I hiked up Camelback Mountain, near Scottsdale. It was a 2.5 mile round trip hike with 1,300 feet of elevation gain. It's a very steep hike but not really difficult. It took me 64 minutes to reach the top, and 2 hours and 15 minutes round trip. Lots of people on this urban trail. The first time I hiked Camelback Mountain was on February 18, 2021.
The West Fork of Fay Canyon is the most beautiful part of this canyon. Very few people venture this far up the west fork, and beyond the "End of Trail" sign. I had to climb up a gully choked with brush, trees, and rocks to get up to the next ledge of sandstone. It was 4.6 miles round trip, and took me 3.5 hours.
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| My 4.6 mile hike. |
I took the Bluff Spring Trail to the east side of Bluff Spring Mountain. From the trailhead it was 2.7 miles to the junction of the Tarrapin Trail, and here I made a right turn staying on the Bluff Spring Trail. After 3.4 miles I arrived at Crystal Spring, and then followed occasional rock cairns up the historic Ely-Anderson Trail. Eventually the cairns end, but you can clearly see the summit 3/4 of a mile to the northwest. The hiking here is relatively level across the broad expanse of the mountain, and the summit is only 300 feet higher. After reaching the 4,152 foot summit I came down the much steeper west side, and connected with the Trarrapin Trail. The hike was 9.5 miles, and took me 8.5 hours. Earlier on the Bluff Spring Trail I had taken a wrong turn which was .4 of a mile round trip. So without the error the loop would be about 9.1 miles.
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| Peralta Canyon |
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| Bluff Spring Canyon |
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| Bluff Spring Trail |
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| Bluff Spring Mountain from Bluff Spring Trail |
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| Bluff Spring Mountain from Bluff Spring Trail |
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| Weaver's Needle |
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| Weaver's Needle |
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| Ely-Anderson Trail |
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| Ely-Anderson Trail |
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| Ely-Anderson Trail |
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| On the 4,152 foot summit. |
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| My 9.5 mile hike with a .4 of a mile mistake. |
