# PicketPost - Link: https://mywalkabout.net/picketpost/ - Published: 2021-04-27T06:27:26-07:00 - Author: My Walkabout **The first hike of 2021** is here. It’s an area I’ve passed countless times over the last 20 years, but one that I’ve only stopped at once before, and that was only for a few minutes. The imposing and foreboding [PicketPost](https://modernhiker.com/hike/picket-post-trail/) mountain. I arrive just as the sun was peaking over the horizon, and it looked as though Zeus himself was sitting on his throne at the top. ![](https://i0.wp.com/mywalkabout.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/IMG_1221.jpg?resize =640%2C360&ssl=1) **One can try to summit** this mountain, circle the entirety on a massive loop trail, or connect with the infamous Arizona trail. For my first hike of the year and in this area, I choose to do the ten plus mile loop. ![](https://i0.wp.com/mywalkabout.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/TinType-632589511.556494. jpg?resize=640%2C360&ssl=1) **The area is rugged** and remote as I go, and I don’t see another person for at least a couple of miles. When I do run into another human, it’s either a Father and daughter or maybe a Husband and wife. You just never can tell these days. We chat for a spell, and then as we start heading our separate ways, the man turns around and drops this bomb on me…. _“By the way, about 1/4 mile ahead you’ll come to a dry creek crossing with a strong smell of cat urine.”_ Say what, you say? He isn’t warning me about your household kitty you see, but a much larger cat. Mountain Lion territory. It freaks me out to say the least, but I carry onward. I come to the dry creek crossing, but can only smell the desert. I make loud noises and hastily move through the area, and luckily no big cat is to be seen. Although I have no doubt that if the cat was in the area, it certainly saw me. ![](https://i0.wp.com/mywalkabout.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/IMG_1247.jpg?resize =640%2C360&ssl=1) **I exit the canyon**, using PicketPost mountain as my compass as the trail just fades away. Memories of my time getting lost at the [Finger of God](https://mywalkabout.net/the-finger-of-god/) are haunting my thoughts, telling me to turn around and go back the same way I came. I choose to go forward instead, and find a road that leads me seemingly in the right direction, as I start to slowly circle around the great lone mountain. ![](https://i0.wp.com/mywalkabout.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/IMG_1276.jpg?resize =640%2C480&ssl=1) **Slowly**, ever so slowly I go, looking for a more official trail that would connect me back towards my starting point. Just keep breathing. Panic never leads one in the right direction. Eventually I stumble onto the Arizona Trail, and a huge sigh of relief is exhaled. I’m a little over eight miles in, but the last few miles fly on by as I make my last turn around PicketPost and see the trailhead parking area off in the distance. ### Share this: * [ Email ](https://mywalkabout.net/picketpost/?subject=%5BShared%20Post%5D%20PicketPost&body=https%3A%2F%2Fmywalkabout.net%2Fpicketpost%2F&share=email) * [Post](https://x.com/share) * [Share on Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/share) * [ WhatsApp ](https://mywalkabout.net/picketpost/?share=jetpack-whatsapp) * [ Nextdoor ](https://mywalkabout.net/picketpost/?share=nextdoor) * [ Threads ](https://mywalkabout.net/picketpost/?share=threads) * [[ * [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) * [ Reddit ](https://mywalkabout.net/picketpost/?share=reddit) ### Like this: Like Loading…