A great trail day. With a day off and no kids I grabbed my tent and hopped a flight to Phoenix last night. I've been wanting to hike the Four Peaks trail since I fly over the mountains on the approach into Denver and they are the highest in Maricopa Coun ty at just about 8,000. The hike is about 16 miles long with a 6,000 foot climb. I had a Jeep reserved but when I got to the counter they had replaced it with a minivan, brand new, 659 miles on it. I aged that thing 5 years today.
The Four Peaks Wilderness Area is at the end of a 20 mile road as remote as anything I've seen. Pure Hell in a car. I camped at the 2,000 foot level for the night. The temp was 35 in the morning but with crystal clear skies I knew it would warm fast and just put on shorts and a shirt. But after a mile I hit snow, deep, and I could either turn around for warmer gear or turn this into a trail run. It ended up being a pretty cool run for Phoenix; blazing sun in 18 inches of snow. When I hit about 6,000 feet it got cold fast and was no longer a hike, the last part of this trail is Class 4 up a scree filled ravine. (In the summer) The problem was, all the snow was collecting in there from the surrounding rocky peaks and I went right up to my waist in it. In running shorts. So I had to climb the east face. I was shaking pretty good by the time I got on top and couldn't get feeling back into my fingers. No way I could climb that face back down. I was much too cold, so I blasted down that snow chute. I couldn't feel my legs either now, but 1,500 feet lower it warmed up as fast as I was hoping it would and I was back to running the trail. Pretty lucky to reach that peak today.
I then drove over to Fountain Hills and hiked the Sonoran Trail on the West side of the Mcdowell Mt Regional Park. It was close to 75 degrees F on this trail, so a nice change. At a local bike shop the owner said this trail eventually climbed the highest peak overlooking Fountain Hills. But after 3 miles it was obvious that it only circumnavigated the mountain so I jumped off it and headed straight up the mountain. Pretty soon I came across a rocky trail that went straight up and it had to be close to 50 degrees incline. One of the best running mountains ever! I've got to find this trail on a map. In all, 22 miles of trail today. Dawn to dusk. | 