Camelback Mountain - Phoenix

I began my hike up Echo Canyon Trail at 12:05 PM. It was 1.2 miles to the 2,707-foot summit, and it took me 1 hour. My round-trip hike was 2.4 miles, and it took me 2 hours and 8 minutes.

A major geological unconformity—a gap representing over a billion years of "missing time"—sits directly between the ancient granite base and the younger red sedimentary rock. The main body and "hump" of the mountain consist of roughly 1.5 billion year old intrusive igneous granite. The western "head" of the camel is made of much younger (25 to 30 million years old) red sedimentary sandstone.

Gateway Canyon to Peak 3099 - Goldfield Mountains

I began my 5.9 mile hike at 11:15 AM from the Water Users Day Use Area on the Salt River. Once I found a shallow spot to cross the river it was easy. The water depth at most was knee deep. On the other side I weaved my way along the flood plain to Gateway Canyon. It took me 20 minutes to reach the Gateway Canyon Trail. That was 0.76 miles. From there it took 1 hour and 13 minutes to ascend the canyon. That was 1.3 miles. Then after a short break I headed up to Peak 3099. There was no trail except for several rock cairns I encountered. At 2:35 PM, I reached the 3,099-foot summit. It was 0.9 miles from the canyon. Since crossing the river, it had taken me 3 hours and 10 minutes to reach the peak. After photographing the great view I headed back down. I reached the river at 4:35 PM. Then a short trek led me to the river crossing and parking lot. I reached my mini van at 5:00 PM. My hike had taken me 5 hours and 48 minutes.

Gateway Canyon

View from  the summit of Peak 3099.

 

Peak 2738 - Superstition Mountains

I began my 4.3 mile round-trip hike at 9:38 AM. I reached the first peak on the ridge after hiking 1 hour and 30 minutes. At 1.6 miles, I was at the end of this ridge and had to hike down to continue on the next ridge. Next I hiked 0.7 miles on this ridge to the 2,738-foot summit. That took me 48 minutes. It was 11:58 PM when I stood on the top of this unnamed peak. I was 2.2 miles from the trailhead, and it took me 2 hours and 20 minutes. At 12:28 PM, I began hiking back. I returned to my mini van on AZ 88 at 2:45 PM. My hike took me 5 hours and 6 minutes.