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| - When we knew we were going to visiting the Phoenix area for a week, the fella and I immediately started looking in to hikes we could do.
Camelback obviously made it to the top of the list pretty quickly!
I would say that we (or at least me) are on the experienced end of moderate hikers. Earlier this year we conquered the La Luz trail to the top of Sandia Peak in Albuquerque (8-9 miles with a 3,300+ foot elevation climb) so we were ready and willing.
After doing some research, to be on the safe side, we settled on on the Cholla Trail, the easier of the two. They are both rated as extreme, but because we also planned on doing several other hikes we didn't want to over do it.
The first (and therefore last) mile are actually fairly easy. It is certainly a climb and your legs will feel it, but it won't seem like an extreme trail! Until....you get to the last quarter/third of mile. It turns into rock climbing! Ok...I might've gotten a little nervous when we got to that point. But my guy was very encouraging, as were several hikers on their way down.
Going up is actually the easy part. Coming down is the harder part, I find. Unsteady me just took my time to find the right footing. And wow did I feel accomplished!
In all, the hike took us just over 2 hours round trip, including a rest and snack stop at the top of the mountain.
This is not the most picturesque hike I have ever taken. The mountain is in the middle of residential neighborhoods, and Phoenix and Scottsdale just spread out flatly around the mountain. You can see Piestawa Peak. But that is about it.
It is one of the most challenging hikes I've ever taken. So those are things to keep in mind.
AND keep an eye out for trail runners. I personally don't think this is an appropriate trail for running, because it is highly traveled and so steep and rocky. But you know, just watch out!
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