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| Hiking | 7.06 Miles |
1,236 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.06 Miles | 2 Hrs 46 Mns | | 2.55 mph |
| 1,236 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Working my way around the Phoenix metro area doing winter locals’ hikes, today was Skyline Regional Park’s turn.
I did the Pyrite Summit loop clockwise: The climb is more gradual that way, 650 AEG over 1½ miles (an 8% grade), whereas counter-clockwise is 550 AEG in only ¾ of a mile (a 14% grade), even with plenty of switchbacks.
Rain was expected off & on through the weekend in Maricopa County, and it was steadily drizzling as I headed out. 🌧
Skyline Regional Park’s trails are well laid out, and well maintained. Probably better than any other park in Maricopa County. You never have to worry about your footing, not even crossing a wash, so you can spend your time looking around, rather than staring at the ground. (Though the scenery is not the greatest, unless you are on a summit.)
Other than the Pyrite Trail, Pyrite Summit Trail, and the bit of Turnbuckle Trail on the west of Valley Vista, I had previously hiked the trails on this loop. I started hiking at 8:30 a.m., and made the turn onto Pyrite Trail 30 minutes later.
If you see an antenna on a peak just south, that is some sort of aviation beacon, not Pyrite Summit. I suspect the beacon is for Luke Air Force Base, as pairs of F-35 Lightning IIs headed south over it all morning long. Even in the rain. Probably headed out to the Goldwater Range, south of I-8, to play in the box. 
*** Correction. I just looked at a Flying Flyver set, and it's just an old wooden signal tower, no longer in operation.
Pyrite Trail reaches its high point at the junction with Pyrite Summit Trail. If you look back, you can see the Pyrite Trail winding back down into the valley, with the trailhead in the distance. You’ve come all this way, no sense skipping the summit!
Pyrite Summit Trail climbs 200 ft. in a ⅓ of a mile to the summit, which is marked by a cairn and one of many numerous marker poles. I should have checked for a geocache, but blanked it while enjoying the view. (And a trail beer.) 
Despite not being very prominent, Pyrite Summit has some solid views, particularly to the south and west, across flatter surrounding terrain. Though they do not show up well in my photos, I could easily identify Woolsey Peak, in the Gila Bend Mountains, Saddle Mountain and, of course, the Sierra Estrella.
After enjoying the Pyrite Summit views, I headed down the steep northern section of Pyrite Trail to the junction with Chuckwalla Trail. Other than a brief stop by the aging saguaro just north of Granite Falls Trail, it was a quick jaunt back to the trailhead.
I drove partway home on I-10, before exiting at 35th Ave. to head up to Indian School Rd. Just south of Grand Avenue, in Maryvale, there was a traffic snarl at an apartment complex where a bunch of cops were pointing long guns at someone. (Or one of the apartments.) Another cop came barreling down the turn lane as I cleared the area. I wonder what that was all about? Hopefully I captured it on my dashcam!
Hike Video: https://vimeo.com/504093661 |
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| http://prestonm.com : Everyone's enjoyment of the outdoors is different and should be equally honored. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
Route 
As I got closer to the park trails I did start to see a few cairns and a few tracks of previous hikers, but nothing that would constitute a trail. The best path is to stay on the ridge. Generally, it is better footing and a more controlled descent. I wish I had followed through with that thought. 
As I got closer to the Mountain Wash Trail, I couldn’t resist the lure of the nearby trail just below me. Even going slowly, I couldn’t avoid a few slips and one of them had my hand come down on a cholla dropping. YOUCH! Needless to say I was very happy to make it back to a defined trail 
As the Turnbuckle wraps west around the mountain it junctures with the Granite Falls trail. Took GF north for a short distance. This trail extends through some of the flatter sections of Skyline Park. There are also quite a few ATV tracks that crisscross this region in my attempt to connect to the Chuckwalla I inadvertently took one of these ATV trails. Kind of annoyed since my main goal was to do the Chuckwalla. I decided to embrace the mistake and follow the ATV track, knowing (because of the direction it was heading) that I would eventually run into the Chuckwalla. It did. But I decided to follow the ATV track a little more, just to see how it played in the region. Didn’t do it for too long. Just up and around a tiny hillock that it had scarred and that I had eyeballed several times over the years. Wrapping around the hill for me back on the Chuckwalla. Followed the Chuckwalla as it swung out to the north and then played along the base of the mountains on the western edge of the park. Trail is fairly flat, but going CCW this stretch has a downward tilt to it; which is always nice. Eventually, the Chuckwalla junctures back with the Granite Falls trail which I took back to the Turnbuckle. From there it was a short jaunt back to the TH. Nice morning to be out. Chilly at first, but it doesn’t take long to warm up climbing these trails. Encountered a decent number of users throughout the park. No wildlife.
