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.

First Piestewa of 2018

Weather: 72º, sunny

Time:  27 minutes

About this Hike:  The construction on Squaw Peak Drive (I'm still calling it that despite Mayor Stanton's efforts...) is done and the main road is repaved which is a nice reprieve from mud and messes.  Parking was still a beast today.  I was lucky to nab a spot on the residential streets.

Tis the season. Piestewa is going from winter crowds to late winter / spring crowds, tourists, and snow birds.  It was definitely far more crowded than I prefer today.  These types of hikes can be frustrating because you're constantly in other hiker's way and they let you know it. 

Regardless, the far-less-traveled Alternate Summit trail gives a little reprieve before you join the mass of humanity on the main trail.  After a day of feasting yesterday, it was good to get up to the mountain and hike off some calories.

Horton Creek to Horton Springs

Weather: 62º, sunny

About this Hike:  I did this trail back in May 2013 and wrote a blog post about it back then.  Glad to say nearly five years later not much has changed.

A relatively flat four mile hike rewards you with views of Horton Spring gushing from the side of a mountain.  Evidence of scrub oak and maple carpeted the ground in places.  The shadowy spots near the spring had a dusting of snow.  Surely this was a more wintery view than the lush forest I enjoyed in May 2013.  Still, there were many old-growth evergreens along this trail.  Not all of them are ponderosa, and I want to research what types of pines these are.  Compared to Prescott, the forest surrounding Payson is more lush and diverse.  I dare say I appreciate this much more now than I did back in 2013 as a relative AZ newbie (two years in AZ at that point).

I need to make sure nearly another fives year period doesn't pass before my next hiking trip in Payson.

Horton Creek

  

Barnhardt Trail

Weather: 65º, sunny

About this Hike:  I found this one using my recently-downloaded All Trails app.  The Barnhardt hike takes you to several seasonal waterfalls.

Last week we had (our first!) big winter storm that brought rain and snow about 5,000 feet.  It's a long weekend.  The waterfalls at Barnhardt might be flowing.  The stars were aligning it seemed.... I had to check this hike out.

Access to the Barnhardt trail is via a four-mile dirt road off AZ-87.  It is well signed from the highway.  The road condition is acceptable for a passenger car, although some portions are rocky and/or washboardy, so extra care needs to be used.

The geology is the real treat on Barnhardt.  I observed delicately zig-zagging veins of white quartz in the cliff sides.  The trail crosses multiple large rock slides composed of moss-covered purple stones.  It's like nature's landscaping rock quarry.

Barnhardt ascends gradually high above the canyon formed by Rye Creek.  The creek was flowing and the sound of water was evident even up on the ridge.  And it was the only sound.  Maybe it's just the winter season, but we heard no wildlife.  Not even any birds singing.  It was eerily quiet.

Approaching the top of the ridge, the gradual ascent becomes a little steeper.  We came to large, flat rock shelf where some other hikers were resting.  They advised us the waterfall was no more than a quarter mile ahead.  (I should interject—you pass a section of blackened cliff that I'm certain is a waterfall during heavy rain.  I'll call this the 'false waterfall' for purposes of this hike.)

We pressed on.  I expected to need to hunt for the waterfall a bit.  It actually bisects the trail and was flowing at a trickle.  It was the perfect amount of flow—enough to make some interesting pictures, but not so much that the trail was washed out.  In the utter quietness that surrounded, I noticed how the pitch and tone of the tricking water changed every few seconds.  It was fascinating.

As of today, there was a climbing rope tethered to the side in case you want to get up on top of the waterfall.  I'm not a trusting person by nature, and I sure didn't trust this rope.  I got plenty of great photos from ground level.

Pressing on further, the trail opens up into a manzanita forest.  And I mean a forest.  The surrounding peaks are covered in the red-barked shrub.  Snow was visible in the shadowed parts of the highest peaks.  The views around the Mazatzal Mountains are majestic.  To the east we observed what we believe (and sincerely hope) was the plume of a controlled burn.

