I love South Mountain Park. With over 16,000 acres, it’s the largest municipal park in the country. 51 miles of trails and believe me when I say, you’ll feel like you’re in the middle of nowhere on some of those trails.
When I first moved to the valley in 2001, I thought I’d take an afternoon hike not paying much attention to the setting sun as I wandered the trail. I soon found myself in the dark and more than just a little bit scared. I heard loud howling sounds and wondered if there were mountain lions in those mountains as I tried to make my way down a stony mountainside.
I might add that my night vision has never been too good. Luckily the moon was bright…bright enough for me to see a tarantula crossing the path in front of me. It took every ounce of my being to not scream like a 3 year old (I didn’t want the mountain lion to hear me). I don’t do spiders.
I don’t do snakes either and I knew there are plenty of them in “them thar hills” I’ve seen em. Rattlers. I did scream like a 3 year old the day I happened upon my first rattle snake (outside of a zoo) on the trail…my screams were accompanied by a frantic dance. It wasn’t pretty.
I was also surprised when hiking with my daughter by a hissing Gila Monster. Big as a dog, I swear. They’re poisonous you know. They can kill you I guess. So, yes, there was screaming. All mine.
I once, maybe I should capitalize that…ONCE hiked Camelback. This was the most frightening day of my 
life. Hiking up the trail wasn’t too bad and the view from the top was spectacular. But coming down? Well, I’m not real fond of heights. Looking down…almost straight down and the trail I would have to take to get off this mountain, I could actually “see” my body plummeting over the side. I mean there’s nothing there to keep you from falling off the side of the mountain. Nothing. This is not Disneyland. Horrifying. Yet hikers were literally bounding past me. Hikers as young as 7 and as old as, oh I don’t know…dirt? Embarrassing for me and not something I would repeat. I can’t remember who talked me into that because we’re not friends anymore.
So. I’m obviously not a professional hiker but I have learned a few lessons…like taking a flashlight when starting out on a hike in the shadows of the setting sun. Yes, that would be good. Oh, and it’s one of the few places in the world you can scream like a 3 year old and no one will really care.
