What’s the weather today? This is definitely my most searched question in google. Coming to the America teaches me a lot of things, and one of it is learning the day’s weather and planning ahead for an appropriate clothing and activities to do. Yo all, let me tell you, it is still winter season but Arizona is always the warmest state, hence, at this time it is perfect to start going back to hiking. Thus, this inspires me to bring you my hive friends to our weekly hikeventure. So are you ready? Let’s go…

A little background info.

I am residing in a desert valley part of Arizona. Arizona is composed of 3 different regions such as the desert, mountain and plateau regions. Spring and fall are the perfect seasons for hiking. To start this year’s hikeventure, let me bring you to the closest and easiest one we have~ The North Mountain Park.

The view of the North Mountain from afar.

Right before leaving, our favorite elotes lady just passed by. Of course, as I’ve mentioned in my previous blog, I can let go of it without having my favorite mangonada. We enjoyed it over the 25 mins drive to the park.

As you can see, that smile on my face says it all about my favorite mangonada. ☺️

The Mountain’s Foot.

Upon arriving, many cars are starting to pull out of the parking lot but many are still coming. By the mountain’s foot, you can opt to two options. One is going up through the hard and rocky part or the other way around it which is an inclined concrete road . We observed elderlies that wants to hike and take their time opted the easier path but we took the harder ones.

This park is full of amenities for the benefit of their patrons. There are ramadas that are resting areas and picnic areas for the hikers right when you start ascending. It is very considerate of them to even spare a small playground for toddlers. There are also restrooms available for all. Then we started our hike and greeted by these posters that serve as guide and reminders for the hikers.

The Hike

The hike is approximately 2 miles that offers variety of pathway but definitely offers astonishing city views and amazing sunset on the other side. The first 10 minutes of the hike was a bit hard as we have to go through the combination of unleveled , pointed, and slippery rocky areas. We had to carefully look at our steps and move aside as portions of the trail is narrow.

After a while, you will walk into the concrete path which signals the elevation gets higher and higher. Being unable to be out for few months due to winter season, it was definitely hard and had to constantly stop as I was panting and catching my breath so hard. As the trail goes higher, our pacing even gets slower as if we carried our entire body weight.

Here you can see the easier yet longer route as they made a concrete path as an option for those who wouldn’t want to take the harder one.

Here you can see a face of me trying to enjoy a quick break while catching my breath. #Gore na me.

The Reward

After the “struggle is real” moment, comes the greatest reward. First stop, a city view that is definitely breathtaking and relaxing. Seated with such a front view, we felt the fatigue rans down.

We took 10 minutes break as we got to the second to the highest peak of the mountain. Here we have a perfect view of the city beneath us.

The ultimate reward

It was just enough time to collect back our courage for another 2 minute hike to get to the peak and have the other side of the mountain’s hidden reward, the symphony of colors and light displayed by a wonderful sunset. Here, hikers were seated, enjoyed the peacefulness of the sight as it slowly hid into darkness. Before darkness, we met some Filipino friends and of course snap unlimited pictures. Then, we all went down together and enjoyed the hike with lots of laughs and funny stories. We took the longer rout but the easier one as the road is concrete.