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| Hiking | 9.58 Miles |
1,821 AEG |
| | Hiking | 9.58 Miles | 4 Hrs 23 Mns | | 2.19 mph |
| 1,821 ft AEG | | | | |
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| Partners |
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none
[ show ]
| no partners | | All the emojis are for Joe. 
Every other time I have hiked South Mountain, I have hiked in the middle section or west end of the park. The first time I hiked South Mountain was in 2010, on Thanksgiving weekend, when I hiked from the Buena Vista Lookout to Fat Man’s Pass, then back. (It was only the second triplog I ever posted on HAZ: https://hikearizona.com/x.php?I=4&ZTN=60&UID=54250 ) Despite being full of turkey, I managed to squeeze through the 9″ wide — that is not a misprint — crack in the rocks that constitutes the ‘pass’. 
I planned to hike from the Pima Canyon Trailhead, along the Marcos de Niza Trail up Guadelupe Ridge to Eagle Pass, then jump on the National Trail back through Pima Canyon, hitting Fat Man’s Pass and Hidden Valley along the way. I expected Marcos de Niza Trail to be a steady 300 ft. gain per mile for five miles of decent urban trail, so no big deal.
A few switchbacks up from the Pima Canyon Trailhead, I saw a small metal cage. Naturally curious, I checked it out: It was the Marcos de Niza 1539 stone. (Before my hike, all I knew about de Niza is that he was like Juniperro Serra, but with a Tempe high school named after him.) I don’t believe all graffiti is bad: Some is art, and others a normal human desire to leave something behind to say “I lived!” So, that was cool.
Marcos de Niza Trail was not the smooth incline I expected: Rather than follow a contour, the trail instead went up & down over every hilltop and rocky outcropping on Guadelupe Ridge. The trail disappeared crossing the outcroppings, requiring me to figure out if it went left, right, or over. It always goes over. Most of the outcroppings, while not more than 30 ft. tall, have tricky footing requiring three points of contact scrambling.
I would not recommend casual hikers take Marcos de Niza Trail past the Beverly Canyon Trail intersection. 
I was bushed by the time I reached Eagle Pass, where I took a break to enjoy a trail beer -- Weihenstephan Kristall Weiss  -- and some of the trail snacks my mom packed me for Christmas. Today’s snack was yogurt-covered pretzels and today’s mom message was “People who cannot bear to be alone, are generally the worst company.” (Albert Guinon, an early 20th century French playwright.)
Thankfullly, and naturally, the return trip to the Pima Canyon Trailhead was mostly downhill. There were not nearly as many mountain bikes on National Trail as I recall.
Regular hiking must cause me to gain weight, because no matter how I tried, I was unable to squeeze between the boulders of Fat Man's Pass. 
A ¼ mile down Pima Canyon was a dry fall I figured it was better to go around. About 50 yards to the left, there was a hole in the rock wall that gave easier access to the bottom of the wash. Just past the dryfall is a natural tunnel that even my fat  had no trouble negotiating.
From the tunnel, it was pretty much 2 or 3 lane-wide dirt road back to the Pima Canyon Trailhead.
Hike Video: https://vimeo.com/492906330
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Wildflowers Observation Light
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Route Editor
Route Scout
-- and some of the trail snacks my mom packed me for Christmas. Today’s snack was yogurt-covered pretzels and today’s mom message was “People who cannot bear to be alone, are generally the worst company.” (Albert Guinon, an early 20th century French playwright.)
had no trouble negotiating.
