Kendrick’s Gray Wolves

The Kendrick Peak Wilderness and Mexican gray wolves aren’t usually mentioned together because the wolves had generally stayed south of I-40, but in the past year that changed, with two wolves making their way there.

Unfortunately the wolf named Hope was mistaken for a coyote and shot. Another, Mystery, is named appropriately because she wandered off and no one knows where she went. But Claire Musser, executive director of the Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project, thinks the gray wolves belong here.

“The wolves are telling us and showing us they want to be here,” she said.

Musser says Mexican gray wolves are important to the ecosystem, helping move elk and deer along and keep those populations down. This also helps prevent overgrazing and promotes revegetation.

The wolves’ habitat has been fragmented by climate change, construction and the continuing expansion of highways, so while hiking this scenic trail we wouldn’t expect to see them. Wolves usually keep out of sight of humans. They may be there, you might even feel their presence, but it’s unusual to see them. Musser has studied these wolves extensively, she’s heard them howl and met them in captivity, but never never seen one in the wild.

There are two reasons for taking wolves captive. One is to ensure that the species survives. The other is when they’re badly injured, and in those cases they are placed in protected environments. Such is the case with the wolves at Heritage Park Zoological Sanctuary in Prescott. Southwest Wildlife in Phoenix has similary rescued several wolves, and released them once they were healthy.

Musser says that when wolves are placed in captivity those who work with them have to treat them with special care, because changing their food can negatively affect their quality of life.

While you probably won’t see a wolf on Kendrick Peak, the hike remains among the best in the state, especially this time of year, when the elevation cools us off. Kendrick is the eighth-highest mountain in the state, and the scenery is hard to beat. It’s even better in the fall, when the aspens turn golden.

I had my own wonderful wildlife experience on Kendrick, with elk. On a Flagstaff Hiking Club outing to the Kendrick Mountain Wilderness in the ‘90s there were about ten hikers, and four of us were a bit ahead of the others, so we stopped at the foot of the mountain to wait for the others. We stood among the big trees and ferns, two of us facing the other two. My camera was draped around my neck, which became important.

As I faced the two hikers across from me, an elk appeared out of nowhere behind them. This was amazing considering the size of an elk, even one without a rack. The elk stopped right behind the hikers I was facing. I whispered to them not to move, I raised my camera took a couple quick photos, the elk curled its lip, then ran off, with two young ones right behind. At the time, I was writing for the now defunct Flagstaff Times, and my photo ran on the cover of its Sunday magazine.

I’ve been back to Kendrick several times since then, and it’s changed somewhat due to fires, but most of its beauty remains intact. In 2000 the lightning-caused Pumpkin Fire burned 15,000 acres, including a good portion of the 6,540 acres of the wilderness area.

In 2017 the Boundary Fire, also lightning-sparked, burned about 400 acres near the top of the peak. This was a concern because of the fuel available in dead and downed trees and forest debris caused by the Pumpkin Fire. This is when the area by a cabin near the top burned, and firefghters were able to save the cabin, a highlight of this trail.

The one-room log cabin was built in 1912 and used to bunk fire lookouts into the 1930s. Years ago the cabin was open and hikers could wander in, but this summer it was locked.

Some rate this trail as moderate, others as hard, so be prepared for the elevation change. For more about Mexican gray wolves, see my video on YouTube.