Pass Mountain Trail

We hiked Pass Mountain Trail this week, a 7.1 mile trail around the base of the mountain in Usery Park.  We began in the same parking lot where the Wind Cave trail starts.

The total hike time was 2 hours and 30 minutes, we kept at a quick steady pace and didn't stop to rest. 


Since this trail is a loop, you can head either left or right... our favorite direction is to go right in a counter-clockwise direction.  When you go this way, you begin the hike with the least scenic and flat portion... and then hit the steepest part of the trail going up.  We prefer steep climbs upward to downward steep angles if we have the choice!

Thankfully, I remembered to bring my actual camera on this hike, as opposed to my cell phone camera which has captured the bleak photos for the last couple posts.

Example of the flat terrain at the beginning of the hike

As the trail begins to climb, we hardly noticed because of the surrounding beauty and hints of green from the recent rain.

Before we knew it, we were higher than we realized!  What a beautiful, overcast day!

The terrain became steeper, but we knew it would only last a short while before flattening out to circle the mountain on the north side... where you experience some of the most amazing and serene undisturbed desert views.  These views continue as the trail begins to wrap peacefully around the west side of the mountain.

Despite the narrow trail, some mountain bikers brave the rocky terrain and steep drop off.  We passed two bikers on our hike and one of them said it is his favorite trail.  It was his second time biking it that week!  Pass Mountain is less frequently traveled than Wind Cave, we passed about 8 other people on our hike.

The last part of the hike is a series of up and down hills and stretches of flat ground.  Both sides of the trail are populated with hundreds of saguaro, quite an amazing experience.

I think this trail would be perfect for out of town visitors looking for a lengthy hike through the desert terrain.

I also think Pass Mountain makes a great alternative to hiking the Wind Cave twice... the length of time for either option would be similar, but Pass Mountain is much more beautiful!  Don't get me wrong, I love the hiking the Wind Cave once, its the perfect length of time to squeeze into a busy day.

Desert Trail Rescue

For starters, there have been a couple changes to the calendar so make sure you check it out if you're planning on joining us :)  Even with all our careful planning ahead, things come up especially during this busy time of year!

We had some excitement on the Wind Cave trail today, it was our first experience with a rescue operation in action.  Thankfully the rescue did not involve anyone in our group.  It all started with a woman who twisted her knee on the way down the trail, I'd guess she still had 3/4 of the hike left so she was quite a ways up there.  She made the decision to call for help... little did she know that three hikers just a few minutes behind her were Sheriffs who could most likely have helped her down the mountain.  Well, by the looks of things, you would have thought there had been a massive accident involving fiery explosions, multiple wounded and possible hostages.  Sirens sounded, a medevac helicopter began circling, then two quick backpack-equipped men were the first to pass us on the trail.

Next came the group with the wheeled gurney... check it out!  Could the two first responders and two follow-up gurney guys not handle the job?  (not to mention the three Sheriffs already on the scene!)

Following this group were 2 or 3 more groups of rescuers.  Seriously, how many people does it take to bring one lady down the mountain?

The parking lot was the grand finale.  It was impossible to get a picture of all the emergency vehicles, at least 13 all together!  Unbelievable.  By chance, our vehicle was one of the only ones not blocked in by the madness.

Don't get me wrong, I am extremely grateful to know that in case of an actual emergency, help would be available!  We even reasoned that perhaps simple injuries like this one are great opportunities to train for more serious circumstances.  But holy smokes... if I had been that lady, I would have died of embarrassment (forget about the knee problem!).  After what we witnessed today, we all decided it might be better to slide down the mountain on our bottoms, or hobble hanging onto a friend, or call a husband to bring a wheelbarrow to cart us down... rather than be subjected to a rescue operation of such massive proportions unnecessarily.

100 Miles of Hiking

Siphon Draw was exhausting this morning on the way up!  But as usual, worth it for the views and sense of accomplishment.  Oh, then there was that little incident where we almost lost Lisa and Erica... glad that didn't end badly :)  lol!

Some of us are participating in the Arizona Centennial Celebration with Maricopa County's park system by hiking 100 miles between Nov. 1st and Jan. 30th!  That may sound like an awful lot, but by hiking just the Wind Cave trail three times a week, we go 36 miles per month.  Add a few longer hikes and even if we miss a few days it is a very attainable goal!  Not to mention, we will earn a free t-shirt... and a chance to have our names drawn for other prizes! 

Click here for more details, or ask one of us about it if you're interested.