mountains

7 summit hikers…and a battleship in the desert

~ reluctantroadie ~ Leave a comment

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all of you! How is it the end of 2024 already? The past month has been packed with work stuff, holiday events, and fun outdoorsy things, which is why I’m tardy again in updating this blog! First up, a recap of my now-annual DIY 7 Summit Challenge which occurred on December 7. This year is the 6th year that my hardy crew of hikers have tackled the Herculean task of completing 7 hikes in one day. My DIY event is based on the official 7 Summit Challenge put on by Phoenix Parks and Recreation but without the entry fee! Like last year, all 7 hikes were at South Mountain to help minimize the driving time. Of the 16 hardy hikers that started the day, 5 stuck it out till the end and completed all 7 hikes for a total distance of 21.7 miles (35 km) and total elevation of 5,124 ft (1,561 m). We started the day at 6:32am and ended at 5:21pm, which meant that we took 10 hours and 49 minutes to hike all 7 hikes. This is almost exactly one full hour faster than last year! Here’s a photo dump from the day–enjoy!

Summit #1 attained!
Sunrise during hike #1.
Another sunrise picture.
More sunrise!
Partway through hike #2.
Summit #2!
Summit #3!
My S(elf)A(ppointed)T(rainer) and I on top of summit #3.
Heading down hike #3.
Start of hike #4.
Hike #4 desert landscape.
Summit #4!
Almost at end of hike #4.
Saw horses near end of hike #4.
Hike #5. This trail currently starts differently than normal, due to some maintenance work.
Summit #5!
Summit #6! Apparently, none of us thought there was anything interesting to take a picture of during this hike!
Late afternoon light during hike #7.
Another late afternoon picture.
Summit #7!
Official end time of the day, according to my phone!
My hard-earned dinner!
Happy and tired hikers at dinner.

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One hike I’ve been wanting to do for a while is Battleship Mountain. I finally got the chance to do this the week after my 7 summit day, which was great timing, as I was in good hiking shape! So glad that my friend Gladys was our hike leader, as she is very familiar with the area and the hike itself. The Battleship hike is in the Superstition Mountains east of Phoenix and is rated advanced, mainly due to the “scrambling” involved. According to my Strava statistics for the hike, we hiked 12.47 miles (20 km) and climbed just over 2,600 ft (800 m). The first 4.5 miles are relatively flat and crisscross a creekbed multiple times. Then, you’ll see some rock cairns that mark the point where you start climbing towards the Battleship rock formation. The views are incredible! Totally makes the climb worth it! It was an epic hike with great company and I’m so glad I got the opportunity to do this. Enjoy these pictures!

Smiling and excited to start this hike.
The first 4 miles were pretty easy and relatively flat.
Playing with shadows.
An attempt at taking an artistic photo.
Lots of cacti, of course.
We could see Weaver’s Needle (the pointy thing on the right) for most of the hike.
Finally, we reached the point where we had to start climbing up towards the Battleship!
The back of the Battleship is on the right.
Looking at the back end of the Battleship.
We had to do a lot of rock scrambling to get to the top!
This hike is not the best for those with a fear of heights.
More climbing….
…a fun, narrow connector…
Yes, we climbed up that.
Getting closer!
Inside a cool cave along the way to the end.
Another beautiful view with Weaver’s Needle in the background.
Absolutely gorgeous out there!
Taking a lunch break at the top!
The top is a flat tabletop (i.e., mesa). Canyon Lake is in the center background.
Making our way down the way we came up.
What a cool view!
So happy to be out there!
Taking a look at the aftermath of the forest fires the past year.
We did it!

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!