This is where the fun starts...

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Don’t let anyone fool you, even though it is only1.2 miles up, hiking Camelback Mountain in Phoenix can be quite a feat. It is not just that even in April it can be well over 90 degrees outside (only a crazy person would try to do it in the Summer), it is not just that there are portions so steep that I wanted to buy life insurance before attempting them or even that the trail is so crowded that at least you are comforted in the thought that if you did happen to fall off a cliff and have an unfortunate splat below that at least you would leave this life knowing that hundreds of absolute strangers would have in a way shared that moment with you. No, Camelback Mountain is not a difficult hike simply because of any one of these things alone, but instead as a result of all three of them combined.

As anyone who has climbed the mountain anytime after 2am knows, the first part of an ascent up Camelback begins with about an hour of fruitlessly searching for a parking spot. Naturally, after you find one you realize that you forgot your water bottle so you will have to leave the spot you spent the last hour looking for only to come back from the grocery store with overpriced water bottles and start the search for a place to park all over again.

Map of the Overflow Parking Lot: Click for larger Version

Here are just two small pieces of advice for you. One, there is an overflow parking lot just at the point where McDonald Drive turns into North 44^th Street. It is about a 25 minute walk to the trailhead but I personally guarantee that it will be a lot shorter then driving around for 30 minutes looking for a place to park in the neighborhoods, eventually giving up on that and waiting in line to park at the trailhead for 30 minutes then finally losing your sanity and parking at the overflow anyway. Just park at the overflow first thing, you are going to end up doing it regardless whether it is the first or last place you look. Second, the closest grocery store to the north is on Tatum and Shea and their bottles of water are actually reasonably priced.

Starting the Hike:

The trail starts out deceptively simple, nothing more that a short 300-500 yards of progressively steeper dirt steps. While most of us, myself included, broke a sweat early on in the hike, by the time you reach the end of this simple portion of Camelback you are starting to think pretty highly of yourself, 500 yards done on a hike that is only a mile and half anyway makes us all feel kind of good but as you turn right around a corner you notice that your accent has not even begun yet. Seeing what is coming up next, after the first 500 yards of simplicity,  is sort of like being invited inside the home by a beautiful girl after your date and thinking that you must be doing pretty well, only to see her 6’5 300lbs father cleaning his guns at the kitchen table, needless to say it is a little depressing.

Trust me, it is steeper than it looks!

The first really steep portion is equipped with a mounted metal rail to assist you for over 50 yards as you attempt to climb up what appears to be a scene out of movie cliffhanger. Truly the worst part of this portion of the climb is asking the people that are coming back down how close you are to reaching the top and seeing their snide smiles and hearing their obnoxious laughs. Truth of the matter is that you are nowhere near the top at this point, just don’t tell yourself that and you should be fine.

The nice thing about finishing this first hard climb, apart from finishing the climb, is that you are rewarded with a nice view of the valley. You are starting to get high enough that you actually feel a good deal above the valley

This is probably the first decent view from Camelback

around you and that is a nice experience. The area just after this first steep climb is more of a transition from one part of the mountain to another. Naturally as you make this transition you will be gaining a lot of elevation. The major difference between this part of the hike and the portion before it is that while the portion before, albeit steep, was on relatively firm ground and had an additional handrail for support and guidance. This second part is just as steep but it is done over scattered rock fall and small boulders and there is no handrail to help you feel good about yourself. It is on this second portion of the hike that you will reach your halfway mark, yeah, .75 of a mile down.

The third portion is similar to the second; you will be crawling, sometimes even using your hands, over large rocks as you make your way up a small ravine. As you reach the top of the ravine you will hook to the left to start you final assent on the mountain. Warning, if you do not hook hard enough to the left you will soon find yourself off of the main trail overlooking the southwest valley thinking, “This sure is pretty… I wonder where everyone else went”. If you find yourself in this situation do not despair, you are not the first (it has happened to as least one other person that I know of).

If you see this you are probably lost... find the trail.

A mistake such as this is easily remedied and it will be no time at all until you find yourself inching your way over the final assent of the mountain and are rewarded with the opportunity to rub shoulders with about 100 other hikers, all as sweaty as you, as well as the opportunity to take some wonderful pictures of the valley below. If you are lucky enough you will meet some interesting individuals on the top as well. I was fortunate enough to meet a gentleman from Scotland and had a pleasant conversation, if you are reading this my Scottish Friend; remember

Very happy to arrive at the summit

you were going to send me an email.

Either way you look at it climbing Camelback Mountain in Phoenix, AZ is tough, but it is also worth it. The view from the top is the best in Phoenix, the climb can be invigorating and the company is certainly interesting. I recommend that everyone take the opportunity at least once. As for me, I am just hoping that my next assigned review for Phoenix.org involves a water slide.

If you would like to request a review of a local Valley of the Sun activity please contact Phoenix.org. Thanks for reading!