Arizona Archive

The Peralta Trail

Hope everyone had a great holiday! Now, time to share another hiking experience. I recently did one of the most popular hikes in the Superstition Wilderness known as the Peralta Trail. It’s located here in Arizona east of Phoenix. I thought I would share it with everyone since it was a lot of fun.

Starting Off At The Trailhead

The reviews I read of this trail were not lying when they said this trail is used often. There were quite a few cars in the parking lot along with a lot of people. Anyways, the start of the trail was relatively flat. It reminded me a lot of South Mountain which I have hiked a few times. The trail follows along the canyon bottom for more than a mile and then starts to get a little steeper. Eventually, you start to hit some switchbacks and the scenery gets a little more interesting.

The Freemont Saddle

After hiking about 2.5 miles, you reach the Freemont Saddle. This is where most hikers turn around and make their descent back down to the parking lot. It’s a great place to have a picnic if you decide to bring along some food. I brought along some granola bars and a turkey sandwich and was thankful for it. I was starving by the time I got to the saddle.

The view from the saddle is amazing. Here is a picture looking south from the saddle:

View from Saddle

Weaver’s Needle

That isn’t the only nice view from the saddle. Looking north, you can see Weaver’s Needle. A 1,000 ft. high rock column that is awesome looking.

The Doe Mountain Trail

This past week I did another hike up in Sedona known as the Doe Mountain Trail (#60). It is right across the street from the Bear Mountain Trail which I previously did awhile back. As you can see from the picture above, it offers some awesome views of the red rocks around Sedona.

The Hike to the Top

The Doe Mountain Trail is only a 0.7 mile journey to the top of the mesa, but it is definitely worth doing. It gets a little steep near the top, but it …

The Hike to Browns Peak

This weekend I took another shot at climbing to the top of Brown’s Peak. It is the tallest of the Four Peaks with are located outside of Phoenix. It is also the highest point in Maricopa county with an elevation of 7,657 feet. If you don’t remember, I previously made an attempt at it and ended up taking the wrong trail. You can read my post about my first attempt here.

On this attempt, I made it within 100 feet of the peak but stopped because of the weather. So I am still satisfied with the outcome because I could have easily made the last 100 foot stretch on a clear day.

Anyways, Instead of opening with a explanation of the hike, I thought I would share this video I put together of the hike. I want to start doing more videos so here is the first attempt:

The Arizona Science Center

2 General Admission Tickets: 18 dollars
2 Planetarium Passes: 16 dollars
Seeing Broken Exhibits and Listening to Kids Scream All Day: Anything but Priceless….

This past Saturday, I checked out the Arizona Science Center located in downtown Phoenix. It’s a science center/museum that contains a bunch of different exhibits on different things such as weather and technology. The center also features an Imax Theater and the new Dorrance Planetarium.

First Impression = Way Too Many Unsupervised Little Kids

I knew the place was going to be focused around kids, but I did not know there was going to be that many kids running around with lack of supervision. I am not talking about kids being dropped off and left alone, but rather parents neglecting to pay attention to what their kids are actually doing.

Parents were just minding their own business by the snack bar while their kids ran around screaming, running into other people, and knocking random things over. It was more like a zoo than a science center.

There were some kids behaving and doing exactly what they were supposed to be doing, looking at the exhibits and asking questions. But all the others, were busy hoping in the elevators and throwing candy wrappers on the ground. It just about drove me insane.

The Hike To Humphreys Peak

The Trail To the Top of Arizona

This weekend, my girlfriend and I managed to accomplish one of the hardest things we have ever done. We made the 9 mile round trip hike to the top of Humphreys Peak. Humphreys Peak has an elevation of 12,633 feet, which is the highest point in the state of Arizona. The peak is located near Flagstaff, in the Kachina Peaks Wilderness. So check out my journey

A Drive Along The Apache Trail

A Quick Escape From Phoenix

The Apache Trail, also known as the AZ 88, is an old road running from Apache Junction through the Superstition Mountains towards Globe. Believe it or not, a good portion of the road is unpaved. When driving along the road, you get some good looks at Canyon Lake, Four Peaks, as well as the Theodore Roosevelt dam. It is really amazing to see the Superstition Mountains and all the different types of rock formations.

The 40 mile drive is an awesome experience, and it reminds you what the world looked like before gigantic cities took over. There are a few small towns (and I mean small) along the way but other than that, it is simply nature. No paved roads, just power lines running over the mountains.

The Drive

The road is pretty rough in some spots and the car I was riding in managed to lose a piece of a hubcap. Now the cars alignment is all out of whack and it raddles like its going to fall apart. But it was worth it, check out the pictures:

View of Four Peaks

That is my favorite picture, along with these

Hiking in Arizona: Four Peaks Wilderness

So the last few months, I have driven by Four Peaks a few times and have always wondered if hiking to the summit was possible. If you are unfamiliar with these mountains, they are located about 60 miles northeast of Phoenix. Browns Peak is the highest peak in Maricopa country with an elevation of 7,657 feet. For those familiar with Phoenix, that is roughly 400 feet shy of being three times the height of Camelback Mountain.

Four Peaks Up Close

Time To Give It A Shot

Yesterday, I decided to finally give it a shot. I read up on what trails to take and how to get to the trailheads. From what I found, taking a dirt road over 12 miles was the only way to get to the starting trailhead known as Lone Pine Saddle.

Hiking In A Lightning Storm

Why It’s Probably Not A Good idea

This weekend was another adventure out in the wilderness. I did some hiking in Sedona, Arizona and almost got struck by a massive bolt of lightning. It was pretty intense, but luckily I got some pretty cool pictures of the whole thing.

I’d like to start this story from the end with this picture I snapped of a lightning bolt at the bottom of the hike:

That’s Not Good

I am no expert on weather, but I am smart enough to know that lightning and thunder at relatively the exact same time means get out of dodge.

Short Road Trip to Lake Pleasant

Lake Pleasant, Arizona

I will start by showing you the picture I managed to take overlooking the lake:

Lake Pleasant is about 20 miles northwest of Peoria on State Rt. 74. It is a pretty short drive to escape the city and get your feet wet. When I first arrived, I was surprised at the size of the lake, which is somewhere around 16 square miles. The water has a cool blue hint to it that reminds me of the ocean.

Things To Do

Lake Pleasant offers a lot of different things to do. Some of the things it offers include:

Tonto Natural Bridge State Park

I had the privilege of checking out the Tonto Natural Bridge, near Payson, Arizona this past weekend. It was a really cool experience and I would love to share it with everyone.

My Photographs

I took a lot of pictures, but narrowed them down to a few I would like to share. So check them out (click to enlarge):

Top of Tonto Natural Bridge

The Hiking Trails

There are three separate trails to hike, and they all lead to different places. Here is a little information I gathered from the trail guide they had at the park: