Hike Morning Glory Spire Coconino National Forest, AZ

Feb 08, 2021 — Matt and I started at the Jordan Road Trailhead and followed the Cibola Pass Trail west until we located an obvious slope leading to a notch to the east of Morning Glory Spire. A social trail began to materialize as we neared the notch, and this trail continued up the east face of the spire (Class 2). A couple of tiny switchbacks along the red rock face led to the crux of the route, a Class 4 fifteen-foot headwall next to a tree. It's a bit slopey and includes a fairly committing move requiring a high foot and a hollow-looking flake, but it's really not all that exposed. Above this move was a flat section, where the route led to the left around the spire. A Class 3 fun crack brought us to a Class 4 incredibly fun crack. The latter had some fun moves with good holds and no exposure, but it got too narrow toward the time. A little shimmying took us out of the crack and onto the face, where a couple of moves got us to the top. A final wrap-around included a Class 3 move over a lip and we found ourselves at the summit block of Morning Glory Spire. This Class 3 move had some light exposure to the left, but was a reasonably easy move.

There is a bolt some may want to use for the crux in order to descend more safely via rappel (I recommend bringing a 60-foot rope), otherwise the down-climb might be a bit scary. Thanks to Christopher Czaplicki for the route info.

We continued east, following a social trail in order to get to somewhere unrelated to this trip report, but I believe you could find a route down to the Brins Mesa Trail. I outlined this potentially better option in purple on my attached map. The dotted line may or may not be a social trail, but the ridgeline social trail was really pleasant and had nice views back toward Morning Glory Spire, so it might be worth the attempt.