HIKING THE INNER BASIN:

The Inner Basin of the San Francisco Peaks (Flagstaff) is a beautiful area to hike. It is picturesque from the summer (lush green) to fall (orange, yellow and red), trailhead to turnaround point. The trail begins in the Lockett Meadow campground, perhaps one of the best picture spots of the hike.

On the right side of the campground (a one way loop road takes you through the area) lies the trail. The trail begins at roughly 8500ft elevation and turns around about 1500ft higher. The elevation changes gradually over the course of several miles, some of which may be over snow-covered trails (depending on the amount of snowfall received in the winter and the season of your hike).

The first half of the trail goes through a thick aspen forest, with at least one small meadow off the left edge of the trail. The midpoint (just after the mentioned meadow), is at a couple of small structures in use by the forest service, at the crossing of a forest road. From here the trail is much wider, seeming to join with the forest road. The forest soon opens up and your view expands to see the mountains again.

About midway through this second leg of the journey is a small wooden rest booth next to a gigantic ponderosas pine tree, marking the elevation of 9,792ft. The trail splits away from the forest road and climbs to the left into the forest again. Soon the trail ends in a rock clearing with a 360° panoramic view of the surrounding mountains, the grand canyon visible through the opening in the rock wall (a sliver of pink crossing the distant flat lands).

Here we noticed lines in the snow from insane skier/snowboarders who descended the inner slopes of Aggassiz to the area we were standing. I can't begin to guess if they were then airlifted out or cross-country skied the entire length of the trail and down the closed forest roads to the 89. A true (and literal) breathtaking hike the whole way.

To get to Lockett Meadow from highway 89 (north of Flagstaff), look for forest road 420 (between mile markers 430 and 431) directly opposite the highway from the Sunset crater road. The forest road dead ends into a "T" and you must turn right (forest road 522) to get to Lockett Meadow. You'll have to veer to the left at the next fork and follow this treacherous no-guardrail road about 4 miles to Lockett Meadow.