Mike in the Wild

Start in Potato Patch and make a left on Yankee Doodle Trail.  Those names sound more at home in a television satire on country living than they do in mountain hiking.  But they are actually the directions that promise one of the most idyllic escapes for both the avid hiker and the experienced birder in the Prescott area. Dandrea Trail starts high in the Bradshaws, its trailhead nestled at the end of Poacher's Row in the summer community of Potato Patch.  It's Trail No. 285, beginning near groves of aspen trees that were starting to burst in their autumn yellows on my late September outing.   It cuts through thick woods of fir, oak and pine trees, and its rocky slopes are dense with grasses and wildflowers.  The ascent up Mount Union in Prescott National Forest is not terribly steep, but the pathway was an old miners' road, and has since been covered in large, protective stones.  This makes for a rough hike, so it's best to leave the running shoes at home...