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.
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.
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