June 19th - Holbert trail + Dobbins Ext (5.5 miles, 1000ft)
This week I had done my research and was all set with the trail I wanted to hike.
I hiked holbert trial in south mountain. This is is a nice trail. It starts out flat but then gradually starts picking up elevation. This trail provides good workout.
Here are some details on the trail:
The trail heads north to the Gila Range over a rumply bajada terrain. Hikers should watch for petroglyphs on a boulder at mile 0.7. After momentarily joining the road at mile 1, the trail starts a climb up a scenic canyon with unique geological features — a rock cave at about mile 2, and an unusual formation at mile 2.2 near the Dobbins Extension Trail. The Trail ends at the National Trail where it looks at panoramic views of central Phoenix and of San Juan Valley to the west.
Directions
Take baseline exit on I-10 (take a left) and take a left on Central ave
Just 5-10 yards after you pass the park gate, turn a hard left into the Activity/Visitor's Center. The Activity/Visitor's Center has a fairly long parking lot. On this parking lot, drive east till you see some ramadas and some concrete buildings (restrooms).
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Challenge to find challenging hikes
I was not very satisfied after my Pima Canyon hike. It got me thinking.
What makes a hike challenging for me - elevation gain. I have a sense of achievement when I climb a mountain vs walking on flat trails. The distance does not give me the kick.
One constraint I need to work with is time, I dont want to spend more than 30 min on driving every week to reach a hike, so that does not leave a lot of challeging hikes around.
We have Camelback, Piestwa peak and South Mountain. These places have trails where you gain around 1000 ft in 1-1.5 miles which currently is challenging enough for me.
Also I prefer to do different trails,. Though here in phoenix, any trail is desert classic :), not much variation in terms of views so I think I will just focus more on getting a good workout.
Looks like I would have to hit these trails again and again to keep myself satisfied. I might time myself against these trails on subsequent trips to make it more fun.
Any other ideas out there?
What makes a hike challenging for me - elevation gain. I have a sense of achievement when I climb a mountain vs walking on flat trails. The distance does not give me the kick.
One constraint I need to work with is time, I dont want to spend more than 30 min on driving every week to reach a hike, so that does not leave a lot of challeging hikes around.
We have Camelback, Piestwa peak and South Mountain. These places have trails where you gain around 1000 ft in 1-1.5 miles which currently is challenging enough for me.
Also I prefer to do different trails,. Though here in phoenix, any trail is desert classic :), not much variation in terms of views so I think I will just focus more on getting a good workout.
Looks like I would have to hit these trails again and again to keep myself satisfied. I might time myself against these trails on subsequent trips to make it more fun.
Any other ideas out there?
Pima Canyon Exploration
Jun 13 – Pima Canyon (3.5 miles, ~300 ft gain)
I had a hard time getting up today morning, I was almost about to give up or thinking about alternatives. Rishi kept us awake till 12 am y’day night and I did not get enough sleep on Friday as well, so getting up at 5 AM was just impossible today. Finally I dragged myself out of bed at 5.45 am. I was so low that I called a friend in east coast to get some boost from her, but she was not available :(.
By the time I left home it was already late to find a parking spot at the popular trails (Camel back, Piestwa). I went to Pima Canyon (part of south mountain) which is 15 min drive from our place. Once there I wanted to do a different trail then what I had done earlier. The trial map was very confusing for me - the credit goes to my direction sense and map reading skills :). I just picked one of the trails and started walking on it. The trail just goes through a series of hills. It was like a walk in the park with some elevation change through out.
I had no particular goal on how long i wanted to walk, so i just walked for 2 hr. I know that I hiked in Pima canyon west loop area.
Pima canyon is a very easily accesible park for chandler/ahwatukee residents. The park is very popular with mountain bikers, runners and lot of hikers as well.
Today was not a satisfying day - I did not have a challenging trail or a specific destination. I reached home wanting more :).
I had a hard time getting up today morning, I was almost about to give up or thinking about alternatives. Rishi kept us awake till 12 am y’day night and I did not get enough sleep on Friday as well, so getting up at 5 AM was just impossible today. Finally I dragged myself out of bed at 5.45 am. I was so low that I called a friend in east coast to get some boost from her, but she was not available :(.
By the time I left home it was already late to find a parking spot at the popular trails (Camel back, Piestwa). I went to Pima Canyon (part of south mountain) which is 15 min drive from our place. Once there I wanted to do a different trail then what I had done earlier. The trial map was very confusing for me - the credit goes to my direction sense and map reading skills :). I just picked one of the trails and started walking on it. The trail just goes through a series of hills. It was like a walk in the park with some elevation change through out.
I had no particular goal on how long i wanted to walk, so i just walked for 2 hr. I know that I hiked in Pima canyon west loop area.
Pima canyon is a very easily accesible park for chandler/ahwatukee residents. The park is very popular with mountain bikers, runners and lot of hikers as well.
Today was not a satisfying day - I did not have a challenging trail or a specific destination. I reached home wanting more :).
Sunday, June 13, 2010
South Mountain - Telegraph Pass
June 5 - Telegraph Pass (3 miles, ~500 ft elevation gain)
Telegraph pass in South mountain is one of our favorite hikes and we have a lot of memories associated with it. This was Rishi's first hike and I have taken a lot of friends here over time.
Weather forecast for today – 107 F (high). I was not really sure how would it be in the morning so I decided to do a familiar trail.
I was at the trailhead by 5.15 AM and got an early start. It was still nice and cool. There was no breeze though, so that made the hike up little difficult and warm. Once I reached the top, I continued further on the West National trail to the ramada. The ramada is a good place to rest with lot of shade. I had my snack and enjoyed the early morning quite time. I saw few hikers going further so I decided to continue and reached the top most point on the trail and started to descend from there on.
This trail is in Ahwatukee so the drive to the trailhead is nice and you get views of the surrounding neighbourhood and the moutains in distance.
One thing which bothers me on this trail is there are many hikers who bring there dogs. I am scared of dogs so I get very uncomfortable when someone has a dog which is not leashed.
It was going to hit 107 today, so I was not really sure how hot it would be in the morning. The weather was pleasant enough through out the hike.
Telegraph pass in South mountain is one of our favorite hikes and we have a lot of memories associated with it. This was Rishi's first hike and I have taken a lot of friends here over time.
Weather forecast for today – 107 F (high). I was not really sure how would it be in the morning so I decided to do a familiar trail.
I was at the trailhead by 5.15 AM and got an early start. It was still nice and cool. There was no breeze though, so that made the hike up little difficult and warm. Once I reached the top, I continued further on the West National trail to the ramada. The ramada is a good place to rest with lot of shade. I had my snack and enjoyed the early morning quite time. I saw few hikers going further so I decided to continue and reached the top most point on the trail and started to descend from there on.
This trail is in Ahwatukee so the drive to the trailhead is nice and you get views of the surrounding neighbourhood and the moutains in distance.
One thing which bothers me on this trail is there are many hikers who bring there dogs. I am scared of dogs so I get very uncomfortable when someone has a dog which is not leashed.
It was going to hit 107 today, so I was not really sure how hot it would be in the morning. The weather was pleasant enough through out the hike.
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