Today, we're exploring the Phoenix Mountain Preserve, a 2,000-ft mountain range in the heart of Phoenix.
Hi, I'm Brice, the president of Vaucluse backpacking ventilation gear, and I will be taking you up Summit Trail 300. Did you know that there was a mountain range right in the heart of Phoenix? Well, I didn't! It was a great adventure, and you'll enjoy this hike.
I'm also going to be taking with me our Vaucluse ultra-light backpack ventilation frame because I'm going to be sharing how this frame helped this backpack (an Osprey 22 Talon). It’s a great backpack, and adding this frame to it provides a lot of ventilation, especially when hiking around Arizona.
Let's dive in.
Hiking Review - Piestewa Peak, Phoenix, Arizona
We're exploring the Phoenix Mountains Preserve, and I'll share my screen so you can see pictures of my hike and the trail. The area encompasses one of the largest city parks you can find anywhere in the world - it is incredible - and today, we're going up to Trail Peak 300.
You can review my Strava app for all trail links (below) so you know exactly where I went and what I did. The hike length was 2.47 miles (both to get up and down), and the elevation gain was 1,152 ft. The entire trail is on the side of the mountain. So there are not many flat spots. Many locals also take the trail, so be ready for some crowds! I even saw a few people going up and down multiple times. Crazy, crazy, crazy at the top!
But you are rewarded with a panoramic view of Phoenix, Arizona. You'll notice that Phoenix is covered in green vegetation, so it's not your “typical” sand desert out here. There's a lot to see, a lot to do, and a lot of fun. The moving time was one hour and 40 minutes, and my total time up and down was two hours. I went with a friend, and we kept a steady pace of 40 minutes per mile. Not bad, given how uphill it was, and a lot of fun.
Now let's talk about the gear I took with me.
Strava Tracking: You can review the hike's stats on my Strava account by clicking here.
AllTrails Tracking: You can review the trail on my AllTrails account by clicking here.
Backpack Ventilation System - Sweat Less in Arizona
I equipped my Osprey Talon 22-liter day pack with my Vaucluse backpack ventilation frame, and what I did was, equip my frame with a Govee thermometer. That way, I could track both the temperature of my back while wearing the frame and also the humidity. It's very simple to attach, as you're going to see in my videos.
Simply attach this frame to your favorite backpack. This is very flexible, weighs just six-ounces, is super light and very flexible. What it does is create a small gap between you and your backpack. The backpack is snug on your back but, at the same time, there is this slight separation. So you're wearing your backpack the way you should be but at the same time, you've got air flow. So you can be wearing your backpack properly while also getting well-desired ventilation.
Let's dive into the data and I can show you what happened: As you can see, my back temperature drops throughout most of the hike. This shows that I didn't get hotter and/or sweatier, even as I climbed over 1000-feet, and my back humidity, if you noticed, peaked at 80%, which means my body was working and warming up. Now, what usually happens when backpacking, your back temperature rises as the humidity rises, your back starts getting wet, you're sweating more, and your core temperature rises. Everything is going up.
But the Vaucluse backpack ventilation frame did the trick (again). I was able to hike in comfort up to the peak.
To learn more about this frame, just jump over to my website, VaucluseGear.com. We've got plenty of reviews, and plenty of videos (just like this one) explaining how it works. Plus a whole lot of other details to help you see if my Vaucluse ventilation frame is right for you, if what you're looking for is more airflow, more ventilation, and a more comfortable hike when you're out in nature.
Here’s to sweating less.
You can read our 5-star customer reviews by clicking here. Yes, this gear works.
