The hike started at Desert Foothills Parkway Trailhead. There were only four of us on this Friday morning: Steve, Nancy, Bruce, and Chris. We all climbed up Telegraph Pass, which is always very steep and a great way to get your heart pumping early, great cardio workout.

It’s a little over mile to the saddle. This is where we took our group photo. Everyone shedded a layer. It was warming up quickly. From there it isn’t any easier going up the National Trail, but well worth the views of the city of Phoenix and the views of Ahwatukee.

We stayed on the ridgeline part of the National Trail until we got to the Ranger Trail. The Ranger Trail switchbacks take you down into the heart of South Mountain Park. We take this trail to the Las Lomitas Loop, which crosses the park where we stopped at Las Lomitas picnic area, trailside. We took a snack break here to get ready for the rest of hike.

The trail continues through Kiwanis Trailhead, where we could cut this hike short. We did not. We continued to Box Canyon to the Holbert Trail. This trail is very steep but very exciting and has excellent views. The group continued until we met up with the National Trail again, where we ate lunch. Nancy left her hiking poles behind here by accident.

We took the National Trail across just below the Satellite Towers. From here you have great views of the city. We finally reached Telegraph Pass. It was starting to get pretty hot at this time.

As we were going down the trail Nancy noted she left her poles where we ate lunch. I told her it’s 2.5 miles back, or you drive around to the other side of the Park. Bruce was kind enough to drive back and help find them. He sent a picture of the poles.

Just as we finished our hike my water ran out, 3 liters. The hike was 11.5 miles, with accumulated evaluation gain of +-2500'. This is considered a moderate hike, but because of the heat, it took a little out of everyone, but was a fun hike. The hike took approximately 6 hours.