Piestewa Alternate Ascent

Weather: 69º, sunny

Time:  27 minutes

About this Hike:  Another day, same weather, same hike...

Today I tried going up the alternate summit trail now that I'm confident in where it starts and ends.  I'm convinced this trail shaves quite a bit of distance off versus starting at the main trailhead. The difference is that the alternate seems steeper, so elevation gains happen quicker.

Regardless, I posted a 27 minute time to the summit today.  That was with a handicap, albeit not a generous one.  Maybe I was closer to my usual 26 minutes—I had to make a lot of stops for bottlenecks in the trail.  However, there were periods where I sprinted along like a mountain goat. 

I didn't quite touch the summit again today because the congestion at that narrow final push was just too much.  The summit is beautiful, but also something I've seen many times before.

On the descent I used the alternate trail again.  I think I'm really going to like the alternate trail...

Alternate Piestewa Hike & Thanks-Guilt

Weather: 69º, 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. 

Phoenix Summit Challenge - Crowding Piestewa

Weather: 79º, sunny

Time:  25.5 minutes

About this Hike:  Due to the on-going construction, I parked in the usual residential neighborhood outside the Phoenix Mountain Preserve.  Upon arriving at the trailhead, there were signs advising that today is Phoenix Summit Challenge and apologizing for crowds—and of course—any inconvenience.

Hikers everywhere we wearing PSC t-shirts.  The gist of this event is to hit a set number of major summits around Phoenix within a limited time frame.  I guess Phoenix needs to compete with Tempe's ongoing Ironman this weekend...

Due to the PSC crowd, my feet never touched the summit. I got to the final 'staircase' and the bottleneck was so severe I just paused, enjoyed the views, and headed back down.

PSC hikers seemed a little amateur-ish/out of their element.  Some were a bit entitled and didn't observe the best trail etiquette—I imagine because they consider today their event.  A Phoenix PD chopper began to hover at one point.  "Return to the trail; you will fall!," boomed the voice over the loud speaker.  It was quite amusing.  I'm guessing some PSC hikers either got lost or felt the need to blaze a new trail.

Regardless, I enjoyed a nice hike overall. I wish we had the same heavy cloud cover of yesterday, but today was brilliant sunshine. It was warm, but not overly so.  Just like those off-kilter summers where highs seldom reached 70º when I was growing up in the northeast, so is this winter to Phoenix.  I'm fearful it's going to be warm all winter with little relief from the heat.  Here's hoping I'm wrong and this will be a winter filled with low-desert Arizona hikes.

 

Fall-Like on Piestewa

Weather: 76º, overcast, breezy, spotty showers

Time:  26 minutes

About this Hike:  It only has taken until November to finally see some fall-like weather in Phoenix.  I don't recall rain being in the forecast, but for a brief time on my drive up to Piestewa it was coming down pretty good.  By the time I reached the trailhead everything was dry.

The views were spectacular today.... The clouds cast shadows and made for a unique lighting effect on the mountains and buildings around the Valley.  Rain shafts could be seen coming from the surrounding clouds. 

As I was descending, showers set in.  They didn't last long, but it was cool and refreshing.  While I'd love a good downpour, I'd rather NOT be on a trail when it occurs.  Those rocks become awful slick making an already tricky hike even more dangerous. 

Four Peaks framed by rain shafts

Much Nicer Piestewa Hike

Weather: 82º, sunny

Time:  26 minutes

About this Hike:  What an improvement over last Saturday!  A little haze on the mountains around Phoenix is not unusual.  From Uptown to Downtown and beyond, the Valley was clearly visible today. I also left my mask (respiratory, not to be confused with Halloween) home today.

Despite a full parking lot there were gaps on the trail where I was mostly alone. It was wonderful and all the things a hike should be—relaxation, challenging yourself, getting alone with your thoughts for a while.

The parking area is getting increasingly gross due to construction.  A sign with the world 'Dust' slashed out is posted on the main road.  The roadways themselves (or what's left of them) are covered in slurry mud which I can only think is being pumped in to honor that 'No Dust' sign.  The main lots are open, but I avoid driving my car thru this disgusting mess and just favor the residential streets outside the preserve.

