I live on the edge of the Phoenix Mountains Preserve, within sight of North Mountain. In any other city, the rich people would live next to the mountains; in Phoenix some do, but there are also a lot of working class neighborhoods. Or simply barrios. So, I refer to the Preserve as “my backyard”. Makes it sound like I live in Paradise Valley, rather than Sunnyslope.
Today I took a walk in “my backyard”, hiking to the North Mountain Visitor Center, around the small hill in back, then home. I needed to get out, as I’ve been bloating while working so hard on getting this new site in a decent shape, with various plugins, a child theme, etc. I try to average 50 miles per month; with a “drop off” hike back home on Trail #100 from the pub this weekend, I should make it to 50. Gotta start the year off right. 
Distance: 3.63 miles
AEG: 421 ft.
Time: 1h 7m
