Hike Granite Mountain Prescott National Forest, AZ

Oct 08, 2021 — Granite Mountain is a big mountain just outside Prescott, Arizona. It sticks out amongst the otherwise forested landscape due to its granitic nature, and for this reason I caught my attention enough to warrant a trip to the area. This is a nice hike, at times resembling the Mojave Desert more than the mostly heavily-forested central AZ terrain. There's a popular trail (Trail #261) leading from the trailhead to an overlook that doesn't really come close to the summit of the mountain. The trailhead is acessed via a paved road, but there is a gate that closes at certain times throughout the year and you should plan accordingly. The gate closes meaning you can't get in after a certain time, but you can still drive out. This was a fact that eluded me initially, resulting in my running down the trail at full speed only to find that I had nothing to worry about.

I started at Granite Basin Lake, a nice body of water at the base of Granite Mountain. Trail #261 might take a second to locate because there's no information kiosk at its head, but once on the trail you can't get lost. The hike heads northwest and soon enters the Granite Mountain Wilderness. Views of Granite Mountain's southern outcrops above poke through the trees along. Easy hiking leads to Blair Pass, where a gate marks a junction. Keep right and start heading north. The trail makes a handful of switchbacks as it leads up the rocky slope, but it's still just a nice and well-maintained trail, no scrambling required. After a bunch of this and progressively improving views, the Granite Mountain trail reaches the rim above and starts to head east, not gaining or losing much elevation at this point as it works its way to the viewpoint. I would have liked to check out the viewpoint, but in my mind the gate closure timer was ticking and I didn't think I'd have time to check it out.

Rather than continue to the viewpoint (which is also the end of the Granite Mountain Trai #261), I left the trail at a spot that seemed clear of granite and brush, where a social trail started east. I marked this spot on my attached map. I could also see Granite Mountain's summit in the distance, and I knew the real fun would now begin! I was quite excited, especially as it started to pour and fog came in which gave the area an eerie vibe. Fortunately my DSLR camera didn't break from the moisture for once (a pretty pesky habit of mine), but I was concerned a bit about falling on the slick wet granite boulders, especially because I was moving very quickly, trying to beat the nonexistent clock I was so scared of. I accumulated a few cuts and bruises, but whatever.

There are about a million options to get to the summit after leaving the official trail. I left both my ascent and descent on my map because they were equally good for different reasons. However, I only documented my ascend (orange line) because this route was cairned and seemed to have a semblance of a social trail for parts of it. I decided this was more likely the standard route and any other routes would be experimental fun. There have been many reports of people getting lost on their way to Granite Mountain, so just keep in mind where you're going and make sure to have a map/GPS. All the granite starts to look the same and the many canyons/gullies can get confusing. If you do find youself getting mixed up, you can always gain higher gorund to get a better sense of the terrain. More on the purple line on my map later, but first my ascent.

I continued east, hopping over boulders and logs through generally pretty easy Class 2 terrain, and occassionally getting nicked by thorns. The bushwhacking wasn't bad, but expect to encounter some. Cairns led me into a gully that started descending southeast, and for a minute I thought maybe this wasn't a cairned route to the summit. However, the cairns redirected me north up a steeper gully. The mostly clear, sandy, sometimes Class 2 stuff now increased to Class 3 boulder-hopping on significantly larger obstacles. At the top of this section I could see Granite Mountain ahead and an easy wash wound me around to the peak's southern base. Some Class 2 continued to its south side and then ascended on generally easy terrain to a minor saddle on Granite Mountain's west side. Class 2/3 boulder-hopping led to the summit and some pretty amazing views.

I backtracked to the base of Granite Mountain and decided I wanted to attempt a more direct descent route (purple line). There weren't any cairns, but I was confident I could find a way. This route ended up being perfectly fine and I'm curious why the cairns led the less direct way. In fact, on my descent I thought there were fewer boulders to contend with overall. I can see it being potentially a bit more confusing since it doesn't follow any gullies or washes, instead traversing open ground and rock outcrops, so navigating might be slightly more tedious. There was also a section of very large boulders that introduced some Class 3 moves, but there was a really cool talus cave that allowed for easy access through the piled boulders. I'm sure there are also lots of other way to reach Granite Mountain, so chose your own adventure I suppose. I made it back to the cairned route I started on and continued back to the official trail, which I took back to the trailhead.