Warming Up Piestewa

Weather:  47º, sunny, breezy

Time:  27 minutes

About this Hike:  When I first flipped the TV on this morning the little weather thing in the corner read 37º.  And this was after sleeping in (by my standards) on a Saturday morning.  I was nervous this would be a chilly hike and dug out one of my thermal hiking shirts.  I also swapped hiking shorts for pants.

Once at the trail, both myself and the desert sun climbed higher.  I quickly felt myself growing warm—perhaps even a few degrees warmer than I would have liked.  Then the chilly wind blew again...

The much-delayed winter that The Valley is finally enjoying may have kept some hikers away.  The residential street parking was fairly open this morning.  I chose this over going into the preserve and driving around to see if a spot was open in any of the main lots.  Besides, parking in the neighborhood gives me easier access to the Alternate Summit Trail. 

As I hooked onto the Piestewa Summit Trail, I spied the main parking area and quite a few open spots down below.  Despite a lighter parking load, the trail was very crowded.  Judging from conversations I overheard, there were a lot of tourists (Spring Training fans?) on the mountain. 

I will admit that this hike has lost some of it's luster. I guess several hundred times will do that to you... More than anything the weekend crowds just get to me anymore.

Upon reaching the summit I thought seriously about turning right around.  I chose to force my way on top, if for nothing else then to look northeast toward the Mazatzals for snow after this week's cold and precip.  Four Peaks stood bare.  Regardless, this was a routine Saturday morning workout.

Presidential Camelback

Weather:  63º, overcast, very windy

Time:  30 minutes

About this Hike:  Presidents Day isn't a huge holiday, right?  (Technically I'm not supposed to have it off, but was granted it this once...but that's another story.)  So I thought...

I ventured up to Echo Canyon at about 1 p.m. today.  The 'Lot Full' was sign was up; the gate was down.  Cars were circling the area like vultures waiting to pounce.  Residential streets in the area have since erected 'No U-Turn' and 'Local Traffic Only' signs due to the high number of parking-spot seekers who turn around in their driveways. 

So I headed to my secret spot.  Fitting for today as said secret spot has a presidential suite and has hosted both President Trump and former President Obama in recent years.  They still haven't put gates back up, although a sign warns that Camelback hikers should visit the valet stand first...I guess they're on to us; the secret is out. 

About 10 minutes later I had returned on foot to the Echo Canyon trailhead.  The lot was no longer full.  Gates were re-opened; signs were down.  This happens 9 out of 10 times when I choose to park off-site. WHY!?!

Today I could have used a close parking spot at the trailhead.  With the howling wind it was chilly.  It's about three months later, but winter finally got the memo... The trail was crowded, but there were large sections of open trail.  I made a number of water stops not because I was thirsty (the cool temps will do that), but because I knew hydration is not to be forgotten. 

In the end I reached the summit in about 30 minutes—maybe even a hair less.  Not bad considering the crowds.  I've also got the remnants of a cold that's all in my lungs.  Thankfully my chest didn't hurt too bad on this hike.  Hopefully that howling wind didn't have anything toxic in it...  I will say that wind nearly blew me off balance a few times.  Naturally, I didn't remain on the summit for long, just long enough to snap this panorama.  Dark skies are to the west; slightly clearing skies in the East Valley.  Such a beautiful, blustery winter day in Phoenix:

Heart Stress Test on Piestewa

Weather:  85º, sunny

Time:  26.5 minutes

About this Hike:  This past weekend I had an incident. The dawning hours of Superbowl Sunday found me in the ER with an uncontrollably racing heart.  Assured that my vitals were good and that my heart wasn't beating fast enough to cause any damage, I was discharged and on my way.

However, after that scary episode I've been concerned about my ticker.  While my heart rate and my daily routines have returned to normal, my Samsung Galaxy S-Health heart monitor has been getting more use lately.

I've been doing my usual workouts no problem.  Today I wanted to stress test my heart.  Anyone that knows me knows what I think of running on Phoenix (or any for that matter) mountain trails.  I didn't run up, but I did push hard.  I got my heart rate into 'Vigorous' territory according to S-Health.  No chest pain was felt. 

I did begin to tire as I reached the top.  This winter's unseasonable heat and sunshine may have had something to do with that though.  I didn't quite go to the summit, but pulled time early as a handicap.  The mountain wasn't busy today, but I did stop my hike to put my finger on the S-Health sensor quite a bit.  Being in a bit of a hurry, my feet didn't quite the touch the summit before I pivoted to head back down. 

Overall an enjoyable hike.  Glad I'm still tickin' and able to do hikes like this.