From biking to hiking, from one side of the mountains to the other, Tim took us on a guided hike into the McDowell Sonoran Preserve, beginning at The Gateway. This is a brand new entrance into the Preserve that lies within the city itself and yet connects directly to the desert and mountain wilderness - a good example of how Scottsdale merges city life with outdoor experiences. Tim took us on the Gateway Loop Trail up to Gateway saddle at nearly 2,500 feet where we had our picnic in the shade of a palo verde tree and I recorded an interview with Tim for the radio show.
Up at 5am the next morning for a higher hike: a pre-dawn ascent of Camelback Mountain with Laura and Marie-Claude, a fellow Canadian journalist from Montreal. We set up the tough trail under near-dark desert skies which glowed progressively as we clambered up the steep, boulder-strewn gullies to a glorious finale on the summit as dawn exploded over the 2,700 foot peak – the highest point in Scottsdale – and perhaps the highpoint of my trip. Magnificent!
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