It must have been 20 years since I've done the Echo Canyon Trail. There is a new rotary on McDonald Drive and more parking. I was there at dawn, so no problem finding a spot. I remember having to wait in a line that wound all the way down the hill to park here on a weekday. New bathrooms, too.
I was in my hiking skirt, and pack, and water bottle, and sticks, because that is the way I hike. Everyone else was in running tights with no water, no food, no sticks, no nothing.
The trail was a lot wider, and there are little signs that tell the hiker how far up he/she has climbed. At the first saddle there is a big sign that informs one that he/she has completed one quarter of a mile, it is another mile to the summit, and the trail gets a lot worse. There is a picture of a young man who died on the route and some benches to sit and contemplate.
I had forgotten why I don't go up this side. In fact, I can't believe I used to carry Robbie up this route in his baby carrier. The sign doesn't lie: the trail essentially ends at the "turn around or die" spot. Lots of huge boulders, lots of loose decomposed granite (also known as the ball bearing formation) and the granite is all polished by millions of busy little feet, so it is slick. Every time I stopped to pick up a piece of trash. someone came up behind me and started breathing heavily, willing me to vanish.
People kept greeting me: "Ah, you made it!" "Here she comes!" "Boy, I had to work to catch up with you!" Robbie thinks that Camelback has a little cadre of early morning hikers who go out every day, and I was a novelty. Especially with a skirt and sticks.
Down is worse. Lots of big steps and loose rocks. My pack kept nudging the rocks and my water bottle scooched out and tried to bounce away. I am used to hiking in the Canyon where the down is FIRST and the uphill is the final accomplishment. However, I did meet a gentleman with sticks.
"Oh, good," exclaimed I. "Someone else with Yuppie Sticks. I was starting to feel like a real dork."
"I feel like someone who is not going to face plant on a dangerous mountain," he retorted. We agreed that these kids would figure it out once the have destroyed their knees by running down the mountain, and went our ways.
Lots of people heading up with no pack, just a disposable water bottle in one hand. I predict that these bottles will find their way over the cliff once they are empty. That's why they are disposable right?
I made it up in 50 minutes, which I seem to recall as being close to my best time when I did this mountain a lot. Down in one hour, which is typical: I am a lot slower going down where I can see where I am going to fall and hurt myself. By the time I reached the parking lot, it was almost full. I can't imagine being on this trail on a weekend with a parcel of runners. I also don't understand why more people don't get into trouble on this mountain. I'll be glad to get back to the South Kaibab where I fit in better.
