Ditch the Bike, Take a Hike Mary Perlaki-Neely Ever wonder how to beat the desert heat while making new friends? On June 29, our PebbleCreek (PC) hiking club did exactly that! A fantastic group of seven laced up their boots early in the morning to conquer a C-level scenic 6.2-mile trek through the gorgeous Estrella Mountains.…
Lynn Warren Neal Wring was born and raised in England but moved across the pond after college and became a U.S. citizen over 30 years ago. Before this, Neal hiked in other areas of the world, particularly the rocky crags of Scotland. He continued his hiking adventures in America even while settling into a career…
Ruth Bindler Imagine a Saturday morning walk with sightings of snowy and great egrets, green herons, white pelicans, great blue herons, and even a bald eagle. It does not sound like Goodyear, Arizona. But Tres Rios (referring to the joining of three rivers—Salt, Gila, and Agua Fría) Wetlands Environmental Restoration project near 91st Avenue in…
Hiking Club Celebrates International Women’s Day Ruth Bindler The PebbleCreek Hiking Club engages in special activities in addition to its focus of hiking. On a sunny spring day, the women of the club gathered in honor of International Women’s Day at the home of Kris Raczkiewicz. The day commemorates women’s activities for equality, and honors…
Hiking the Marcus Landslide Trail Carol Rice On Feb. 13 a group of “D” hikers headed to the Tom’s Thumb trailhead in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve to hike the Marcus Landslide trail. About 500,000 years ago a portion of the McDowell Mountain summit collapsed. There are several interpretive signs along the trail that explain how…
Lynn Warren The hike to Flatiron, a Phoenix icon located at the northern end of the Superstitions, is considered one of the toughest hikes in the Phoenix area and requires route-finding, boulder hopping, and scrambling, but on Feb. 5, eleven PebbleCreek “A” hikers started at Lost Dutchman State Park and completed a 7-mile RT hike/scramble…
Lynn Warren The primary focus of the hiking club is, of course, hiking, but the club also supports other activities and causes. October was Breast Cancer Awareness month and 30 members of the club, wearing pink, turned out on Oct. 16 to show support for the battle against this terrible disease. Hikers of three different…
Lynn Warren July 31 was another hot, humid day in Phoenix (high of 110 degrees). To escape the heat, eight hikers headed to the Camp Verde area to hike a club favorite at West Clear Creek. The drive down to the trailhead was challenging, and best done with a high clearance vehicle, but the hike…
Lynn Warren On June 6, the 80th anniversary of D-Day, nine “D” hikers enjoyed a relatively easy but scenic 4-mile loop in Estrella Mountain Regional Park just 20 minutes south of PebbleCreek. During the summer months, hikes start as early as 5:30 a.m. to beat the heat, which was very appropriate for this hike since…
Lynn Warren How do hikers escape triple-digit temperatures in the valley? Well, one popular way is to head for higher elevation so on July 18, a combination of ten “B” and “C” hikers headed for West Clear Creek, a few miles southeast of Camp Verde. The “B” hike was a relatively easy ten miles RT…