Abinaeu Bear Jaw Trail is one of the best hiking trails in Flagstaff. The trail is located on the north side of San Francisco Peaks, away from the crowds. Although it is such a beautiful trail, it is rare to see people in this area.

Four fast hikers gathered at the kachina wilderness in the early morning of Sunday, August 29, for the Abineau-Bear Jaw hike. The weather was perfect in the early morning, with a high at 77°F. We met a few people at the trailhead and were told that the night before there was a storm which caused an accident that injured few people. We were lucky that the road was not too bad even with the storm. The sky was blue and sunny.

Since it was only the four of us we did not need any introductions, so we started the hike right away. We took our group picture in front of the Kachina Wilderness sign, then proceeded east to start the hike from the steep Abinaeu trail. The trail started with a gradual ascent after a short flat meadow. Despite seeing many beautiful sunflowers on the way to Flagstaff, we did not see many wildflowers on this part of the trail. We hiked about 3 miles through ponderosa forest, then ascended to an open area with a grand view in front of us. Far away we could see the Grand Canyon and the town of Flagstaff.

Since this area was an open field, we could spot wildflowers here and there, greeting us through the path.

After another mile of climbing, we reached the trail junction. The majestic San Francisco Peaks appeared in front of us. It was covered with miles of green conifers, Aspens, and ponderosa, with blue sky and white clouds on the background forming the picture-perfect view that took our breath away.

We met a few hikers here and took our lunch break before continuing on the rest of the journey.

The next part of the hike became much easier, since it was an old Jeep Road. This was a waterline trail that connected the Abinaeu and Bear Jaw Trails. As the name implied, it contained a waterline. You could see pipes protruding all throughout the surface of the trail. The trail was so wide, Debbie, Terry and I could all walk side by side and not feel crowded. After about two miles of descending , we saw Ken waiting for us at trail junction. From there we started a slightly steeper descent into the aspen forest. This part of the trail is long and beautiful. we wandered in the light greenish aspen forest, lost in Mother Nature’s beautiful creation. After passing about another mile, we ascended about 50 feet, walking through the ponderosa forest again. On the open areas we spotted many wildflowers, blueish lupines, yellowish sunflowers, red indian paint brushes and pink fleabane. We did not see any animals along the trail, though.

Soon after, we reached the Kachina Wilderness Peak sign again to finish our loop. We even saw a few late starters just beginning their own hike. We were happy that we had a great hike without much sweat or heat. We covered 8.5 miles in 4.39 hours with 2021 feet of elevation gain. I’m so glad we had another wonderful day in the beautiful forest!