"Been a while since I've been out and about and hiking. I've been recovering from really badly overdoing it and my body has been complaining, but my soul and mental health are complaining that I'm not outside as much as I should be. What do you even do at that point...? Ugh. So, it was a gorgeous day here in Phoenix, sunny and cool(er), and eventually I hopped in the car and drove down to South Mountain Preserve, one of the areas I hadn't been before. We started at the five tables(?) trailhead and took the Ranger trail up to the ridgeline, where we met the National Trail. We travelled westbound on the ridgeline to Goat Hill and took an old use trail that was near some mines - I stepped on a shed teddy bear cholla and had to deal with THAT issue - and then scrambled up the ridgeline to the summit. After basking in the view, we took the very well established and easy current use trail back down (whoops), and headed eastbound. We decided that for the first time out in a while, we'd just head down the wash on the Kiwanis trail past Telegraph point (very cool structure/lookout) and then meet up with the Las Lomitas trail to take us back over to the Ranger Trail and back down to my vehicl..." — psychikingjes • Nov 19, 2022

"Ranger Trail to National Trail. Went westward for another quarter of a mile on national trail where theres a slight trail that leads up to Goat Hill. Fantastic views from there" — easotelo1 • Jan 22, 2021

"This trip was an ambitious, after work hike for me. Getting to South Mountain from Glendale can take upwards of 45 minutes to an hour each way, and I wanted to be back to the car before it got too dark. I did bring my headlamp, as usual, just in case I needed it. The trail was pretty well maintained and easy to follow. The elevation gain was deceptively easier than I thought and the views once I reached the National Trail made it worth it! I’ve never hiked the entire National Trail yet, but hiking that little section made me want to hike it even more. The final push to the top of the hill on the spur trail was the sketchiest part of the whole route, but it really wasn’t too bad. The views from the top were awesome, but I forgot to bring my goat meat.... " — lawrencebaker • Mar 2, 2017