Phoenix is an urban sprawl much like LA, albeit cheaper. One wouldn’t expect to find any nature paths or scenic hiking trails in such a mega city, but there is one — the popular Echo Canyon Trail on Camelback Mountain, which reaches up to 2706 ft in elevation. Not a very imposing height for those of us who are used to the 8,000-11,000 ft ranges we have here in California. However, what it lacks in size is made up for by the fun 2.4 mile out-and-back rock scrambling trail.
We got up early-ish to hit the trail by 7am in order to beat the heat, but it was already 86F at that point. The dry heat made the 86F feel somewhat tolerable. A sign at the trailhead advises of daily trail closures between 11am-5pm during extreme heat.
By the time we got back to the trailhead 2 hours later, it was already 93F, and we had sucked down all our water (park recommends 1L per person). All in all, this hike was a fun cap off to our short culinary trip to the Sonoran desert.
FIRE'd @ 47 