Practicing for Kilimanjaro

My next hike was up North Mountain to Shaw Butte in the Phoenix Mountain Preserves. I threw my loaded backpack into the back of my pickup and headed there after work one evening. The first thing I discovered is that there aren’t many convenient parking spaces, and everyone likes to hike it at that time of day. I had to park and walk about a mile – with my pack on - before I started the actual climb. By the time I was half way up, it was getting dark. I learned later that I had treked up the hardest part anyway. But I had to stop a few times on the way up to catch my breath. It was dark by the time I got back to my truck. I revisited the climb a few weeks before I left for Africa and was able to make it to the top without stopping.

So the next step was to actually use this stuff in the wild. I picked a weekend when Debby was visiting her Dad in the hospital in Dayton (he was going under the knife for lung cancer). I picked a place to go called Secret Mountain northwest of Sedona in red rock country.

Indian Ruins near Secret Mountain
If you know where to look, you'll see Indian ruins in the cliffs along the trail.

Is there a trail here?

It was a 5 mile trail to the top and the last mile turned out to be a goat trail with switch-backs and drop-offs.

The trail up Secret Mountain It took me a while and I had planned to do some exploring at the top of the mountain but it was getting late by the time I reached the top.
The trail on the very top of Secret Mountain
So I set up camp and cooked, or, rather, rehydrated my supper and crawled into my sleeping bag and read til I fell asleep a few minutes later.

In the shadows of Secret Mountain
The climb down was quicker, but just as exhausting the next day. But there's no rest for the wicked, so I wasn't too surprised when I got back to my truck and saw I had a flat!
Flat Tire at the Trailhead

Stay on the Path!
Kendricks Peak

Sartoris Navigation Bar

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My next hike was up North Mountain to Shaw Butte in the Phoenix Mountain Preserves. I threw my loaded backpack into the back of my pickup and headed there after work one evening. The first thing I discovered is that there aren’t many convenient parking spaces, and everyone likes to hike it at that time of day. I had to park and walk about a mile – with my pack on - before I started the actual climb. By the time I was half way up, it was getting dark. I learned later that I had treked up the hardest part anyway. But I had to stop a few times on the way up to catch my breath. It was dark by the time I got back to my truck. I revisited the climb a few weeks before I left for Africa and was able to make it to the top without stopping.
So the next step was to actually use this stuff in the wild. I picked a weekend when Debby was visiting her Dad in the hospital in Dayton (he was going under the knife for lung cancer). I picked a place to go called Secret Mountain northwest of Sedona in red rock country.	If you know where to look, you'll see Indian ruins in the cliffs along the trail.
	It was a 5 mile trail to the top and the last mile turned out to be a goat trail with switch-backs and drop-offs.
	It took me a while and I had planned to do some exploring at the top of the mountain but it was getting late by the time I reached the top. So I set up camp and cooked, or, rather, rehydrated my supper and crawled into my sleeping bag and read til I fell asleep a few minutes later.
The climb down was quicker, but just as exhausting the next day. But there's no rest for the wicked, so I wasn't too surprised when I got back to my truck and saw I had a flat!