looking for a hard winter day hike

[redneck20]

looking for a full day hike. we like the "harder" hikes and dog friendly. probably something in the 3-4 difficulty range.

im new to the site and still figuring out how to navigate it to find everything.

thanks in advance

[joebartels]

This is posted in the Arizona Trail Forum, are you looking for a hike on the Arizona Trail or just in Arizona in general?

[redneck20]

damn, already posted in the wrong place....lol.

arizona in general

[joebartels]

no problem, I'll move it
hopefully someone can offer up some ideas

btw... welcome to HAZ!

[Sredfield]

I suggest you follow JJ around for the day. ;)

Seriously, you pose a difficult question, your "hard" may be my "impossible" or vice versa. What kind of mileage and elevation change are you thinking?

[redneck20]

Well we've been doing some 12-14 mi ( round trip) hikes with 2000-3000ft elev changes

[chumley]

Since you live in Phoenix, I assume you are looking for something nearby? Or by "winter dayhike" did you mean something potentially snowy?

If desert winter weather is your desire, I would head for any number of hikes in the Superstitions. Are you more comfortable on well-marked trails, or are you ok with non-official routes with more route-finding and bushwhacking? There are endless options that many users here could recommend if we know a bit more about your preferences.

If you were suggesting actual winter/snowy/frozen stuff, there are many options we could point to for that as well.

[redneck20]

Not looking for snow ,
I'm ok with low use trails but don't want to have to fight my way thru brush

Maybe something in the cave creek area, the supers are just a long drive

Also would like semi- well marked

[toddak]

There's tons of ways to wander the Cave Creek trail system (see attached) - decent scenery, trails are in mostly good condition, loop possibilities, some good ups and downs, probably some water out there too.

[joebartels]

I just threw together a dynamic version too http://hikearizona.com/map.php?X=1148