The Mountain Overlooking the Grand Canyon

There is this mountain in Arizona called Mt. Humphrys.

It buries Flagstaff in its shadow, towing above the otherwise desert city to over 13,000 ft. On a clear day, you can see it from the far off North Rim of the Grand Canyon. It almost looks like a mirrored image of the Canyon, sticking out of the same landscape the Canyon sinks into, offering one of the greatest contrasts in nature I have ever seen.

You can hike down a mile in elevation to the basin into 115-degree heat, only to emerge on the rim of the Grand Canyon and see this mountain, still covered in mid-summer snow.

It is absolutely breathtaking.

Climbing Mt. Humphrys is not the most difficult hike to take on physically. Sure it is rather long and rocky, but there is a clear, low-grade trail to follow for the entirety of the hike. There is no intense section of switchbacks or rock scrambling. Just a trail, pointed up.

The difficulty of Mt. Humphrys is much deeper than sore legs and burning lungs. After you pass the tree line, the Arizona sun beats down, and methodically begins to zap your energy. And yet, you think nothing of it, you climb on because it is easy to see the summit a few hundred yards ahead.

You grit your teeth, swat another biting fly away from your face and keep hiking. As you reach the summit you begin to see another rocky outline above you in the distance. You are not at the top, the top is actually a few hundred more yards away, hiding behind the peak you just crested.

You stop at the first peak and look back and appreciate the beauty of how far you have come. But your view is not yet whole, because above you there is still grey rock blocking your view of the other side of the mountain, and what lies beyond. So you shoulder your pack again, look upward, and begin the trudge once again, up the rocky trail, towards the new summit.

This happens six more times.

You motivate yourself for the final push over and over only to realize that there are SEVEN false peaks on Mt. Humphrys. And yet, you climb on after each one, believing the end is near.

Life has far more than seven false peaks. It’s filled to the brim with moments of elation that reveal disappointment. What I love so much about Mt. Humpreys is that at every false peak, it forces you to look back and appreciate how far you have come.

We may have not reached the top yet, but that doesn't mean the view from right here wasn’t worth the trek.