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| Hiking | 2.84 Miles |
1,001 AEG |
| | Hiking | 2.84 Miles | 2 Hrs 16 Mns | | 1.79 mph |
| 1,001 ft AEG | 41 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | Did a straight up and back solo from 40th St TH in late afternoon, returning in semi-darkness. Could barely see the way back but it wasn't dark, of course, because I hadn't turned on the flashlight.
Great views from the top, making the steep slog up worthwhile. Stayed on the summit until sunset, wanting to nail the perfect photo of the sun sinking behind Piestewa. I'll have to shoot for "perfect" another time. I have a decent eye for photography but technique lacks. And I'm impatient. Too often I want to click and split. Encountered five others on summit but I was the last to leave. Made the mistake of descending to the saddle the same way I came up. In the steepness of the 2429's south side, a sharp rock jumped out and bit my ankle. Should've taken the smoother, less steep path to the north and around the west side.
The person who built this trail apparently flunked creative design. This is an ugly, blunt and brutal path with short, steep switchbacks and way too much crud from the "Dixie Peak" sign on up to the saddle. No time, no effort, no money, no imagnation put into it. And even before that you have to ply a monontonous, straight-line trail from the parking lot. The whole thing is a monument to torture. I suppose it's a boon to those who use the trail for exercise. Nothing wrong with that. And what traditional hiker like me, having tasted the vistas at the summit, can resist the mental and physical agony to see them? The only good thing I can come up with is that the trail keeps the hordes at bay. Comparing this to the beauty of the VOAZ-designed Pyramid Trail on South Mountain is a ridiculous waste of time. That said, I'll take the 2429 any day over the zoo at Piestewa and Camelback.
If you do not know your 2429, you puzzle at the saddle, unsure which mountain to attack. North or south? No signage. Trails lead out in both directions. I went left, to the north, and lucked out. As I struggled up, it became obvious that it is the higher of the two.
The mystery of this hike is: What is "Dixie Peak" all about? There's the sign down below and nothing else above. Believe it or not, I later skimmed through all 270 triplogs of this trail and did not see it explained. The benefit of all that skimming was finding some thoughtful posts, particularly by tibber. In 2011, she posted a nice video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Lu20-Y0lGU
Coming down in darkness has its blessings, especially on that beeline to the parking lot. The ugliness receded because I couldn't see it, so it was just me and sound: my high-top Vasques crunching gravel, my trekking pole stabbing at outcroppings, a pair of owls hooting (ha-hoo, hoo, hoo) and the gabbling of Gambel's quail in the bush. Wonderful. I'll certainly give this trail another shot but after a semi-long cooling-off period. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
