Hiking Near The ‘Burbs
Hiking near the 'burbs can be a delightful hike for those of us short of time. I am a citified gal and sometimes I don't have the time to drive to the mountains for that hike in gorgeous landscape, so I will settle for a hike near where I live. Before I discuss a wonderful hike I just went on, let's talk about the advantages and disadvantages of hiking near the 'burbs.
The advantages:
Nearby to your house
May offer shorter hikes for those of us that don't have a lot of time
Less gas to drive to
Still get to enjoy the pleasure of nature
The disadvantages:
Noisy car sounds
Houses or commercial buildings nearby
Not pretty views from smog or buildings
Too many people
When it comes to planning your next hike, these are some of the considerations to think of. Ultimately, it is your choice, but I sometimes lean towards hiking near the 'burbs as the closeness is at an advantage for me. I try to find those hikes that offer views and hopefully a little hidden away from the main streets in my city. There is a place I like to go to that offers easy to moderate to difficult hikes.
This park is called, Skyline Regional Park, located in Buckeye, Arizona. Lots of desert scenery trails to keep your heart pumping. What I like to do lately is to reach a summit, basically to climb to the top of the mountain. This park offers summit climbs, and it is not for the faint at heart!
I was on a trail, and it was longer then what I am used to. The first part of it was kind of boring as it was a flat, rocky trail. There were a lot of Palo verde trees or bushes, plenty of cacti and washes to navigate. Sometimes there are washes on hikes where you have to walk in them a while to get on the trail again. A wash is an area for when we receive a lot of rain and the wash is like a reservoir for the rain, kind of like a creek or a river, but for us they are usually dry.
Finally, I started ascending. Since I knew I was going to a summit on this hike, I brought my trekking poles. These are very useful as they help me with some of the steeper parts of trails. What I like to do is go up a little ways, turn around and take photos if I think the scenery is pretty. Plus, I like to catch my breath as well. I generally bring my cell phone and stick it in my water pack as it is easier to bring then my regular camera.
Another thing I like to do when I hike is really look at nature and admire the beauty of it. That is part of the reason why I like to hike. Get away from reality just for a little bit and enjoy the outdoors with its tranquility and beauty, even in the 'burbs.
As I was climbing up, I went higher in elevation then I normally do, and I was a little nervous. Believe it or not, I do have a slight fear of heights. Weird, huh? I knew I wanted to do this hike, and I knew it was going to be higher, or I wouldn't have done it at all. So I persevered and kept climbing up.
At one point, I felt that the trail was leaning to the exposed side and I had to lean the opposite way as I was walking. It is a weird feeling like you are going to fall off the mountain, but you really won't. But then, my excitement started to mount as the summit was in view. The summit was tucked away from the trail head, or start of the trail from my view point, until now.
At last, the top of the world! It was a little breezy, but what a view! I was higher then some of the hills around me. For us desert dwellers, we call these hills, "mountains," as we don't have very high mountains like some other states has. I walked around the summit and took many photos. I usually like to sit and enjoy a snack as I am gazing around, feeling thankful that I made it to the top.
Going down can be a challenge. Thankfully, as I said, I had my trekking poles, and they really helped me down. There were some steep parts that I just took my time on. For this trail, it was all going down right away to the bottom. I could definitely feel it in my knees. A lot of the trails I go on are called sidewinders, as they go one way for a time then you turn and go another way for a time too. This one was not different.
Well, there you have it. You can hike in the 'burbs and enjoy the beauty of nature and that peaceful feeling that sometimes seems to elude us in life. I am thankful that parks have hiking trails where us citified folks can enjoy getting plenty of exercise and having fun at it.
Share with us what hiking areas you like to visit in the 'burbs!