Camel Camel Camelback!

Wow - so for some reason, I remember Camelback being a LOT harder than that! Maybe it's because of those INSANE krav maga classes I've taken where for an hour a day, we are tortured to death with these hideous boot camp type exercises - or maybe it's because I actually had enough water with me this time! In any way - it was a good hike - beautiful day, nice to be outside!


Camelback is pretty intense due to the steep nature of the pile of dirt smack dab in the center of 3+ million people. Nah, I'm just kidding - Camelback is more than just a pile of dirt - it's small, but it's short and sweet. It's a hell of a workout to the top with non-stop stairs to scale, poles to climb up, and rock falls to scramble over - but the views from the top are absolutely worth the climb!

I pretty much divided the climb into 4 stages... (who needs to mile markers when you have my highly technical climber jargon below)...

Stage 1: The Stairs winding up and around the head of the camel....

Stage 2: Flat rock one with pole, and flat rock 2 with pole to assist climbers so they don't careen down the mountain....

Stage 3: Rockfall 1. This is pretty short and sweet actually - it's steep, but the climb is short, and then you are rewarded with some cool panoramic shots of the Valley (but don't stop here - there's still more climbing to do)...

Stage 4: The Finale - Rockfall 2. This is insane. It's like 3/4 mile of near vertical rockfalls. Its the final push to the top of the mountain, and its the longest and most difficult of the stages.... but it is well worth the effort!

I still contend however, that it is much more difficult actually descending down Camelback then climbing up it! Anyway, now that the hiking is over for the day, I can get back to doing some work.. like my taxes! Ugh!