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| Entering the park in north Scottsdale |
Last Wednesday, I took my 5th annual Christmas Day hike. This year I went to the McDowell Sonoran Preserve in north Scottsdale. I took the Gateway Loop trail, which was a little over 3.5 miles and took me about 1 hour and 45 minutes. The weather was sunny with temperatures in the low to mid 40s.
I went clockwise on the loop trail, which took me on the north side of a peak, so the first half of the hike was shaded. It was a gradual rise in elevation until I reached the Gateway Saddle on the east end of the loop. From there, it was downhill and on the sunny, south side of the peak. I started the hike a little before 8am, so I didn't run into too many people until the last mile of the hike.
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| The all-important topo map |
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| Let's take a walk |
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| A beautiful morning for a hike |
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| Hmmmm…let's go clockwise |
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| Cholla cacti |
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| Morning sun peeking over the McDowell Mtns. |
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| Drinkwater Peak off in the distance |
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| Expecting The Thing to emerge |
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| Half-way home. |
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| Warm sun on the south side of the loop |
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| Almost back to the trailhead |
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| Phoenix Mtns in the distance. |
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| Back at the trailhead |
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| Not 10, not 15…13 |
