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| | | SoMo Crumpled Bikini Top Route, AZ | | | |
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SoMo Crumpled Bikini Top Route, AZ
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| Hiking | 17.03 Miles |
3,742 AEG |
| | Hiking | 17.03 Miles | 4 Hrs 33 Mns | | 3.78 mph |
| 3,742 ft AEG | 3 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | I ended up back at South Mountain again this week and ditched work a little early to start in the early afternoon. This being the third week in a row at SoMo, I decided to try something different and hiked the "Crumpled Bikini Top" route that pseaudalpine/Mel and clayncallaway have posted in the past, which gets its name from the shape of the route [ photo ] . There were lots of people out on a Friday afternoon, but that wasn't surprising with perfect weather--clear and mid-70s, though hazy.
As advertised, there are a lot of steep ups and downs on the route, especially on the parts forming the cups of the bikini. After going up Marcos de Niza, the route drops down San Gabriel Ridge, followed by a steep climb up Young Man Trail, then west along Guadalupe Ridge to a steep descent down Old Man Trail, followed by another steep ascent up Corona de Loma. By that point in the route, I'm guessing most people wish the bikini was a cup size or two smaller  .
I turned around near the broadcast towers on National and then started back toward Guadalupe Ridge. I saw a coyote just east of Buena Vista Lookout and finally stopped ~12.5 miles in for a quick snack and some much-needed water, then followed the ridgeline and Marcos de Niza back to the trailhead, which was still crowded with sunset approaching. I'd seen plenty of hikers and bikers throughout the afternoon, including a group of ~30 people with ASU nametags hiking up Old Man Trail.
Overall, it was a solid route and a good workout, though Route Scout listed the AEG at ~3,700', quite a bit lower than the other triplogs...not sure which is more accurate, but, regardless, it's a lot of elevation for a South Mountain hike. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
Route 
. Trails were in pretty good shape. We only saw a handful of hikers, couple of dogs, couple of joggers and one ranger. Nice workout with great weather and company. Thanks for the hike, Linda!
Old Man - 
Midlife Crisis - 
Young Man, using Desert Classic, Guadalupe Perimeter, and some other mumbo jumbo to tie it together. I don’t hike east on Guadalupe Ridge very often, so I had to pay a little more attention to the route in a few places thru the boulders. 
