EISPIRATEN

Had a chance to get out to Phoenix this week mainly for R & R but spent the mornings hiking. The first day after we arrived we went into The Superstition Mountains and hiked the Hieroglyphic Trail which took you to some Pictographs, go figure. The trail is very popular yet overall it appears that people treat the pictographs with respect and they are in pretty solid shape. I did find this ironic as in SoCal they have to be protected or locations are kept secret because people can't behave normally. There were many on the opposite side wall of the wash and they were from 500 to 1,500 years old. The spot normally has some running water in the drainage but with the minimal rain, the pool was filled with some very old standing water. I passed the pictographs and continued along a slight use trail a little further up canyon and found access points to the main ridge but didn't have time for that scramble.

The next day was another popular trail Cholla to the top of Camelback. I've had this one on my list forever as I've come to Phoenix on business many a time but never had the time for this hike/scramble. The trail is very popular with many tourists. I don't think most realize how steep the trail can be and that the last 1/4 mile is mild scrambling. You could see the whites of their eyes as they hit certain sections and I felt that with the quantity of people that it was one accident waiting to happen after another. The majority of the route is easy with a broad switchbacking up the main ridge from the east and then a contour to the saddle. The final section is delightful with some simple rock scrambling mainly along the spine and the south side of the mountain. The route has markings and signs making it easy to stay on point. This route is less steeper the the Echo Canyon alternative but that last 1/4 mile puts it ahead in my opinion as the preferred route.

The final day was stairclimber day and a hike up the most popular trail in Phoenix, Piestewa Peak. This is another steep climb but all hiking except the very last bit to the summit. The first section of trail is quite easy and then it steepens as you get closer to the peak with the final section straight up some steep stairs. The high point is not the spot where everyone stops but a bump to the west just about 50 yards away. The view from here is not as nice as Camelback but based on its easier climb I can see why it is more popular.

Both hikes took under two hours with Piestewa barely being over an hour but were all solid workout hikes. It is impressive to see so many age groups out hiking these peaks which are much more challenging then the typical workout hikes in the LA area.

Piestewa sounds cool. I miss hiking in Phoenix now that I don't have any relatives out there to visit anymore.

I just spent a few days in Phoenix and Tucson two weeks ago, both have great hiking!

In Tucson we camped in the Coronado National Forest and spent a day doing the scenic drive to Mt Lemon and stopping along the way at various scenic locations. It's quite spectacular! The next day we did Seven Falls from Sabino Canyon, which is in the foothills just NE of town. As with your hieroglyphics experience, I was impressed with the very limited litter I saw, I don't know if people are actually more respectful there or it was just my imagination, but I appreciated it. Nice canyon hike with fantastic Saguaro cactus along the way, and a cool series of falls at the end (the trail goes beyond this, but we turned around here for a short day). The falls were dry, but there was some pooled water and it would be even more lovely when flowing. Had a bit of an adventure here, somebody walked to the edge of one of the falls and found the rock, even when dry, was quite slick. She was slipping and right on the edge of a 15-20ft drop, with her friends trying to pull her up by the arms from either side. I rushed up and helped pull her up just as she started to slip even further, that got my blood pumping a bit...

Got two hikes in while in Phoenix. The last time we were there we did Flatiron, which was a ton of fun, if a bit crowded. This time we went for classic Arizona canyon hiking elsewhere in the Superstitions and did a nice out and back from Canyon Lake through Boulder Canyon (creative names huh?). Spectacular terrain with some vertical canyon walls and other cool formations, and only saw a few other people. On our last day we fit in a short hiking before the drive back. We looked at Camelback and Piestewa, but ended up setting on South Mountain Park due to wikipedia saying it had tons of chuckwalas, which I'm a big fan of. Didn't see any (probably wrong time of year!) but I was very impressed with the size and trail system of the park, as well as the nice terrain. It was crowded with hikers and bikers, but it was pretty cool and had some nice views from the ridges and summits.