Ten hikers met at the trailhead in North Mountain Park at 9:00. We were delayed a few minutes while waiting for everyone to gear up. Quy took the group picture and many more great shots on our trek.

I had planned three points of interest along the route, but because of the steep, rocky nature of the first climb to the towers on North Mountain (elev. 2104') up Trail #44 and the time of day, I decided to forgo one which would have added a mile or two and another hour.

As hike leader, listening to the comments of the group and knowing there were several more tough climbs to go, I made the call. After a steep, rocky descent to the valley floor (approx. 1360') we crossed the valley using Trails # 60 to #100 to Trail #306, which begins the Shaw Butte Loop in a clockwise direction with an elevation of 2149' at the towers.

We stopped to enjoy a snack break before taking on this challenge. At around halfway up we stopped at the remains of the Cloud 9 restaurant, which served the community of Sunnyslope and surrounding area in the early 1960s, and also was home to the owner’s family until it burned to the ground in 1964. There is mystery surrounding the fire to this day. I found an interesting history video on YouTube Cloud 9 Restaurant.

We reached the Shaw Butte towers, and after pausing to enjoy the view of downtown Phoenix and the expanse of the valley and surrounding mountain ranges in all directions, we headed back down.

Halfway down, we visited an ancient ruins with petroglyphs and remains of “rooms” inhabited by the early dwellers.

Upon reaching the valley floor, we left Trail 306 and took in a side trip to the North Mountain Visitor Center, where there are outside restrooms. From there we hiked a new connector trail which runs parallel to 7th Street and reunites us with Trail #44. This trail has a few steep, short uphill places, just enough to make us very happy to see our cars.

Thanks to everyone for making this a very enjoyable, rewarding hike.

Thanks to Quy for photos and Neil for serving as sweep.