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I know that many of the popular PHX mountains would make great summer full moon hiking trips, like Camelback, South Mt, or Squaw Peak. But what about Flatiron and the Sup Ridgeline. Maybe I'm just a little crazy, but I think it'd be pretty sweet to hike the ridgeline under a full moon. I was just brainstorming it a bit and I'm deciding to do Camelback first to just get a feel for it. The trail is short, you're more exposed to the moon, and parking on the cholla side can't be gated off.

As for flatiron/ridgeline:
• Parking could be an issue. The Lost Dutchman State Park doesn't want overnight parking at the day use area and campsites are $25. Doable, but paying $25 for one person to go hiking is a little steep. Maybe I could round up some other wackos to split the cost a bit. I could park at the Broadway TH, but that adds 4 miles each way to the hike. There is a resturant and residential in the area I might be able to park at, but I'd have to scout it out and hope nothing happens to my car overnight, like getting towed. I could start from the carne springs side, but you don't see as much city lights until you get closer to the flatiron side.

• How much of an issue would snakes be in the Superstitions on warm summer night? I did most of my Superstition hiking back in late Winter & early Spring, so I didn't see or hear a single snake back then.

• Due to the flatiron hike being mostly in that canyon, I'd ideally want to start hiking as the sun is setting, so that I'm not hiking the toughest section with only a headlamp. But in the summer the temps are still in the 100s at sunset and I also wasn't diggin how early the full moon has been rising this month. The moon would probably have set before I was done hiking. So maybe later this summer would be better or maybe next month might look good. But I don't want to wait too long or I'll be freezing up on the ridgeline at night.

Hehe, it just dawned on me what the real issue probably is. I WANT TO DO A REAL HIKE IN THE SUPERSTITIONS AGAIN. :twisted: You know, like a good 15+ miler without having to wait until Fall while it's 110° outside right now in the valley..... Any tips or suggestions would be appreciated.

Camelback is closed dusk to dawn
Squaw closes at 11pm?
South Mountain varies depending on the night

Superstition summer nights are awesome. You will likely see and hear more snakes then you ever imagined when passing through ravines. Centi or milli pedes of some sort scroll the landscape. The innerstitions are so quite at night you feel like you're in a vacuum at times.

joe bartels wrote: You will likely see and hear more snakes then you ever imagined when passing through ravines. Centi or milli pedes of some sort scroll the landscape.

My rational side thinks that's not a major concern, but my primitive inner alarms say .

big_load wrote:My rational side thinks that's not a major concern

exactly, snakes don't eat people

Well, just hiked Camelback and you're right, the trail closes at dusk. Which made parking legally a little tougher to find. The hike was awesome though, had plenty of moonlight most of the way. I actually had the mountain all to myself, that's a first. Downhiking the upper section of Cholla trail was a little tricky with all the moon shadows and brightness of the moon. Make you to use your moonscreen if you attempt this under a full moon.

Hike into Garden Valley from First Water Trailhead, great nighthike.

I recommend you backpack in to Reavis Ranch, spend the day there relaxing or reading a good book while laying in your string hammock. Set up in the trees near the spring which is downstream from the apple orchard and hike out the following night. Start about one in the morning each night and arrive at dawn either at the valley or trail head. The temperature will drop dramatically as you begin to enter the valley. In fact you may have to put a long sleeve shirt or jacket on. If your really into punishing yourself hike up to Circle Stone when you get to the valley and watch the sunrise. Great views from up there. Add another hour and a half to make the climb to circle stone. My teenage son ran back down from Circle Stone to the Ranch Site in thirty minutes. Crazy teenager....

I wouldn't worry to much about snakes on this trail. Just use a very low light source held in your hand to highlight the path. Just enough to project out about eight feet and display the anamolies of the trail or snake on the trail.

Nighthiker wrote:Hike into Garden Valley from First Water Trailhead, great nighthike.

All you'll hear is rattling LOTS of it.

Of course you can always park at Jacob's Crosscut TH and hike a mile to Siphon Draw Trail to get to the Flatiron. My guess is you'll have music along the way!

Trishness wrote:All you'll hear is rattling LOTS of it.

My first night out in the sups I thought "wow, there's a lot of locust out here"
then the eerie feeling when I stepped on one and it ratttled
http://hikearizona.com/trails/dated/081 ... 00011B.jpg

Ummm, maybe I'll stick to hiking up north. Sedona, Flagstaff, and Payson area are very nice this time of the year. :roll:

In response to joe bartels' reply:

Coming up on August 12th........ http://www.friendshiking.com

SOUTH MOUNTAIN FULL MOON HIKE - Phoenix

Saturday, Aug 12

Leader: Randy Baker ( moovyoaz@earthlink.net )

Length: 5.8 miles
Phone: 602-616-9491
Rating: Easy

Meeting location / time TBD - Contact hike leader

Elevation Change: +/- 1100’

It is a marvelous night for a Full Moon Hike. The Phoenix South Mountains will beckon and call....with the Valley lights at our feet while hiking, the views will amaze one and all...We will start this hike at the Geronimo trailhead at 20th Street and Dobbins Road and meander through an isolated petroglyph valley on the way up to the Buena Vista Lookout. From there, we will head east on the National Trail, finishing at the 48th street T/H and our awaiting shuttle vehicles. Afterwards we will repast at a local watering hole; we will likely need it!
Note: Be sure to bring a flashlight or headlamp, and plenty of water.

SuperstitionGuy wrote:I recommend you backpack in to Reavis Ranch, spend the day there relaxing or reading a good book while laying in your string hammock. Set up in the trees near the spring which is downstream from the apple orchard and hike out the following night. Start about one in the morning each night and arrive at dawn either at the valley or trail head. The temperature will drop dramatically as you begin to enter the valley. In fact you may have to put a long sleeve shirt or jacket on. If your really into punishing yourself hike up to Circle Stone when you get to the valley and watch the sunrise. Great views from up there. Add another hour and a half to make the climb to circle stone. My teenage son ran back down from Circle Stone to the Ranch Site in thirty minutes. Crazy teenager....

I wouldn't worry to much about snakes on this trail. Just use a very low light source held in your hand to highlight the path. Just enough to project out about eight feet and display the anamolies of the trail or snake on the trail.

THAT! sounds like a great trip!

A buddy and I hiked out of Havasupai on a Sunday night during Memorial Day weekend a couple of years ago to beat the horde the next day. It was really cool, up a canyon without headlights, except I was dead on my feet, having hiked 10+ miles earlier. Suddenly my friend, who was in front of me, said 'Step aside, there's someone on horseback coming down the trail'. As I did, the rider, apparently drunk, turned his horse into me, backed me off the trail, and asked, 'Blood? Skin?' Thoughts of Tony Hillerman flashed through my head! In my best Lone Ranger voice I answered,'No... hiker.' 'Uggh' said the rider, who then turned his horse, and rode down the trail. Four words were shared between us, definitely surreal. I heard later the rider was on the Hilltop harrashing people. Good thing it wasn't 'Big Rump'! (Google it)

Vaporman wrote:
As for flatiron/ridgeline:
• Parking could be an issue. The Lost Dutchman State Park doesn't want overnight parking at the day use area and campsites are $25. Doable, but paying $25 for one person to go hiking is a little steep.

My wife and I camped on top off Flat Iron a couple of months ago. We told the ranger at the entrance to LDSP our plans and she said it was ok to park there overnight. We were charged for 2 days ($10). She gave us a hang tag with the following day's date on it and told us to park at Siphon Draw TH.