Domestic Travel Adventures

I am currently in Scottsdale, Arizona, and the rock formations and mountains are tempting me to hike them, but it is 108 degrees outside, and being well equipped for a business trip, I am ill equipped for a real adventure. Although Camelback is a quite accessible, and quite do-able, I don't know if I want to push it when it will still probably be over 100 when I get done with work. But we will see.

This coming 4th of july weekend, I am planning a slightly adventurous weekend of Walleye and Bass fishing and swimming in Winneconne, Wisconsin at a friend's lake house. This is a luxurious adventure by my standards, even though I will be but one FIB in a sea of cheeseheads.

Google Terrain view

www.maps.google.com

Google, the most innovative company on the planet, recently came up with an additional feature for Google Maps, that will be useful to Adventurers. Now, not only can someone use Google Maps for planning driving directions, they can also look at the Google Terrain view tab, which will allow them to check out the topography of a place they may want to hike. This feature will be great to plan hiking routes, or just to get a better lay of the land before setting off on an adventure. Of course you need to know how to read a topographic map, but any Adventurer worth their gorp already knows how to do that. I reccomend for everyone to take a look at this feature before your next wilderness forray. 

Below are Google Maps screenshots of Camelback Mountain in Arizona, and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. 

Above: Camelback Below: Grand Canyon

Also reccomended: look at Mount Everest

Camelback Hike

Camelback Mountain

Location: Scottsdale, Arizona

Coordinates:33°30′53.0″N 111°57′41.8″W

Elevation: 2706 Ft

Vertical feet of Hike: 1334 Ft.

Length of Hike: 1.5 Miles

Packing List: 32 oz of water, 1 orange

The Camelback Mountain hike is a really great hike, that I highly 

recommend for anyone visiting the Phoenix area. On Saturday 

February 28th, my two buddies Kevin and Gene and I hit the 

mountain starting at about 9 AM. The temperature was perfect, 

in the low to mid eighties, and there was some shade to find on the

trail because it was early. 

I have done this hike several times, but it is always strenuous.  

Although it is aerobically challenging for a one and a half mile 

hike, it pretty much can be completed by anyone, and is very

popular with residents and tourists alike. 

To me, there seems to be three logical sections of the hike. The 

lower third is composed of steep stairs made of wooden railroad 

ties. The second section is extremely steep and semi-slippery

rock with sections of railing climbing up the path. The third

section is a steep hike up a few vertical fields of small boulders. 

This stage is a great quad workout.

                                                                                   

rail section

boulder 

section

We summited Camelback mountain at around 10 AM., and

enjoyed amazing views of the entire valley, and I enjoyed my 

celebratory orange. What a great way to start a morning!

view from 

the top

summit

pushups