I have walked multiple times in the isolation of God’s Mazatzal Wilderness.  I was grasped by lessons, memories, experiences, and a beautiful wild area I cannot begin to explain in writing.  I learned from the land that I asked from, a place that is not of human nature but of God’s Divine creation!  It all began years before I first stepped foot into this beautiful Wilderness Area.  As I scoured a National Geographic Map of this Wilderness Area.  I recall little to no information on this area involving Mountaineering.  Fast forward some years, and I found myself back in Arizona in a beautiful season of adventure!  One that would bring me to meet my now Wife, Jessica, and to the Mazatzal Range on multiple occasions.  Exploring the range brings a brave person to what I consider the best views of Arizona and maybe even the West!  A labyrinth of trails leading from the Verde River on one side and from below Payson on the other.  Many of these adventurous paths are not maintained or are not consistently maintained.  The Barnhart Trail and Mazatzal Divide Trail are probably the most maintained but also most walked of these trails.  For those who want a more rugged challenge and experience of a less-traveled Wilderness Itinerary, one can expect minimal water sources and even less in the hot months.  Many of the Forest Service roads leading to Trailheads have Free Dispersed Camping available as well, allowing for adventurers to camp the night before or after adventures.

From the time I came here, I noticed that when it rains… The rain may come hard, the flash flood of Deer Creek dancing down the canyon.  The flatlands leading away from the range become still.  As the water and the land speak of kinship.  The mud is their reminder of beauty and acceptance of all.

Over the course of this season in life, I made three pilgrimages into the Mazatzal.  The summit of Mazatzal Peak felt exposed…. Canyon leading from the Mountain and anward yet backward in time.  I found a feeling of smallness upon its ridge.  Looking upward at the helicopter flying above me.  A reminder of my current state of desolation and vulnerability.  The mountain itself is an avenue of seclusion… A way away from humanity and into deeper reflection.

Mazatzal Peak

Mount Peeley

My climb of Mount Peeley came some months later.  After winter set in so did snow fall and the emotional dance of the mountain creeks.  After some patience and waiting, the water of Deer Creek had gone down, and my window to Backpack the Deer Creek Trail to the Summit of Mount Peeley was now possible. . The Desert kindly welcomed me back.  I walked the Deer Creek Trail and the memorial nap dance of flash floods and water met me and my footsteps.   Along my way, I noticed a Deer in a shaded area… The land around was profoundly quiet in this canyon, and nearing three-quarters of the day, I found myself climbing upward.

I continued walking up the Canyon until I reached the parking lot at the Peeley Trailhead.  I was almost to my home for the night!  I began on the Peeley Trail for a short time.  Some lingering snow remained on the trail, and it crunched as it was slightly hard and frozen… Within a few more steps, I was listening to the stillness of the mountain home.   Peeley, in my opinion, has the most impactful and inspiring view of Arizona!  In the above photograph, I look now at a blue-like haze below the Coconino Rim.  The sun says goodnight on the crest of the Rim.  My home to the North and my home for the night, standing still as God weaves a painting that will never be quite the same again!   A place for me where experiences and mountains of the past met hand in hand with the present, as if saying welcome to a new chapter.  The Superstition Wilderness rises above Phoenix, a prominent monolith on the horizon.  A range of Inspiration and history that one could fill an entire earthly life with.  The other direction stands the Mazatzal Peak, a friend from the past, and far behind stands the Coconino Rim, present and unwavering—a symbol of my home. 

I take in this special place, and before I know it the sun is traveling to the other side of the earth.  The mountains on the horizon show humanity what equality truly looks like.  Standing without insecurity, as the warm desert light once more turns cold with the Desert Night.  A place and an Earth that could only be created by a God that cannot be comprehended without a heart that is not seeking more.  As the evening continued, my anxiety grew stronger.  Something I had dealt with most of my life.  God was using this range in my battle with fear as I faced it head on.  I texted my mother on my Inreach, while battling the nervous energy I felt.  Though before I knew it I went to sleep on top of Mount Peeley.  God showed me the fear I felt, in nothing to give any attention too.

With all this said and these stories and experiences written.  I want to suggest that we preserve this space of Wildness.  The desolate Peaks, canyons, creek, water, animals, and dirt of this land known as the Mazatzal!  The Mountains that teach us humility and the quiet that teaches of fortitude and peace.  Let us keep this place wild until our days are over.

-Sky