Weather: 99º, sun
Time: 36 minutes
About this Hike: The Sonoran Desert hasn't gotten the memo: No 110º after Labor Day! Today's heat is above-average for mid-September. Perhaps this is what drove hikers away and allowed for a nearly empty parking lot at Echo Canyon this morning.
I was surprised that I posted a 36 minute time to the summit. However, I think my S-Health app may have started inadvertently auto-pausing the timer when I stop for a rest. I planned to offer myself a generous handicap, but when I saw the 36 minute time, I decided to record it as official.
There were a lot of rest and hydration stops today. My nearly 24-oz electrolyte water bottle was gone before the summit. (Don't worry, I carry plenty of extra water.) In spite of this, my core temperature was high today.
A unique occurrence happened shortly after I summited. One other guy was up there. He began his descent and I had the summit to myself. I was King of the Mountain. This may have happened one other time on Camelback. It for-sure happened once on a brisk winter morning (by Sonoran Desert standards!) atop Piestewa.
At least I sure hope I was king. I posed my phone on a rock, set the camera timer, and took some goofy selfies next the Camelback summit post—not planning to post those on here though!
The relative solitude made a for a certain zen on this hike, despite the high temps. On the way down two guys temporarily ruined my zen while talking about how they needed to find a nice place to fall, because they owe this to fate and just want to get it over with. One even talked about how he needed to crack his tailbone. I got away from them...I don't need negative energy and vibes like that... As it is I stress a lot on these hikes. We all see the mountain rescues on local Phoenix TV stations. I'm an extremely careful hiker. The only stat I want to be is one of the thousands who climbs Camelback, has an awesome time, and then goes home.
Today was otherwise a perfect, hot hike.
Time: 36 minutes
About this Hike: The Sonoran Desert hasn't gotten the memo: No 110º after Labor Day! Today's heat is above-average for mid-September. Perhaps this is what drove hikers away and allowed for a nearly empty parking lot at Echo Canyon this morning.
I was surprised that I posted a 36 minute time to the summit. However, I think my S-Health app may have started inadvertently auto-pausing the timer when I stop for a rest. I planned to offer myself a generous handicap, but when I saw the 36 minute time, I decided to record it as official.
There were a lot of rest and hydration stops today. My nearly 24-oz electrolyte water bottle was gone before the summit. (Don't worry, I carry plenty of extra water.) In spite of this, my core temperature was high today.
A unique occurrence happened shortly after I summited. One other guy was up there. He began his descent and I had the summit to myself. I was King of the Mountain. This may have happened one other time on Camelback. It for-sure happened once on a brisk winter morning (by Sonoran Desert standards!) atop Piestewa.
At least I sure hope I was king. I posed my phone on a rock, set the camera timer, and took some goofy selfies next the Camelback summit post—not planning to post those on here though!
The relative solitude made a for a certain zen on this hike, despite the high temps. On the way down two guys temporarily ruined my zen while talking about how they needed to find a nice place to fall, because they owe this to fate and just want to get it over with. One even talked about how he needed to crack his tailbone. I got away from them...I don't need negative energy and vibes like that... As it is I stress a lot on these hikes. We all see the mountain rescues on local Phoenix TV stations. I'm an extremely careful hiker. The only stat I want to be is one of the thousands who climbs Camelback, has an awesome time, and then goes home.
Today was otherwise a perfect, hot hike.
