hikeaz

The Supes are super pretty

~ reluctantroadie ~ 1 Comment

On January 13, 2024, I finally did something that has been on my hiking list for the past 7 years: the Superstition Ridgeline hike. It’s a challenging hike for several reasons: setting up the car shuttle before the hike starts, the climbing, and the route finding. My Garmin said that I hiked 14 miles (22.5 km) and climbed 5,098 feet (1,554 m). Although it was a very long day, the views were totally worth it. I definitely plan on doing this hike again.

My day started with a very rude alarm at 4:30am. I left at 5am, arrived at the Carney Springs trailhead by 6am, helped set up the car shuttle, and started hiking at 6:50am. (For those of you who are wondering what a “car shuttle” is, that means leaving a few cars at the meeting point and driving the rest of the cars to the starting point. The hike is a one way hike, so at the end of the day, the owners of the cars at the meeting point, i.e., end point, drive all the hikers to the other side. We finished hiking and arrived back at Carney Springs at 6:50pm, which was exactly 12 hours.

The temperature started out chilly, but we quickly warmed up as we started climbing up to the Flatiron. I found it hard not to take photos and was delighted by all the scenic photo opportunities. We were treated to gorgeous views everywhere we looked! When we reached the ridgeline, we saw snow and ice on some sections of trail. Some people chose to slide down those sections of trail on their rear ends because those parts were so slippery!

It was pitch black when we started the hike. This photo was taken while wearing a headlamp!
Silhouetted saguaro cacti.
Starting to get some daylight.
We were a bit chilly at the start!
My attempt at an “artsy” picture of the Superstition Mountains.
Our first goal is the Flatiron, which is right in the middle of the photo.
The Flatiron is a bit closer.
Closer, but still far away.
Getting higher…
Almost finished the climb up to the Flatiron.
Snow and ice on the trail.
More of the same.
View on top of the Flatiron.
Now starting the “ridgeline” part of the hike. We hike across the Superstition Mountains now!
Group shot.
So many great views!
More snow on the. trail.
There was still plenty of climbing to do.
Another expansive view.
We got to climb up the chute in the middle of the photo.
Probably about 3:30pm here?
Starting to cool down again.
Had to get a photo of the pretty light. We are hiking down to the Carney Springs trailhead.
Golden hour.
We did it!

What I wore, used, and ate:

  • puffy jacket with hood
  • Smartwool base layer
  • hiking pants, socks, shoes
  • cycling windbreaker — I brought this and wore the vest for part of the day (the arms zip off).
  • SaltStick electrolyte tablets
  • ibuprofen
  • headlamp
  • poles
  • mittens AND gloves
  • sunglasses
  • headband
  • sunhat
  • sunscreen and lip balm
  • basic first aid supplies (including tweezers)
  • 3L of water (didn’t finish)
  • Half a burrito from the previous night’s dinner
  • a peanut butter and jelly sandwich
  • a half dozen snacks (Skratch Lab chews, fig bars, Kate’s Real Food bar)

I did not bring too much of anything! However, the weather was really great, which helped. I’m looking forward to my next Ridgeline hike!

#eyesonthefries (2022 DIY PHX 7 Summit Challenge)

~ reluctantroadie ~ 3 Comments

This past weekend, a hardy group of hikers completed my annual DIY 7 Summit Challenge. The event is based on the official Phoenix 7 Summit Challenge and the goal is to complete all 7 hikes in a day. All 7 hikes are located in the Phoenix metro area. The “DIY” part refers to a few modifications I make to the event, such as the order of the hikes and switching out a few hikes to avoid driving all the way up north. This year’s hikes are the same as last year’s, with 1 exception; I decided to include Shadow Mountain, which I hadn’t even heard of! The 7 hikes for this year’s challenge: Piestawa Peak, Shaw Butte, Lookout Mountain, Shadow Mountain, Holbert, Mormon, and Javelina. I tried to group the hikes geographically, then by perceived difficulty. For example, the first 4 hikes are all within a 10-15 minute drive from each other and the last 3 are also relatively close to each other. Also, the first 3 hikes started “hard” (i.e., Piestawa is 2.73 miles long and gains almost 1,200 feet in elevation. Shaw Butte and Lookout are easier because they don’t have as much elevation gain.), the 4th one is short (i.e., Shadow Mountain is 1 mile round-trip), and the last 3 follow the same pattern of difficulty as the first 3.

