Why do I love living in Arizona? Well, a sunny 70 degree day in the middle of December ought to explain it. Couple that with clear skies, enabling excellent views to 70 miles away, and a hike on one of my favorite trails, makes me hope I don't have to move from here anytime soon.

Nearly 3 years ago I was introduced to hiking in Arizona when a friend of mine, Nick, invited me on a hike up the Goat Camp Trail in the White Tank Mountains. That was all it took to get me hooked. Having made that same hike 6 times since, I've never tired of it. Joining me on this hike was Nick, as well as Tom, who had been with us on my second assault.

The Goat Camp Trail begins at about 1,500 feet elevation and climbs to approximately 3,000 feet in 3 miles. The beginning of this hike rises very gradually for the first mile on a rather wide trail. Within the first 10 minutes of this hike we spotted 3 mule deer. We played staredown with one that had paused just 50 feet to the left of the trail, until the deer got bored and moved into the brush.

At the end of the first mile, the trail crosses a wash and utilizes a small switchback to veer to the right and ascends to a dirt clearing providing an impressive view back toward the trailhead , and on beyond Phoenix. On a clear day, as this was, The high rises of Phoenix can be seen.

Continuing on from here, the trail begins to rise a bit more gradually until it again crosses the wash about 1/4 mile later. From the wash, the trail begins a much steeper climb for the next 3/4 mile as the trail hugs the south side of the canyon. As the end of this 3/4 mile comes into view, one can seemingly feel the power of this spot. Sedona is famous for its male vortexes. This spot on the Goat Camp is a little known female vortex. Emanating from the bottom of this vortex is a lone Saguaro rising from rock forming the top of a usually dry waterfall. This makes for a popular rest stop, and for some, a turnaround point. At this point, the trail has come 2 miles and has risen 1,000 feet.

The trail continues straight back from the "waterfall" to a secluded high canyon. The hiking in this canyon is very gradual for the next 20 minutes until reaching the end of the Goat Camp Trail. Along the way, there is an old 4X4 trail marker that can be found to the right of the trail, marking the trail as "TR 1". Another 10 minutes, there are sections of rock walls that appear to have once been used by the Goat Camp for corrals. The end of the Goat Camp Trail is just beyond these walls as the trail enters a wash that has dried over the past several years. 3 years ago there was an impressive supply of cattails, but now there are just dried remnants in the wash.

It is possible to continue on from this point by crossing the wash and utilizing the Slick Rock Cross Trail which turns hard to the right from the wash. The Slick Rock Cross continues to climb to what is popularly called "the ridge" on a very loose trail of dirt and small rock. The climb to the ridge takes approximately 10 minutes. It is possible to continue on the Slick Rock Cross past the ridge to access further portions of the White Tanks, but we chose to head toward the microwave towers from there.

I know of several people that have missed this trail to the towers. The key is to look directly left when you reach the ridge previously described and climb over the boulder cropping there. Once over the boulder cropping you will easily see that a trail does indeed start to head up toward the towers. There are a couple of places where the trail seems to disappear, particularly as other boulder croppings are happened upon, but by keeping an eye out for cairns and utilizing a little intuition, the trail can be followed.

The climb from the ridge took us about 25 minutes. This is probably the steepest portion of the entire hike, and it is on a rough trail, but the microwave towers seem so close at this point, that the drive to get there overcomes any thought of turning around.

Once reaching the top, at an elevation of 4,018 feet, the second building approached is white and has a large tower with a concrete pad in front of it. Located a few feet east of the pad is a pile of rocks, and a couple of boards. Under this is a makeshift trail log in a coffee can.

As with all trails in the White Tanks, there are many options for loop day hikes. For today, this would be our destination. After signing into the log, we took the time to enjoy the views from the summit then retrace our steps back to the car.

On the way back down, and within 10 minutes of the trailhead, I spotted a very large black boulder just north of the trail which looked to have petroglyphs on it. With the help of Nick's binoculars we were able to make out petroglyphs of what appeared to be a sun or large bug, and several drawings of waves. It is this type of find that makes hiking the White Tanks so intriguing. Having hiked this trail 5 times before, this was the first time I had noted this rock.

Getting There: From Phoenix, take Olive Road west until it ends at the park entrance.

Tips: $2 fee to enter this Regional Park. A topo map can be had for the asking if the entrance booth is manned. If unmanned, there are maps on the bulletin board at the entrance. The map does not show the trail that goes from the ridge to the summit. It does show the Goat Camp and Slick Rock Cross Trails in good detail. Our hike took 4 1/2 hours, including breaks, while hiking at a steady pace.

Stats: The Goat Camp Trail rises approximately 1,500 feet in 3 miles. It is possible to continue on to the microwave towers at the end of the Goat Camp Trail by utilizing the Slick Rock Cross for approximately 1/4 mile, then taking an unnamed trail to the summit providing a total climb of just over 2,500 feet in just over 4 miles.