Flagstaff - Hochderffer Hills, Crater Lake Pk, Horseshoe Hill

OF NOTE, WHILE THIS IS NOT THAT DIFFICULT A HIKE - THIS IS AN ADVANCED GROUP AND WE TEND TO GO AT A PRETTY BRISK PACE.

Let’s hike up in Flagstaff three smaller summits - Hochderffer Hills 9,170’, Crater Lake Peak 8,472’ and Horseshoe Hill 8,269’. This isn’t a terribly difficult hike, but one to enjoy the cooler weather.

In 2020 I hiked up the Hochderffer Hills, but learned this year that in fact I went to the central summit and not the actual summit on the east side. So, it is time to go back. We can park off of FR 151 off of the 180 and loop around for about a 4-mile round trip hike that involves 1,250’ of elevation gain, with a mix of trail, open slope, and forest.

Next, we will drive across the 180 to the Mudersbach Tank off FR 760 and hike the other two mountains together. We start with Horseshoe Hill and then Crater Lake Peak, for which we will visit the Crater Lake. This is about a 5 1/2 mile hike involving about 1,000’ of elevation gain. There is some private land, but it should be easy to avoid, and the mountain has quite a few summit logs.

More details will come on latitude/longitude of meeting spots off the 180.

However, we will meet at the turn off from the 180 at 7am, so either come up from Phoenix or stay over.

READ THE FOLLOWING: The Organizer of this trip is a VOLUNTEER, not a "leader". The organizer IS NOT trained in first aid and is not a bonded expert mountain guide. You will need to bring your own experience and judgment. If you want to enjoy the benefits of traveling in a group, then we suggest that you stay with the group on the trip.

The waitlist is created to give preference to hikers who have demonstrated the ability for tougher hikes and consistency of showing up when they RSVP. Those who have RSVPed multiple times and have always cancelled or been a no-show will be kept on the waitlist until others who are more likely to come are given an opportunity to RSVP.
The waitlist also ensures we do not overwhelm parking, as this area doesn’t have infinite parking.

Assess the route and conditions as if you were going to do this trip solo.

About your organizer: My name is Dan. I moved to the Phoenix area in early 2017. I have organized over 200 hikes for various groups – including in Arizona, the Sierras, and Northern Nevada. I tend to choose mountain summits I have never done before. I do as much preparation and mapping as I can to ensure we take the correct trails. However, when driving to and hiking in a new area, there are always surprises and unknowns.

This hike is subject to cancellation or rescheduling due to fires or inclement weather.