Highlights of the day included a beautiful sunrise, great conversation, many adorable dogs on the trail, and finishing before dark! I also made stickers this year, which was a fun little project. The catchphrase of the day: “We’re losing daylight!” (I don’t know how many times I said that….probably at least 7 times, haha.) Similar to last year, our celebratory dinner was at Fate Brewery in Tempe and we had to climb the stairs to our table (bonus summit!).

According to my Garmin, total mileage for the day was 20.55 miles / 33 km (mileage does not include the bonus 8th summit), 5,758 ft / 1,755 m of gain, and 11 hours and 7 minutes for the entire event, which is about 50 minutes faster than last year! It was a great day and everyone did SO well! Happy holidays and rest up! 🙂

Just before sunrise on Piestawa Peak.
Summit #1: Piestawa Peak
A different perspective of the previous photo.
Sunrise!
A “digger” on the way up to summit #2.
Summit #2: Shaw Butte
Summit #3: Lookout Mountain
On the way up summit #4. This hike was new to everyone. It was pretty steep and had a lot of loose rock on the trail.
Summit #4: Shadow Mountain
Summit #5: Holbert/Dobbin’s Lookout
Shelly and I were the first ones to reach the 6th summit. My feet were hurting a lot by this point because of some blisters. I think I’m hiding the pain pretty well here!
Summit #6: Mormon
Shelly and I were the first ones (again, haha) to reach the 7th summit.
I had to get at least one selfie with my SAT (self-appointed trainer). My feet were REALLY hurting. I was very motivated to finish!
Summit #7: Javelina. My friend Gladys took this photo from a distance using her watch. The photo is a little blurry, but it captures our joy at reaching the last summit!
End time was 5:37pm. It was still daylight!
Darkening sky.
We had to get 2 tables for our group at Fate.
Happy, hungry hikers at table 2.
Yum yum yum!
The stickers I made for the event. I think they turned out well!

But…did you die?

~ reluctantroadie ~ 1 Comment

Yesterday, my friend Crystal, and I hiked Humphrey’s Peak, which is the highest point in Arizona. This hike is an annual tradition for us and is our way to catch up, while catching our breath, haha. I call our annual Humphrey’s hike our “do or die” hike because we basically pick a day, meet at the trailhead, and….hike. We don’t train for this. We just do it. Yesterday was also “National Summit Day,” so our hike was particularly appropriate and relevant!

The weather yesterday was PERFECT. It was the best weather I’ve ever experienced while hiking Humphrey’s. Typically, I try to reach the summit by noon, to avoid any potential thunderstorms. However, there was zero chance of thunderstorms yesterday. We had clear skies and a light breeze all day. Beautiful.

The hike took us about 6.5 hours (this includes a few rest breaks and a longer lunch break at the summit). I think we made pretty good time, considering neither of us was in “good hiking shape.” One interesting thing I noticed was that shortly after we reached the saddle, I got a “second wind.” I asked Crystal if she was ok if I hiked on without her (she was) and I motored my way up the last mile to the summit. Hmm. Maybe all the mountain biking I’ve done in the past year, especially the climbing, prepared me more than I realized?

Highlights from yesterday include:

  • PERFECT weather and temperature.
  • Meeting lots of cute dogs on the trail!
  • Seeing our friend Stevo on the trail!
  • NOT seeing the usual amount of little bugs on the summit. For whatever reason, there were few of those bugs at the summit, which meant we could spend more time on the summit!
  • The summit was NOT windy and cold.
  • Absolutely delicious smells during the last couple miles. We were hiking through a Ponderosa pine forest and the bark of the pine trees smelled like caramel and vanilla. So yummy!
Looking fresh at the start of the hike.
This is right at the start of the hike.
I love the purple!
On our way!
We ran into Stevo! Always fun seeing friends on the trail.
Getting higher…
SO GREEN.
Only 1,237 more feet to go!
At the saddle. One more mile.
Nerdy picture of my Garmin at the saddle.
My new friend, Alex!
The summit is “somewhere up there.”
At the summit! Arizona’s high point at 12,637 ft (3,851 m).
Statistics at the summit according to my Garmin.
Summit picture (summit sign behind my head).
Absolutely beautiful views from the top.
Final statistics.
The “we’re tired” picture at the end of the hike.

My Garmin said that we hiked 10.09 miles (round-trip) and climbed 3,255 ft (992 m) in 6 hours 38 minutes. My Garmin also said that I burned 2,351 calories. I don’t think I burned that many, but I DID permit myself to eat some fries after the hike!