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| - I did it! That's right, I hiked all the way to the top of Camelback Mountain. And not just me, but my boyfriend and my toy Australian Shepherd, Frankie.
If you take nothing else from my review, please note that this is a difficult hike for dogs. Large dogs will probably get stuck at the last stretch where the trail narrows, and you more or less have to hang on to the side of the mountain as you shimmy across. And personally, I wouldn't attempt to push a dog to complete that part as it could be very dangerous. Fortunately, Frankie is small and athletic, so he was able to make it by himself to that point, and was able to be carried through the most difficult parts. Also, if you have a small, fairly inactive dog, make sure that you have some sort of dog back/front pack to carry them once they get tired. And most importantly, MAKE SURE TO BRING PLENTY OF WATER FOR DOGS!!
Now that I'm done with that...
This was a great hike. At 5'4", this was a fairly intense hike for me, and I had some trouble keeping up with my 6'1" boyfriend and our little hiker dog. And boy was I thankful for my Camelback!
We went on a Friday afternoon, so the trail wasn't too busy. There were quite a few people running up and down the trail which always makes me a bit nervous, but being aware of the runners and making room for them to pass helps to ease my anxiety.
The views on the way up were incredible. You get a primo look at the Phoenician which will have you dying to schedule a visit for some drinks on their patio. You also get to check out the super expensive mountainside mansions.
But as I was saying before, this is a reasonably intense hike, so if you're not an incredibly experienced hiker, be sure to take it slow. It took us about four hours in total to make it from the car to the mountain, all the way up, all the way down and back to the car. So make sure to carve out a decent chunk of time.
As tough as the hike can be, and as much as you may just want to lay down and pass out at some points, the view from the top is the reason to keep going. Once you get to the top, it's almost as if you've joined an elite club of super hikers! :)
Have fun, take water and watch out for rattle snakes!
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