Piestewa Peak with Will
Let me introduce you to my friend, Will! Last weekend, he took me on one of my first hikes of the season at Piestewa Peak. Like myself, Will is a big fan of hiking and loves being able to explore the Phoenix Mountain Preserve that surrounds our neighborhood. Will has lived in Phoenix for his whole life, and we’ve been neighbors for most of that time! He’s also a DAAPS student and senior at Shadow Mountain.
When I asked Will if he wanted to be interviewed for my project, I really wanted him to pick something for the Outdoors category. Thankfully, he agreed, and he wanted to take me to Piestewa Peak; a very popular hike I have never done before! As much as I didn't want to wake up early on a Sunday morning, I was excited at the prospect to begin hiking again. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve grown to appreciate hiking and my time spent in the fresh air. Now that the weather’s nice, I’m ready to get back into a routine of picking hikes and exploring new trails. Some Google searches the night before had me a little worried about how steep it might be, but it’s always good to get the blood flowing. Will and I drove over to the trailhead, it was pretty busy but we found a parking spot right up front. I brought my camera up so he could mess around with it and take some pictures for his DAAPSTONE project. Looking up, it felt like we were making quick work of summiting the mountain, but it turned out to be an optical illusion. The trek up to the top was definitely worth it to see the 360 views of the city. It was a remarkably clear day, which we both made note of. However, you could pretty quickly see the pollution rolling in; we had made it up just in time to catch the last glimpses of the skyline void of any smog. The greenery along the trail didn’t go unnoticed though; thankfully the rain brought some color back to the otherwise monotonous desert landscape. Pretty soon, we started to descend. I’m sometimes a little nervous to head back down after a steep hike, but as always, it wasn't that scary. Being that it’s a busy trail, one’s clearly able to see where they need to step and where they need to avoid. The stair-like infrastructure that’s been carved out by hikers over the years makes the task of climbing and descending not so bad. The skinny trail can be a little cumbersome when you come across fellow hikers, but being polite and giving grace alleviates any stress that you may feel when maneuvering around others.
Will is a Phoenix native and has lived in the Sheaborhood for all of his life, just like me! Our families met long before we both began attending the same school, and we spent many neighborhood summers catching up and swimming in the community pool. We’ve both since moved, but again into the same neighborhood down the street! He’s also a senior in DAAPS, completing a capstone project about landscape photography. He's sharing his photos and some tips on his Instagram page. It was super fun to take pictures together on our hike and I’ve loved seeing the progress he’s making with his photography!
Will is captain of the varsity Cross Country and Track teams at Shadow Mountain. Over our high school career, he’s grown and strengthened many friendships with the other student athletes on this team. Recently, the Cross Country team won their biggest race of the season at the Woodbridge meet in California! When he’s not running Cross Country or Track & Field, Will can be found enjoying the outdoors in other ways with his friends and family. While hiking, he told me that some of his favorite memories living in Phoenix come from his adventures with his friends. They love hiking Piestewa Peak in the evening, summiting the mountain to take in the city lights below. Will thinks Phoenix is special for our unique access to the outdoors. We have the ability to hike and explore sweeping desert landscapes right in the middle of our city.
The outdoors have played an important role in Will’s life, making him the perfect person to open the Outdoors category with. If Will were on a deserted island, he would bring Billy Joel’s discography with him.
