Hiking Camelback Mountain, Again
My first hike of Camelback Mountain was surprising. Surprising how hard it was for me! Hiking Camelback clearly showed what over 10 years of sitting can do to you. So on Memorial Day, I decided to do the hike again.
This time, I made sure to take extra water, start earlier, and eat something (a protein shake) for breakfast. I arrived at the entrance to parking in the Echo Canyon lot at around 8 A.M. and the lot was full with 7 cars waiting for a space. The wait went pretty fast as there were hundreds on the trail and people were returning.
I began with the intent to take my time and enjoy the views. It was a bit easier this time but still a challenging hike. The fact that much of the trail is really not defined because of the terrain, it makes for more of a workout. On this day, the area fire stations that answer the emergency calls for Camelback were hiking the mountain for training. Some of these guys were carrying full packs, and going right by me! Haha. One of the best lines I heard was one of the firemen’s remarks to me as two young women passed us on their way back down while we were on the way up, appearing as if they had not even broke a sweat. He said if we were their age, we’d be looking that good too — and 100 pounds less! Two hundred for him. He had a great sense of humor.
It still took me over an hour to get to the top. I have a Flip video of the 360 degree view and will post that as soon as I get it loaded to Youtube. I really like this hike. Not sure I will do it again until the fall as the temps are going into the 100s now. I’ll leave the trail to those younger.
Here are some shots I took this time with my new Canon Powershot SD1000. I really like the fact that it easily fits in my pocket and takes great pictures.
Here is the taller than a Palm tree water bottle I took (and no, that is not the year I graduated high school. See About page.):
A nice view of Paradise Valley, which is a beautiful community located just north of Camelback.
A view looking west toward downtown Phoenix,
And here is a visit from the Phoenix police department at the summit. Obviously they knew the firemen were there as they had their radios with them. One of the firemen said that was the police departments way of “hiking” the mountain that day.
It was another great hike in the Phoenix area.
May 31st, 2008 at 12:47 pm
Looks like a great hike Phil. Maybe I’ll come out and visit you late Fall and hike this with you. Do you have other summertime hiking areas that you have plans to get to?
June 1st, 2008 at 8:53 am
Where did you get that water bottle from, Phil?!
Glad you had another nice hike up the mountain. What other hikes would you like to do around there?
June 1st, 2008 at 3:13 pm
10 years of sitting? Ha ha ha! That comment sounded funny.
Phil, you need to get a picture of yourself standing proudly on the summit for hikes like these.
-Steve
June 1st, 2008 at 3:34 pm
My wife’s sister and mother have lived in Phoenix years ago. My wife said she “died” of heat there when visiting them. But it was cool to sit in a hot tub outside on Christmas.
She also told me about the “stone and cacti” gardens there. And about Camelback Mountain.
June 3rd, 2008 at 5:51 pm
The water bottle is from a past High School reunion of my Mom’s high school.
June 5th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
I hope you find some hiking opportunities this summer! Maybe you could start at 2 am.
We’ve been doing moderately steep hikes around here to get ready to hike Ajax this summer. Sometimes as I’m struggling uphill I think to myself, “Why in the hell am I doing this?!?!” Then when I get home I think of how much fun I had. It’s a good kind of sore feeling. 