Weather: 69ยบ, sunny
Time: 26.5 minutes
About this Hike: Admittedly I expected big crowds at Piestewa today as people hike off their Thanks-guilt. There were plenty of out-of-towners and I overheard conversations such as, "I can't wait to get back to the hotel hot tub!" The crowds ebbed and flowed, with bottlenecks alternating with empty trail.
Reaching the summit became another issue as the backup was significant. I decided to turn around without quite reaching the summit rather than fight the crowd.
On the descent I noted the trail marker for the alternate summit trail. Alternate is a spur that splits from the main trail and goes down the north/west slope of the mountain. I've looked for this on past hikes but had looked in the wrong area. The alternate trail was a lot less crowded and heavily shaded early in the morning. It was quiet and wonderful. However, there are a lot of large, loose rocks and it's definitely steeper, so an abundance of caution is needed. The alternate trail deposits you right on Squaw Peak Drive near the residential areas that I like to park in, so that was also a plus.
Time: 26.5 minutes
About this Hike: Admittedly I expected big crowds at Piestewa today as people hike off their Thanks-guilt. There were plenty of out-of-towners and I overheard conversations such as, "I can't wait to get back to the hotel hot tub!" The crowds ebbed and flowed, with bottlenecks alternating with empty trail.
Reaching the summit became another issue as the backup was significant. I decided to turn around without quite reaching the summit rather than fight the crowd.
On the descent I noted the trail marker for the alternate summit trail. Alternate is a spur that splits from the main trail and goes down the north/west slope of the mountain. I've looked for this on past hikes but had looked in the wrong area. The alternate trail was a lot less crowded and heavily shaded early in the morning. It was quiet and wonderful. However, there are a lot of large, loose rocks and it's definitely steeper, so an abundance of caution is needed. The alternate trail deposits you right on Squaw Peak Drive near the residential areas that I like to park in, so that was also a plus.
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