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| Hiking | 1.67 Miles |
595 AEG |
| | Hiking | 1.67 Miles | 2 Hrs 10 Mns | | 1.32 mph |
| 595 ft AEG | 54 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | If anyone has aspirations to do some climbing, they might want to first try the NE summit trail to Shadow Mountain. It is a good test. The last part is very steep and requires, at least it did for me, basic climbing skills such as firm hand holds and careful foot placement.
The NE summit trail is not easy to find in this small park because, if nothing else, there are no trail signs. Having done Shadow Mtn once before I had no problem. I came up from the street on the manicured trail that soon turns into a rough one of medium-sized loose rock. I stopped at the blue water fountain and was surprised to find some of the coolest water I'd experienced in local parks. After filling up my water supply for a warm afternoon, I moseyed on up to the saddle, then E to follow a contour trail around the N side of Shadow.
It is a deceptive little peak. At an elevation of only 1,928', the summit is 421' above the TH by my GPS. That's in a hiking distance of .61 mi. And it gets much steeper as you hit the summit trail. At one point, I looked up and thought, "Do I really want to do this?" Switchbacks? Forget it. The trail goes straight up. From the decision-point it appeared I was facing a wall of gray cement. In the next 1/10 of a mile, you face the prospect of rising 200 feet in elevation. That translates to about 2,000' el gain in a mile, my definition of Almost Climbing.
Against my better judgment, I started up with my backpack. My balance isn't the best anymore. The backpack wasn't going to help. I was soon using my hands, grasping for solid rock and good footing before moving up a step. Sometimes the rock pulled away before I put weight on it. Stupidly I had my hand leashed to a trekking pole. The pole was useless and got in the way of my climb. The risk here is not falling off a cliff to the side but falling backward. Nothing but jagged rock to break your fall. And you would likely roll a long way down. I inched up and finally, with great relief, made it to the summit.
The views from the top were magnificent in all directions. I'm still unsure, though, whether those views were worth the risk. It was good to see someone had painted over the awful graffiti I remembered from years ago. The rock on top is jagged too, so I couldn't find a soft spot to eat a sandwich before heading down. I stewed over the descent as I ate. Experience has taught me that going down is often more difficult than going up. But, using the pole and a few hand holds, I reached the end of the summit trail fairly easily.
At the contour trail, a Hispanic woman in her 40s watched me descend, and asked in broken English if I had been to the top. I said, yes, and put my pole at an angle and said, "Steep." She soon headed up the trail, a stocky woman with strong-looking legs. Within minutes I saw her standing on the summit. So, hmmm, "steep" is not prohibitive or even risky to everyone.
I searched in vain through 81 triplogs for specific details on the NE summit trail, but, alas, found none. A quick-study informed that most hikers at the park do the loop trails and don't go up to Shadow's summit. Of the few who do, I found only two on HAZ who had ascended from the NE. There apparently is a summit trail from the SW but did not see it. Trekkin Geco, for instance, used it to go up to the summit and down. She did mention "a nice scramble" in her log. BobP apparently did a scramble off-trail from the N. mt98dew struck the summit from the SW and descended on the NE.
I write at length of the NE approach because I have not experienced such a risky path on any of my hikes in the Valley. And I've done a few. I've posted my NE route to give a better picture of the summit trail. I think The Eagle said it all in 2011 when he did the summit as part of the Phoenix 7 Summit Challenge, "It was a steep bugger getting up." |
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