Memorial Day. Yeah, you guessed it, this place was packed with people. I like to utilize the Squaw Peak Summit Trail (trail #300) as a cardio-vascular workout hike as it usually takes me a bit under 30 minutes to get to the top. Kind of a natural stair-stepper. A neighbor of mine had expressed interest in trying this hike, so off we went. As we entered the park I explained to Rudy I always thought it funny people come to Squaw Peak to hike, yet invariably I see people at the second parking lot of the park waiting in line to park. I know this is the closest lot to the Summit Trail but is going an extra 100 yards to the first or third parking lots out of the question? Actually it works out just fine for me, as I always skip the second parking lot and head for the third. That way I don't have to compete with those people for a spot in the third lot. Sure enough as we arrived, there were 2 cars waiting in line to get into the second lot. Off we go heading for our spot in the third lot. No place to park (which is a first for me). Up to the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh lots and still no parking. Camelback is infamous for limited parking, which is why I tend to prefer Squaw Peak, but on Memorial Day, I guess neither is a good situation. We backtracked through the lots and still no spots were to be had. I remembered back to a hiking book I read about a year previous which mentioned a trailhead at the end of 22nd street, so we headed over there. Sure enough, at the end of the street we found a trail, and plenty of parking as only 2 other cars were there.

About 100 feet from the trailhead we came upon the Perl Charles Trail (trail #1A). We headed east (to the right) on it. We made it over the first hill and proceeded toward the wash. After the wash we started our climb to meet the Circumference Trail (trail #302). From there we turned south (to the right), traversing a rather flat portion of the Circumference Trail. I pointed out the sites to Rudy as we wound our way around the western side of the Peak. I pointed out a house to him that I have been watching the building progress over the past year. It has 3-story high glass tinted in a aqua color which must provide them an awesome view of the mountain as they look out toward their backyard. It appears as if it is nearly finished. Suddenly the trail makes a sharp turn east (to the left) and I let Rudy know it is all up hill from here. The real climb has begun. About 10 minutes later we reached the Summit Trail at the 0.6 mile marker. From here to the top was a seemingly never-ending chain of people. It would have been interesting to have had a turnstile in the trail somewhere to have counted the number of people that made the hike that day. It probably would have worn itself out.

Other than the amount of people, the hike up and back down to the 0.6 mile marker was pretty uneventful. No chance at spotting Iguanas on this day, as there was just too much activity. The view was a bit limited due to the winds kicking up dust in the valley, but it was still a good one for Rudy's inauguration to the summit.

Back down the trail we again caught the Circumference Trail at the 0.6 mile marker to head back to the car. We got to the point where the trail takes a hard right to traverse the flat portion of the trail, and instead elected to take a small trail that headed west, straight toward the backyard of the white house with the huge windows. This seemed a pretty well traveled trail, and if we could find a trail that hugged the backyards, we figured we could cut the time on our hike to the car by about half. As this trail reached the backyard it seemingly disappeared. My guess is the lot this house is on used to be a popular place for people to reach the trails.

We turned north (to the right) and stumbled across remnants of what seemed like trails, but probably were not. We traversed along the backyards until we could swing west (to the left) and reach 22nd Street again. After having done this, I would recommend that people not try the return path we tried. I'm sure it is unsettling to the people who live along this area to have people just outside their backyards. There really is no path to follow, so I ended up feeling guilty about having strayed from the established trails and disturbing an area I should have left alone. So to get back to 22nd Street from the Circumference Trail, I'd recommend using the Perl Charles as we did on our way up.

Starting from 22nd Street we reached the summit in about an hour. So if you are looking for a hike to double that of the Summit hike, you may want to consider this one. In any case, on those ridiculously busy Holidays, this is a viable alternative to fighting for one of those cherished parking spots in the park.

Getting There: From Squaw Peak Parkway (State Route 51) exit at Glendale Road and head East. This road magically changes its name to Lincoln Road around the Squaw Peak turnoff. To get to the 22nd Street Trailhead, turn left (North) at 22nd street and follow it until it ends. To enter the park area, take a left (Northeast) on Squaw Peak Drive and follow it straight in to the park.

Tips: The Summit Trail is always busy. If you are looking to get away from people for awhile, this is not the hike you want to take. This hike does provide one of the better 360 degree views of the valley however, and once you see the view, you'll know why this is such a popular hike.

Stats: Summit Trail is 1.2 miles long, ascending 1200 feet. Not for the faint of heart!