I went up Bell Pass today. It was a tough hike of approximately four miles with the last two miles being steeply vertical. The pass bridges the mountain range between the western and eastern aspects.

Phoenix is perenially hot now and there is no good time to go and do a hike. I did it between 10am and 1pm which put the temperature around 105F (about 42C). I took three bottles of water up which summed to two pints of water and had used every last drop by the time I had got back down to my car.

The city hikes of Camelback, Squaw Peak and South Mountain are well known but with the expansion of Scottsdale so far north new trails are being put in the McDowell National Park for hikers and mountain bikers. Bell Pass is one of the new ones. I expect as it gets better known it will rival Camelback's Echo Canyon and Squaw Peak's main trail as a tough vertical hike. Personally I think it is harder than Echo Canyon.
Cam Riley: South Sea Republic. Freedom, liberty, equity and an Australian Republic.