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| - One if my buddies hikes Camelback twice a week. It turns out this is quite common, and how come I've never done the hike before. Or so I was accosted on the way to the mountain. You find all manner of hiker on the mountain: runners, joggers, pushy joggers (no literally), power walkers, kids, really small kids, impossibly small kids, families with impossibly small kids, hikers, hikers with poles, college students, college athletes, some guy typing a review on his iPhone, another guy with a camo water pack and blood streaming down the back of his arm, people who hike around the trailer but never on it, four-legged climbers, and my dad. The problem with this is that there are no places to park on Saturday mornings. So we paid five bucks each to do the Park n' Ride shuttle from Paradise Valley Town Hall. After a quick bathroom break at the police station, we were ready. Park n' Ride hooked us up with waters, granola bars, and bananas. We were dropped off outside the parking lot and walked to the trail. Based on some advice from Park n' Ride, we decide to go up Cholla and down Echo. Hiking Camelback is an adventure, at least, probably the first fifteen times. The Cholla trail starts with some stairs and you catch the great view of the city right away. Halfway up, I had to dodge a boulder someone knocked loose, and was told that I had quick reflexes for looking up and not walking into the thing. At the saddle you can see the view on both sides. At the top, we stopped to eat the granola bars and bananas. When it was time to continue, my dad started to chicken out and was interviewing everyone about the perils of the Echo trail in case he wanted to use the option to return down the Cholla trail. Luckily, he didn't chicken out and going down the Echo route was no big deal. Sure there are lots of boulders to traverse and some parts that require you to use the hand rails, but going down is so much easier than going up. Echo felt more canyon like with less views and more rock formations and a little more shade. After calling Park n' Ride we were whisked back to my car and ready for lunch. I don't see myself settling into the twice a week routine, but I must admit, Camelback Mountain is a must hike for those Phoenix denizens who enjoy the outdoors. For the casual hiker, I don't recommend brining kids until you know what you are getting yourself into..
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