![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerPhoenix Getaway Travelog #6
Echo Canyon Trail - Sun, 1 Apr 2023, 9am
The Echo Canyon Trail to Camelback Peak is up, up, up. And it is steep. The trail begins with a graded ascent to Echo Saddle then climbs a set of stairs made of railroad ties. After that it really gets steep. And you're doing the ascent on bare rock.
Trail? Ha ha. There's barely anything like a trail here. Over by that fence, which has a sturdy rail you can hold onto, there are some vague steps blasted into the rock. But they're so irregular you pretty much need to hold onto the rail if you try to use them.
We scrambled up the bare rock freehand, relying on the traction of our footwear and our familiarity with route-finding on bare rock to get us through.
The next steep section, even steeper, had a rail running right down the middle of it. We needed to use it to pull ourselves up through a few steep spots. Most of the people coming down were holding onto the rail on the left (their right) to descend. Coming down really steep sections is, in some ways, harder than going up.
After these steep sections we hit a flattish part of the trail for a while. This stretch offered our first real view of Camelback Peak from the trail. As you can see (pic above) there's a still a lot of up remaining.
When we hiked this trail years ago, this is as far as we got. We may even have turned around partway up the steep section shown in the previous photo. We were in better physical condition then but the weather was against us. It was hot. It was already over 90° not long after dawn, making those super steep sections absolutely grueling. 🥵 The weather today is so much nicer for this hike. With a high temperature forecast of 81° F (27° C) mid-afternoon it's at most in the low 70s (about 22° C) here at 9am.
The flattish section gave way to ascent soon enough again. And despite the cooler weather now than on our previous attempt, it was still a grueling slog.
After another steep section or two we hit another flattish stretch. Here I scrambled up the ridge to sneak a view out over the valley to downtown Phoenix.
Around this part we also found a trail sign indicating we still had another 500+ feet of ascent. I was... nonplussed. 🥵 Okay, I'm more than nonplussed, I'm frankly demotivated. As tired as I am from all the climbing to get to this point I'm not sure I have enough energy left to make it all the way.
Hawk reminded me of our hike up the Koko Head Tramline Trail in Hawaii a year ago. At various times on that trail we weren't sure we'd make it all the way but we did. We did that by taking it one bit at a time, allowing ourselves rests, and keeping an eye on the prize— the top.
To be continued....
Echo Canyon Trail - Sun, 1 Apr 2023, 9am
The Echo Canyon Trail to Camelback Peak is up, up, up. And it is steep. The trail begins with a graded ascent to Echo Saddle then climbs a set of stairs made of railroad ties. After that it really gets steep. And you're doing the ascent on bare rock.
Trail? Ha ha. There's barely anything like a trail here. Over by that fence, which has a sturdy rail you can hold onto, there are some vague steps blasted into the rock. But they're so irregular you pretty much need to hold onto the rail if you try to use them.
We scrambled up the bare rock freehand, relying on the traction of our footwear and our familiarity with route-finding on bare rock to get us through.
The next steep section, even steeper, had a rail running right down the middle of it. We needed to use it to pull ourselves up through a few steep spots. Most of the people coming down were holding onto the rail on the left (their right) to descend. Coming down really steep sections is, in some ways, harder than going up.
After these steep sections we hit a flattish part of the trail for a while. This stretch offered our first real view of Camelback Peak from the trail. As you can see (pic above) there's a still a lot of up remaining.
When we hiked this trail years ago, this is as far as we got. We may even have turned around partway up the steep section shown in the previous photo. We were in better physical condition then but the weather was against us. It was hot. It was already over 90° not long after dawn, making those super steep sections absolutely grueling. 🥵 The weather today is so much nicer for this hike. With a high temperature forecast of 81° F (27° C) mid-afternoon it's at most in the low 70s (about 22° C) here at 9am.
The flattish section gave way to ascent soon enough again. And despite the cooler weather now than on our previous attempt, it was still a grueling slog.
After another steep section or two we hit another flattish stretch. Here I scrambled up the ridge to sneak a view out over the valley to downtown Phoenix.
Around this part we also found a trail sign indicating we still had another 500+ feet of ascent. I was... nonplussed. 🥵 Okay, I'm more than nonplussed, I'm frankly demotivated. As tired as I am from all the climbing to get to this point I'm not sure I have enough energy left to make it all the way.
Hawk reminded me of our hike up the Koko Head Tramline Trail in Hawaii a year ago. At various times on that trail we weren't sure we'd make it all the way but we did. We did that by taking it one bit at a time, allowing ourselves rests, and keeping an eye on the prize— the top.
To be continued....
