Creatures and Caves - Hiking Canyon Vista and Walnut Canyon

Trails Near Flagstaff Offer Great Scenery and SerenityIn July, I was off to Flagstaff for more a bit of fun. For my wife, it was hard work - she was competing in the Mountain Man Half-Ironman Triathlon around Upper Lake Mary.I woke up at 4:30 a.m. right along with her after a fairly fitful night of sleep at the Travelodge on Butler Street (thanks, trains, for blaring those horns!). The Travelodge isn't too bad if you can manage to get a room on the side of the hotel that doesn't face the
�tracks.Anyway, my plan was to get her on her way, cruise out somewhere for a hike, then return by the time she was switching from the bike portion to the running. I grabbed a ranger at Lake Mary, who told me to head to Canyon Vista Campground. I did as he said, including following the path to the back where there was parking for a trailhead. There was also a map, but it actually didn't seem very up-to-date.I stepped into my La Sportiva Trango Trek boots (just in case it was a rocky trail), fired up the GPS, double-checked my water and headed off. For those who wonder about such things, I was also carrying my Pentax K100D-Super, an assortment of lenses, some energy bars, a Leatherman and a sturdy knife. My mistake was not packing my headlamp. More on that later.If you bear left, the path first goes past a cool rubble field (you can also veer right if you want to go rock climbing). I'm not sure what its origins are, but I'd bet on volcanic. From there, I wound through the forest before descending down into the canyon. Up to this point, you'll get some nice canyon views. The path starts getting rocky on the downhill, which made me happy I'd picked my more rugged set of boots. Yeah, you could get away with light low-top hiking boots or running shows, but why bother?Creatures and Caves - Hiking Canyon Vista and Walnut Canyon

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