“I hope I can be the autumn leaf, who looked at the sky and lived. And when it was time to leave, gracefully it knew life was a gift.” – Dodinsky

We were looking for gold in a mountain town. When you live on the valley floor, it’s often difficult to gauge the right time to see fall colors. Sure, you can watch the predictions on the local news, but unless you live up north, it’s best to take a chance and go. 

A weekday hike seemed to make sense, as things can get pretty crazy with weekend aspen-seekers. Dave, Margaret, and I chose Kachina Trail #150, located off a parking lot at Arizona Snowbowl Ski Resort.

A mid-October surprise greeted us at the trailhead—SNOW. Delightfully slippery, crunchy snow-packed trails, especially in the shaded areas. Thankfully, we packed hiking poles, which helped navigate the icy patches.

Although the aspens were not in full glory, fall color was abundant.

The trail is a long one—10.2 miles and 1,500 ft in elevation. That, however, was not our goal. This time we were searching for color— turning at the halfway point, happy and completely saturated.

We lunched at Dave’s favorite haunt, Flagstaff Brewing Company, before heading back to town via a scenic detour down 89A through Sedona.

October is a turning point in the desert. Warm days and cool evenings. Every year about this time, we find ourselves abandoning our dark, refrigerated interiors to head outside—the memories of the past summer quickly fade.

From October to June—this is why we live in Arizona.