On a rainy morning, on the first day of Autumn, I did
a 4 mile hike up Sunrise Mountain at 1,850 feet. This is the same residential
neighborhood trailhead as yesterday when I hiked the West Wing
Mountains. I really enjoy hiking in the morning on days I go to work. It makes working at Walmart a little more tolerable. It also reduces my depression and OCD for the entire day.
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| The trail begins at the playground. |
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| The ugly part of the trail. |
I'm
hiking every morning now. Hiking in the 90s isn't bad on this last day of summer. In fact it felt good. The summer was too hot in the Valley. It was Phoenix's hottest summer ever recorded with 50 days above 110 degrees.
The hike at West Wing Mountain Preserve is in Peoria, and near my job at Walmart. I did a 4 mile loop and up West Wing Mountain at 1,903 feet. Unfortunately, this hike begins in a residential area with a half mile hike along roads and houses. However, it is a beautiful and rugged trail once you leave the houses behind.
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| West Wing Mountain |
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| The ugly part of the trail. |
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| Leaving the residential neighborhood. |
I'm camping tonight in the semi desert grasslands at 4,000 feet. It's a beautiful night at the base of Estler Peak. At night a cool breeze blows through my open car windows while I sleep. I'm about an hours drive north of Phoenix.
Here I am enjoying a good book by one of my favorite authors, Larry McMurtry. I'm reading Comanche Moon, the prequel to Lonesome Dove. My favorite way to relax is with a good novel, and enjoying an expansive view of the wild.
I
hiked the McDonald Trail up to Sinagua cliff dwellings in the Verde
Valley near Camp Verde. These structures are know as the Mindeleff Cavates. A cavate is a man-made cave.
I then hiked up to the top of the mesa, and hiked off trail going north. I need to come back and explore further when it is cooler. It was a 2 mile round trip hike with 440 feet of elevation gain. The hike took 1 hour and 42 minutes.
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| My Route |
I hiked up Estler Peak near Dugas, in the Prescott National Forest. It was an easy half mile round trip hike with only 112 feet of elevation gain to the 4,263 foot summit. I read that the views were beautiful, and it was accurate. No trail, just a parking area. Trailhead elevation is 4,039 feet. I also spent the night here, and it was beautiful, and I loved the listening to the high-pitched barks and yips of the many coyotes.
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| My Car |
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| My Car |
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| On the summit. |
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| Estler Peak |
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| My Campsite |
This was my second time hiking up Wasson Peak to the 4,688 foot summit. I took the 8 mile loop trail that combined the Gould Mine, Sendero Esperanza, Hugh Norris, and King Canyon Trails.
