Hualapai Mountains; the Aspen Loop Trail

If you are ever in the Kingman area and have a few hours, this one is worth checking out. The Hualapai Mountains tower at about 8000 feet above the high desert of Mohave County just south of Kingman Arizona.  The Aspen Loop Trail is unique in that it traverses around the aspen peak without actually summiting the mountain (which can be done as a bushwack).  If you stay on the trail, you only gain about 800 feet over five miles. You get panoramic views overlooking northwestern Arizona, just not all at once.

Anyway, we did it on our way back from an event in Kingman, and it was pretty cool. The trail was a bit icy, which kept things interesting. I also had a cold, which sucked. Both Hualapai peak and Aspen Peak have trails approaching them, but they don't go all the way to the summit. The tallest peak is Hualapai peak, and there are a bunch of radio towers on top. You have to pay seven bucks to get in to this county park.  We arrived pretty late and had to get home, so we just did the loop.

Hualapai Peak, from the Aspen Loop Trail