Otherwise a great hike and big improvement over last Saturday. Now if we could only get those temps down a bit lower...

Masked Hike - Piestewa

Weather: 78º, sunny, high pollution

Time:  26 minutes

About this Hike:  I'm not sure how I did this in 26 minutes.  I planned on giving myself a handicap of at least two minutes once I stopped the timer at the summit.

In just over six years in the Phoenix area, I've never seen air quality like today.  The local news says a dust storm from California blew into our area and lingered for two days.  Unlike the massive haboob dust walls we see in Monsoon Season, this was just two days of fine grit creating haze in the atmosphere around The Valley.  From Piestewa's summit the skyscrapers of uptown Phoenix barely pierced the haze.  Views of downtown, much less Sky Harbor Airport, were a loss.

Today is my first day home after nearly a week hiking in the Arizona High Country.  I should be unpacking and doing other after-vacation tasks.  But a cool front had blown in, and I selfishly wanted to take advantage of the temps. 

I donned a respiratory mask and made the hike up Piestewa.  Other hikers shot curious and judgmental stares.  This made water breaks a challenge, hence why I planned to give myself a generous a handicap.  When I arrived near the summit and stopped the S Health timer, I couldn't believe I was only at 26 minutes.  Imagine if this had been a normal day and my nose and mouth weren't covered...

I never actually touched the summit but stopped at the final push where you have to scramble a bit onto the summit.  I was done with this hike—Disgusted by air quality.  Disgusted with the fact I had bruised my forearm on a rock facing.  Disgusted with a mom who was carrying her coughing child while he spewed germs all over other hikers (or was sickened by the air). 

Upon descent, I met a friendly guy from Oregon.  He saw my mask, but he totally got it....  We talked about the poor air quality, and how this bad of air isn't normal, even for Phoenix.   

This is one hike I regret going on.  Upon return to my car, I was grateful to have survived this dusty, smoggy Saturday.

Kachina Trail & Flagstaff Fall Color

Weather: 70º, sunny

About this Hike:  This hike was partially inspired by a segment I saw on 3TV in Phoenix.  Their drone crew had caught some majestic photos of the amber and yellow aspen tree tops around Flagstaff as the area approaches fall-color peak.

Being as I'm traveling with a drone operator, I thought a fall foliage day in Flag might be the perfect day trip from our base in Sedona.

Kachina Trail is accessed via Arizona Snow Bowl.  From US-180 it's a fun drive up the ~7 mile winding mountain pass. The large parking area is well-signed pointing hikers to both Kachina and Humphrey's trailheads.  Of course in the winter this is AZ skier's heaven.

As we approached Snow Bowl, I became nervous like a skier in January staring at bare ground. Stands of aspen stood bare, as if a fall wind storm had stripped their foliage.  Throughout the hike this was the theme:  Bare stands of aspen alternated with rich yellow (and occasional red) beauties.  In the end I was satisfied, having gotten the fill of fall color I drove so far to enjoy.

Kachina Trail takes hikers through thick spruce and aspen forest, opening into meadows occasionally.  Old volcanic boulders shroud the landscape.  There are some side trails that can easily throw you off.  We discovered this the hard way after enjoying phenomenal views from atop some dark granite cliffs.  No big deal though, and soon we were back on the correct path.

Per the trailhead map, Kachina eventually intersects with Weatherford Trail. It appeared this would give us good views of the just-under 12K Fremont Peak.  I suspect at some point we joined Weatherford, because we hiked much farther than Kachina's stated 2.5-mile distance. We did see a lot of Fremont Peak, whose peak is distinctly above timberline.  Signage along these trails is not the best, surprising for heavily hiked U.S. Forest Service pathways.

Warm temps began to give way to high-country coolness as the sun was sinking low.  We decided to turn back.  As often is the case, the hike out was a lot shorter than the hike in.  A drive down a mountain pass, and it was on to Flagstaff for some much-deserved after-hike brews.

A meadow of aspens