May 16, 2003
Day 14: Wupatki and Sunset Crater National Monuments
I got away from the Anasazi Inn at 8:30 AM, heading south on highway 89 straight towards the distant San Francisco Peaks.
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The road climbs gradually to 5550 feet elevation at the turnoff to Wupatki and Sunset Crater National Monuments. I turned onto the narrow, lonely park road which has rough pavement but no traffic. Maybe 1 car every 10 minutes. I stopped and hiked the 1 mile trail to Lomaki Ruin and stopped at Citadel Ruin which is next to the road.
Wupatki National Monument has hundreds of archaeological sites. The stone pueblos were built in the 12th century by ancestors of today's Hopi and Zuni people. The area is arid, but it supported an agricultural community of thousands of people back then. The pueblos were abandoned by the year 1250, presumably because of drought. I continued on to Wupatki Pueblo (4900 feet elevation) which is by far the largest ruin and is the location of the visitor center. The ruins are stabilized but not reconstructed. They are in roughly the same condition as when "discovered" in the 1800's.
I departed Wupatki Pueblo at 1 PM. The temperature was 80F, sunny, with very little wind. From there is a continuous 2000 foot climb to Sunset Crater National Monument. The pavement improves when I exit Wupatki National Monument, but it was very warm with no wind and no shade. It was the only time during the trip that I got soaked with sweat. During the climb I had a slow-motion view of the landscape changing from desert to Juniper/Pinyon. Then I started seeing the occasional pine tree. Before long I was in a pine forest and Sunset Crater loomed ahead. Sunset Crater is a 1000 foot tall cinder cone volcano. It last erupted in the winter of 1064-1065, scattering ash throughout the region. The ash made the soil more fertile, contributing to the agricultural success of the Wupatki pueblos. The road wraps around the northern base of the cinder cone with views of lava flows that are slowly being taken over by pine forest after almost 1000 years.
I stopped at the Lava Flow trail on the west side of the crater and hiked the 1 mile trail. It has up-close views of a wide variety of lava formations and views of Sunset Crater itself.
From the Lava Flow trail it was only 1 mile to the visitor center. I passed by at 5PM just as it was closing. ¼ mile past the visitor center I turned into the Bonito Campground (6900 feet elevation). It's in Coconino National Forest but is across the road from the Sunset Crater visitor center. The campground has the nicest facilities of all the National Forest Campgrounds I stayed at on this trip. Brand new paved roads and bathrooms with electricity, flush toilets, and cold water sinks. I set up my tent and filled my water sack to warm up in the sun. The water warmed some, but I still heated some water with my stove to have a warm shower in the woods behind the campsite. The campground is built on lava cinders which are tedious to walk on because your feet sink a couple inches on every step. The weather in the evening was delightful because there were enough gaps in the trees that I could find sunny spots until almost sunset. The temperature was still in the 70's as I had my shower and ate dinner.
After dark I got organized for an early morning departure. Today was another interesting day with views of ancient Pueblos, a cinder cone volcano, lava flows, and vegetation ranging from desert to pine forests. It was sunny all day. This was the warmest day of the trip.
Distance: 49.3 miles (78.9 km)
Climbing: 3240 feet (988 m)
Average Speed: 9.3 mph (14.9 km/h)
Maximum Speed: 40.1 mph (64.2 km/h)
Hiking: 2.5 miles (4.0 km)
Today's ride: 49 miles (79 km)
Total: 603 miles (970 km)
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