HikeArizona.COM

So, I am sure this may be posted somewhere else but I couldn't find it. If you had to hike somewhere for the rest of your life OR you had 4 more hours to spend hiking in your life. (I know I am a nerd....) WHERE IS THE BEST PLACE TO HIKE IS ARIZONA?!
-JANELLE :A1:
*Note added: I have always been to shy to post a topic, however that night I had a little too much wine and decided to go for it. I REALLY thought I had deleted it but apparently not. I was glad to see the responses and I added my favorite place too!

Jeff MacE wrote:I think any female in her right mind that encountered me after a long hike, impressive though it might have been, would be completely disgusted with my appearance, demeanor, and smell!

You clearly don't know the right kind of women

te-wa wrote:

Jeff MacE wrote:I think any female in her right mind

that, fine sir, is an oxymoron

Goading the girls again, squirrel? You ought to know better. We know where you hang...
and we're just "mad" enough to do something about it

you wanna piece of me?! ;)

Now that was

tisk tisk... Maybe females are out of our minds from time to time, but truth is we like manly men and are attracted to the pheromones in your manly smells. There it is! WE ARE CRAZY, but that is part of why we think you men are SO attractive. Plus, you have to admit it is sexy to see a pretty girl kick a little butt... ;)

Ok, this girl must be a spammer......women out there like that don't actually exist.

In response to Al_HikesAZ:
Some hints on the skills of making a hike easier please

psagnelli wrote:In response to Al_HikesAZ:Some hints on the skills of making a hike easier please

;) I don't even know where to start. A lot depends on the trail, the conditions, the preparations, the boots and the hiker.

I always know when I've made it harder than it had to be. Usually when I've made a hike easy, I don't recognize what I've done - it went easy and it just felt right.

I suppose the best tips are: 1) be prepared; 2) don't get lost; and 3) "don't die today" (this last one was taught to me by a crusty old SOB who shall remain nameless).

A lot of it is attitude. But also diet, conditioning, preparation, gear, skills.

But seriously, I suppose 1) Know your limitations; and 2) Don't hesitate to ask for help. I know yesterday coming down Browns Peak I asked two strangers at the time (Huckleberry & his son Luke) for help going down. It made the hike a lot less stressful and enjoyable

Less seriously - If you slap Pittsburgh Steelers decals on your gear you can usually get Stiller to carry it for you so that you don't have to carry it yourself. This helps. In rattlesnake country let Stiller take the lead. Those gaiters he wears will break the buzzworm's fangs before it can bite you.

The GRAND Canyon!

psagnelli wrote:In response to Al_HikesAZ:
Some hints on the skills of making a hike easier please

Hike lots and it gets easier.

Hikergirl81 wrote: but truth is we like manly men and are attracted to the pheromones in your manly smells. There it is! WE ARE CRAZY, but that is part of why we think you men are SO attractive.

Killer, I must be sexier then Fabio after a long day then

fairweather8588 wrote:I must be sexier then Fabio after a long day then

Fabio is sexy? i cant believe its not butterface!

Fairweather - I've never met you, and I think you'd probably be sexier than Fabio after spending the day drinking beer on the couch. Fabio is one of the least sexy men I can think of, honestly. I mean, a girl's GOT to have her standards...

Fabio... not sexy.... but, i bought so many paperbacks....

That is a hard question. There is atleast 50 places I would hike the rest of my life. All in Arizona. Mount Baldy area, Humphreys Peak area, Mount Graham area, Chiricahaua Peak area. Maxwell Trail. I just don't know

I have to say I have had some of the best experiences this year... all photo documented and posted on HAZ. I have also written HAZ on every summit I reached that had a logbook. A great thanks to all of you who have been such great hiking partners. To all others new to AZ hiking: I would HIGHLY recommend ALL of my (photoset) hikes!

psagnelli wrote:In response to Al_HikesAZ:
Some hints on the skills of making a hike easier please

Get a good hiking buddy that sets the pace for you (like Joe) then don't let them get too far ahead of you, sure it can feel crummy occasionally but before you know it you're on the top. Then when all else fails use your hands to force you legs to move!
http://hikearizona.com/phoZOOM.php?ZIP=102984

So far I've got two favorites. First one is a known trail. I love hiking at Tonto Natural Bridge. Very sad that it's currently closed down. I hope the budget recovers and it opens up.

Now the next one is a "non trail" hike. It's in Granite Dells in Payson, AZ. You drive out and park under the trees ;) Face directly at the wash. Then look to your left you will see a smaller mountain (maybe a hill). Then turn more to your left and you will see a much larger mountain. My brother and I hiked up the first hill you saw, and then once at top, we hiked on over to the top of the second mountain you saw. Once at top (nearly 4000 ft.) we headed down the "backside" of the mountain to meet up with the road. Then walked the road the rest of the way back. I'll have to get the GPS info from my Dad's GPS the next time I'm in town. It was a lot of fun.

Oh and there's even a trail there that many locals take as well. But I've never been on it.

Maybe someone loves Fabio...

Chistophe wrote:So far I've got two favorites. First one is a known trail. I love hiking at Tonto Natural Bridge. Very sad that it's currently closed down. I hope the budget recovers and it opens up.

It is open on the weekends thanks to the Town of Payson they are paying for a ranger out there...

In response to Dschur:
Now, that's great news! Just looked, and yep they've extended their "weekend only" schedule for another month. (ending weekend of Sept 5-7th.

http://azstateparks.com/Parks/TONA/