Date: April 2, 2017 • Elevation: 2,448 feet • Prominence: 638 feet • Distance: 1.5 miles • Time: 1 hour • Gain: 580 feet • Conditions: Perfect

Arizona • Main • PB • LoJ

Tramonto Peak is in north Phoenix, northeast about two miles from where the Carefree Highway meets Interstate-17. It's an unofficial name, not appearing on any maps. It's named for the Tramonto housing development in the valley west of the peak. I didn't plan extensively for this peak. It's close and easy to get to, one of many peaks I keep handy when I get the urge to hike and just want to be out the door, not worrying about logistics.

The peak is part of a range of hills which apparently also do not have a name. Looking at a topographic map, the hills run a dozen miles from the northwest to the southeast. They lie south of Daisy Mountain and north of the Union Hills, but are not part of the Union Hills. They're just a bunch of unnamed hills in a grouping not worthy of a name. Ridgeback Mountain, which I hiked last year, is part of this mysterious range. Much of it is now within the boundaries of the Phoenix Sonoran Preserve.

This is a short hike, and the weather was fantastic, so there was no urge to be at the trailhead at dawn. I left home a little before 9 a.m., exiting Interstate-17 at the Carefree Highway, then driving east a few miles to 7th Avenue, then north on 7th about a quarter-mile to Galvin Road, and then west on Galvin. This is a residential area, big homes on spacious lots, some abutting the east slopes of the peak and its subsidiaries.

I drove to where Galvin "ends", bending right onto 17th Avenue, looking for a place to park. I talked to a woman out walking and she confirmed parking here along the road is fine. No one minds, or at least she doesn't. I backtracked onto Galvin and parked near a big pile of gravel in front of a home under construction, figuring no one is there to shoo me away. I was walking at 9:12 exactly.

I walked back to where Galvin ends, a dirt track trending west along the Galvin alignment. There was a sign for the Phoenix Sonoran Preserve about no dumping, shooting or off-road driving. This track is rocky and unsuitable for any vehicle anyway. Even for hiking, the abundance of loose rocks was not welcome. But the track is short. In a quarter-mile, it ended in a flat area. The satellite images show a trail picks up from here, but it took me a minute or two to find it. The grass was thick and uniform, hiding anything on the ground such as small rocks, trails and possible snakes.

I found the path, which would become more distinct, then just as fast, "disappear" in the grass. Someone had one through the trouble to paint small gray dots on rocks every twenty feet to "mark" the trail. It was not a challenge to keep to the trail, even when it grew faint. Soon, I was at the saddle directly below the peak.

I turned right and continued upward. The trail here switchbacks once or twice up the steeper slopes, then simply barges up slope, very few bends to mitigate the grade. It was a fast climb, gaining about 200 feet from the saddle, and I was on the top ridge quickly, and to the summit cairn soon thereafter, the one-way hike covering about three-quarters of a mile and taking me about 25 minutes.

The top was rocky and grassy, with barrel cactus and occasional cholla. I spent a few minutes up here snapping images, but didn't stay long. I hiked down exactly the same route. Going down, the steepess of the slope and the loose rocks forced me to take things very slowly. I never actually fell, but I came close about ten times.

Once back to the saddle, the grades were much more lenient, and I jog-walked out, back to my vehicle in just under an hour. The round trip hike had covered a mile and a half, with nearly 600 feet of gain. It was short but a good workout, and the peak itself is attractive and worth the trouble to come here and hike it.

On the drive home, still being early, I explored roads around other small hills in the area for future hikes, but did not hike any more today.