The second of several hikes I have taken during this Nineteen-Day Fast occurred last Friday.  Between Lynx Lake and Walker Road, in Prescott National Forest, lies the Homestead Trail.  It runs north to south, for 11 miles.  I have done the northernmost section, about two miles in the area near Salida Gulch, last Fall.  On this past Ides of March, though, I was focused on the trail’s midsection- about 2.5 miles each way, from a point paralleling  the south shore of Lynx Lake to Smith Ravine.

This part of the trail is rather flat and mellow for the first mile.  Once past a couple of campgrounds, there is a downslope, then another mellow segment in a fairly dense pine forest.   Then comes a livestock fence, with a hiker’s turnstile,  followed by an upslope of about 1/2 mile.  Smith Ravine appears to the left of the small hill’s summit and goes on for about two miles.  I chose to stop and turn around, after about a quarter mile.  The rest of the trail will most likely involve more people.

Homestead Trail is a fine route for beginner hikers.