big man tips

Tour de Rock Cathedral Rock Tucked between the golf greens and suburban communities of North Scottsdale and the rugged wilds of Tonto National Forest, McDowell Sonoran Preserve is an approachable, precious space of pristine desert.   Laced with over 180 miles of hiking, biking and equestrain trails, the preserve protects 30,000 acres of indigenous plants, sensitive habitats, historic artifacts and spectacular geology. Yuccas are common along the trails Up-close details are backed with epic views of surrounding mountain ranges and rich valleys carved by the Verde and Salt Rivers.   Eons of exposure to the erosive forces of wind and water has created a plethora of geological curiosities throughout the preserve.   The site's igneous core is anchored by the lumpy mounds of Granite Mountain and Cholla Mountain, but hidden along the perimeter of the latter are three impressive natural rock formations that can be visited in one day-hike length sweep. There are myriad ways to get...

Highline Trail Hike Highlights VOAz Restoration Efforts Dude Creek flows over the Highline Trail Volunteers for Outdoor Arizona project manager Paul Paonessa has a name for the pre-rehabilitated condition of the Highline Trail #31: SOLPOST. The sobriquet, which was originally concocted by Woody Keen, former director of the Professional Trail Builders Association, is an acronym for �Scar On The Land Piece of S*#t Trail.� Those who have trekked certain sections of the path that runs below the Mogollon Rim north of Payson prior to 2017 will agree---that pretty much sums it up. A section of new alignment of the Highline Trail The historic route was cut back in the late 1800s as a travel corridor to connect homesteads and communities around the towns of Payson and Pine. The 51-mile course began to lose value when the Civilian Conservation Corps built Forest Road 64 (Control Road) in the 1930s. This posh-by-comparison road provided an alternative to the randomly built, precariously situated ...

MARCUS LANDSLIDE TRAIL Marcus Landslide Trail Scottsdale's McDowell Sonoran Preserve is home to dozens of impressive geological features. While many, like Tom's Thumb, and Brown's Mountain, are impossible to miss, the one that eclipses them all takes a trained eye to locate and appreciate.  Granite boulders along the trail If you didn't know it was there, you'd probably never even notice the massive rockfall area called Marcus Landslide. Discovered in 2002 by a pair of local geologists, the nearly mile-long wreckage is comprised of an estimated 25.8 billion pounds of rubble. Mushroom rock The slide occurred during the Pleistocene Ice Age about a half-million years ago when a colder, wetter climate may have instigated the slide which shaved 1,200 feet off the ridge line releasing energy equivalent to an atomic bomb blast. The trail, which is named for former Arizona State University geography professor Melvin Marcus, loops among the slide's components giving a co...

Preparedness Tales from the Trails Proper gear and a plan reduce the chance of tragic outcomes. I am a massive pain in the posterior to hike with. Anybody who's familiar with the way I operate knows that I'm extremely detail oriented. When planning a hike, I like to know where I'm going, how to get there, the trail stats and what I'll need for gear and supplies. I assemble maps, GPS track, driving directions and Plan B alternatives in case of weather, road or trail closures. I have very limited free time, so it's annoying to me when unnecessary delays and foibles rob from trail time. My pace is moderate because I'm constantly stopping for photos, taking notes and I often pause on the trail to watch wildlife. Squirrels, birds, sunrises, running water, random shiny stuff---I stop for all these things. In addition to my over-planning proclivities, I'm a hardcore advocate of safe hiking practices and believe that we should approach nature with humility and respe...