From this high point just past the waterfall we headed back down.  Through each dry wash cold air billowed up like nature's air conditioning.  We also noted one lone pondeorsa pine among the forest of manzanita, white oak, and other various transitional scrub.  Overall a fantastic hike with fantastic views and a rewarding waterfall.

Zigzag Rock Veins

Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial Juniper

Weather: 65º, partly cloudy

About this Hike:  The story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots (recently popularized in the film Only the Brave) runs very deep in the Prescott community.  Anyone who's seen the film, or is familiar with recent Prescott history, knows that days before the hotshots met their tragic end they saved an ancient alligator juniper tree on the outskirts of town.  This was in June 2013 when the Doce Fire was burning up the high-desert in the Prescott National Forest Wilderness.

Besides being featured in the movie, this 1800 year old (estimated) granddaddy of a tree has become a memorial to Prescott's fallen hotshot crew.  Naturally, we wanted to experience this hike.  Maybe this is intentional, but finding information on this hike via Google search is not easy.  The best directions I could find come from an unexpected source—a Prescott-based dental office.

Even with these directions, finding this hike is not easy.  There's a Google Maps pin dropped marking 'Hotshots Juniper Tree'.  We based our hike plan on the Google Maps pin location.  All was well at the start of the hike.  We followed Iron Springs Road out of town and turned right on Contreras  Rd.  This is a dirt road, and while washboardy, it doesn't have massive ruts.  Go up the road about one mile and there's a parking area on the right.  Trailheads branch from there.

So here we were, two roads diverged in the wilderness.  Some careful Google Earth plotting showed that Trail 620 would take us to the pin dropped for the juniper tree.  After nearly 4 miles hiked our GPS showed we were at the pin.  The trail makes a hairpin turn here and is bisected by a dry wash.  The tree is up the wash according to Google Maps.  In fact, there are plenty of big, old alligator junipers up this wash.  The hotshots memorial tree is not there.  I'm going to jump ahead of myself here.  I take no liability if you try this, but surely GPS coordinates 34.628723, -112.597122 are more accurate.  UPDATE 1/3/18 - someone has marked this with a pin denoting 'Hotshots Juniper Tree' in Google Maps. It wasn't me...

Exhausted but not defeated, we trekked back to the parking area.  The dentist's somewhat confusing directions began to make more sense after some careful surveying.  Word of advice:  listen to the dentist.  Besides Trail 620, Jeep Road 9261U also branches from this parking area.  Follow 9261U along an old fence and reach another parking area.  If you have a high-clearance vehicle you can actually use this parking area instead of the one along Contreras Rd.  Pro tip:  another Jeep road veers off immediately to your right.  Ignore it.  You'll need to climb the very steep hill directly in front of you.

At the top of the hill you'll reach a gate and a sign indicating the beginning of Upper Pasture Trail #38.  This trail lives up to its name with signs warning about cows.  Watch your steps, as cow evidence is everywhere.  Follow 38 to the junction with Trail 39 and bear left onto 39.  You'll know you're getting close when you see white quartz in the soil.  Descend through a creek bed (tree roots form a natural step here) and look for a cairin on the left.

That's all there is to finding the hotsthots memorial tree.  It's not a terribly long hike.  However, we weren't the only hikers fooled by Google Maps' erroneous pin drop.  Two other guys we ran into mentioned that they had done the same hike along 620 the previous day.  And these two were the only other hikers we saw.  It was nice to take in this ancient piece of history, and memorial to recent history, in relative solitude.

Finally as a sidenote, I will say that Trail 620 is an interesting hike unto itself. The well-groomed trail appears to be frequented by dirt bikers (it's too narrow for ATVs), and it leads you along some cool granite boulder formations.  The dirt is loose in places, so step carefully.

See just how close the Doce Fire came to obliterating this 1800 yr. piece of history.