22-mile out-and-back is the long, deliberate way to the top of Arizona. Most parties summit Humphreys from the Snowbowl ski area side via the Humphreys Trail, a steep 10-mile round trip from ~9,300 feet. This route starts instead from Schultz Tank at 8,028 feet and takes the Weatherford Trail, a historic early 20th century road grade carved into the east side of the San Francisco Peaks to bring tourists by car to within striking distance of the summit. The Weatherford never made it as a road, but as a hiker's trail it's quietly excellent: a long, steady grade that climbs through aspen and mixed conifer, traverses Doyle Saddle, contours around Fremont Peak, and eventually delivers you to Fremont Saddle below the upper ridgeline. From there the trail joins the standard summit route for the final ascent above treeline to the 12,632-foot top. Total stats: 22 miles, 5,300 feet of gain, low point Schultz Tank at 8,028 feet, high point the summit. Start early and plan for 10-12hrs of fun, sometimes longer, which means more fun. This is the most demanding route yet for the Challenge Hike, and the demands are stacked: more than double the distance of the standard Humphreys hike, sustained climbing for the better part of 10 miles, and a high point above 12,000 feet where the air contains about 60% of the oxygen at the trailhead. Plan for genuine alpine conditions on the upper mountain. Wind, cold, and afternoon lightning are all real concerns. There is no reliable water on route, and the descent back to Schultz Tank is long enough that most parties are walking the last few miles on tired legs in fading light. Worth keeping the operational eye sharp on this one: the Peaks see a steady stream of incidents every summer, and the Weatherford side is the corner of that response area that almost nobody sees outside of training. Get to know it on a good day so you're not meeting it for the first time on a bad one.