Fat Man's Loop - Flagstaff

[desertgirl]

Fatman’s Loop

A fairly short trail with an interesting name located on the eastern slope of Mt.Elden. This is a 2.5-mile loop trail that takes you to Fatman’s Gap

Trail Length: 2 miles (loop)
Difficulty Rating: Moderate
Elevations: 6900ft.-7650ft.
Best Season: March - December

Access: Paved. All cars
Directions to Trailhead: From downtown Flagstaff, go 3 miles east on Route66.Continue towards Page on Highway 89. Just beyond the Flagstaff Mall there is sign fo Mt. Elden Trailhead. A paved driveway will lead you to the left to the parking lot with a pole fence. This is a small lot (compared to the traffic Mt. Elden & area trails see) so parking may be limited..

The trail begins at the Elden Lookout Trailhead parking lot. Start out on the main trail and at about 0.15 miles you will reach a fork. Take the right side trail to Fatman’s Loop passing through a fence and following the base of the mountain. At 0.4 miles, you will see a sign for Fatman’s loop and Elden Lookout. Go left towards Mt. Elden and the trail climbs steeply and at about 0.9 miles you are high enough to have views of Doney Park to your right and the lava cliffs on Mt Elden to your left. These lava cliffs were caused by volcanic activity some 2 million years ago. These cliffs have given Mt Elden’s southeastern face names like “Corduroy cast in stone” and “lava stairs”.

At mile 1.5 you will reach another fork – the left side trail leads up to Mt Elden . Take the right fork and it is all down hill from here. You will encounter huge rocks and the trail winds through gaps between these rocks. One such gap is about 4 feet wide giving the trail its “Fatman’s Loop” This trail showcases a diverse forest – oaks, juniper, pinyon, yucca and some stunning specimens of alligator bark juniper.

YOu will see signs for Pipeline Trail, Oldham Trail & Buffalo Park at about Mile 2. Head further to get to the parkinglot. The easy access, short trail and the sunny southern exposure ensures that the trail is active all year long. Parking can be limited on weekends.

Pets: On leash
Weather Conditions: Flagstaff
Water: None at the trailhead. Bring your own
Wilderness: None
Management: Coconico National Forest
Topo: Flagstaff East


_________________
Photos: http://www.pbase.com/desertgirl/galleries
Life is but a dream ...there is no end to what you can dream!

[maryphyl]

[desertgirl]

Maryphyl,

Looked up the map..You are correct, I will amend the trail description. Traildescription was from memory (did the hike returning down from Mt.Elden in Jly 2002) & used Flagstaff Hikes by Richard & Sherry Mangum for crosscheck. (Now that I look at it --I think it is wrong..based on your description)
_________________
Photos: http://www.pbase.com/desertgirl/galleries
Life is but a dream ...there is no end to what you can dream!

[Canyon Dweller]

Out of the 100+ times I have done the Elden Lookout trail I have only done this one 2 times. This is a really neet trail. The boulders the trail goes through makes for a fun hike. I really enjoyed this one.
_________________
Mountains are there to be climbed!

"Meaningless! Meaningless," says the teacher, "Utterly Meaningless, Everything is meaningless."-Ecclesiastes 1:2