HikeArizona.COM

Went to Colorado last weekend to hike a 14'r with my cousin who I hadn't seen in years. Really enjoyed it and the scenery was awesome. He's planning a trip down here next spring, and wants a not-to-strenuous desert hike with good scenery. He also said he likes a hike to have a point that you're trying to reach, like reaching the peak of the mountain. Most of the hikes I can think of, like Flatiron, are more strenous than he'll want to do.

Looking for opinions and suggestions for hikes that might fit these criteria.

Desert hike
Not overly difficult
Has a point, or a goal, to reach

Thanks!

Normally I'd say the Wind Cave trail at Usery Mountain would fit the bill - but it is seriously NON challenging. Possibly a little too wimpy. But check out the trail description here

National Trail in South Mountain Park is great in Spring. There are many branches you can take to reach special points of interest: the radio towers, Fat Man's (can't) Pass, hieroglyphs, and spectacular views of the city. The trail runs along a low valley deep in the park that makes you forget that the city is just over the rise. Spring flowers and cactus blooms as well as abundant wildlife are special treats that time of year. We train on South Mountain much of the year and like National/Mormon Loop/Pima Wash trail for a workout and the view.

A couple of hikes come to mind. You could take him to Indian Hyroglyphic Springs; easy hike with a huge collection of pictographs. Another would be the Peralta trail to Fremont saddle with it's views of Weaver's Needle. Hmmm, but that's more of a canyon hike. A little more strenuous but still neat destination desert hikes would be Quartz Peak or Picacho Peak. Both start in the desert but soon rise above to give great views all around. There's mica and quartz at the top of Quartz Peak. Picacho Peak has some neat history and you can include a side trip to the Rooster Cogburn Ostrige Ranch just to the south.

Table Top is a great trail with millions of cactus and great views and most of the trails in the White Tanks are nice, though I don't know if they fit the desert bill.

Rodger's Canyon, but it may be more work then you are looking for. Indian ruins and Angle Basin at the end.

Actually, if your cousin has a computer, have him sign up and browse the site. That way, he can see many of the hikes and destinations first hand and might get a better idea of which one he would like to do. If, for some reason, he doesn't have a computer, maybe "cuz" should help him out?

Rodney wrote:Actually, if your cousin has a computer, have him sign up and browse the site. That way, he can see many of the hikes and destinations first hand and might get a better idea of which one he would like to do. If, for some reason, he doesn't have a computer, maybe "cuz" should help him out?

Um...yea...I thought of this first...but I...forgot to post...yea...

Hey - he can also look up the specific hikes we're suggesting and use that as a starting point.

olesma wrote:Um...yea...I thought of this first...but I...forgot to post...yea...

That should work...just don't steal my excuse: "I posted this first...someone must have deleted it!"

Thanks for all the suggestions so far. I had thought about the South Mountain hike and I like the idea of doing the Hidden Valley loop, even though it's right here in the city. I'm thinking he'll value it more if we get away from town. Actually I think the best suggestion is to sign him up here and let him do some research himself. He does have a computer, even though it is a mac Gives me this line about not worrying about fatal errors and such. Where's the challenge in that? Oh well....I digress. Anyway, thanks for everyone's ideas.

agregc wrote:Thanks for all the suggestions so far. I had thought about the South Mountain hike and I like the idea of doing the Hidden Valley loop, even though it's right here in the city. I'm thinking he'll value it more if we get away from town.

Not sure what a 14'r is all about just yet (I'll do some homework on that one), but if you want to stay away from an early morning start (like 5:00 am or so), and the Phoenix area heat ( about 100 degrees by 11:00 am), I would suggest heading up to the Payson area. There are a slew of trails with different degrees of difficulty. Just do a 'regions' search and focus it on the Payson area. That will give you a better idea of what is available in the area. The temp difference isn't that great, just a bit cooler, but it's fairly close travel-wise.

Here's a shortcut...

http://hikearizona.com/Region-Hikes.php?RID=7

Barnhardt should be ok by then, its a nice hike and you can go up as far or short as you feel like.


Or you could kick butt and take him on a rim-rim

HikerInGilbert wrote:

agregc wrote:Not sure what a 14'r is all about just yet (I'll do some homework on that one),

14,000+ ft peak. Lots of 'em in Colorado. None in AZ.

olesma wrote:

HikerInGilbert wrote:

agregc wrote:Not sure what a 14'r is all about just yet (I'll do some homework on that one),

14,000+ ft peak. Lots of 'em in Colorado. None in AZ.

And they're looking for an easy hike in the area? I'm heaving just thinking about that 14'r thing.

You two did a fourteener and he does not want to do a very strenouse hike? I find that kinda odd. What Mountain did you climb? I cannot imagine the Flatiron being any more strenuous than a fourteener.

Well, he didn't say...so, it might have started at 13,952?

Rodney wrote:Well, he didn't say...so, it might have started at 13,952?

Yeah, I guess that could be; up in those parts.

Never know. Unless you were there.

Just the altitude would make any hike around here pretty easy.

(Joe, you need a blue-faced, heaving emoticon methinks...)

I'm still trying to figure out what the "r" stands for in 14'r?

Rodney wrote:I'm still trying to figure out what the "r" stands for in 14'r?

Thinkin' it means 14'er like in 49'ers.

I'm clueless most of the time. So...

I enjoyed Camelback Mountain.