Route Editor
Route Scout
I have recently convinced my friend to try backpacking with me. Yay! Since all of you are way more experienced than me, I thought I would see if I could pick your brains for trail ideas.
We are only doing an overnight to start... but if you know of any longer hikes that you like, please mention them, too, because I hope to get there someday soon! I am new to backpacking and have only done three trips since last September. My last trip was a 2-nighter about a month ago with 14ish miles total and a couple thousand feet of elevation change overall. With her, I'd like to do something less than that and would ideally like the trip to be focused on how FUN backpacking is and how PRETTY and how she should do it again, so any trips that have especially beautiful scenery might be good.
Ideally, I'd like the total length of the trail to be under 7 miles, although we can definitely hike a shorter portion of a longer hike.
A water source would be best. I haven't tried dry camping yet, although I plan to, but don't think trying it for the first time with an inexperienced hiker/backpacker would be the best idea.
I'd also prefer to keep the hike within a 3.5 hour drive of Phoenix.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU in advance for taking the time to reply to this! I really appreciate it, as I've been staring at my Trail Dex results for hours without being able to find a good fit.
