PHOENIX — Camelback Mountain is a point of pride for people living in the Valley and truly captivating for so many out-of-town visitors, but the trails can be just as dangerous as they are mesmerizing.
During our recent record-breaking heat, ABC15's Nick Ciletti was on the Echo Canyon trail, listening to hikers and their concerns with making sure people stay safe and truly know how to prepare.
The Valley's majestic mountains - like Camelback - are hard to resist, but as the temperatures climb, so too do the risks.
"They're bringing one bottle of water, they're starting around 9 or 10 a.m., they're in 100-degree heat," explained Bradley Sinclair, an avid hiker who scales Camelback five times a week.
Bradley says he often sees tourists coming to Camelback unprepared and not ready for the difficult hike they're about to face.
"You have no water and bad things happen," he says. "If you were going skiing, and take your family to the Rocky Mountains, you'd go to the blue or green [levels]...So the message needs to be, 'This is a very difficult mountain. It is a double black diamond. If you're coming to come here, you need to come early."
Which is just what Bradley did the day we met him, along with dozens of other hikers who were heeding the warning.
Despite increased efforts from the City of Phoenix, there are still people not listening or not preparing properly. While Bradley says hikers need to take ownership of their own safety, he's hoping more people start to listen and realize what they're up against while they're on the trails.
ABC15 noticed a number of signs along the trail, especially at the very beginning, warning hikers about water, the heat, and also the rigor of the trail.
For hiking advocate Chelsey McHale, one sign is more important than all the others - and that is one she helped create that honors her late brother, Clint.
"I still remember my first day on this earth without him and I've never been the same since," McHale said.
In 2011, Clint fell 50 feet to his death while hiking off-trail on Camelback without the proper equipment. Since his death, Chelsey has made it her mission to advocate for more safety on our trails and educate hikers about the risks.
When we followed up with her, Chelsey told us she's now spearheading a pilot program to go into classrooms and educate young hikers about the dangers, with the goal of reaching them early so they can educate their parents, their siblings, and friends.
"I think they're seeing out of tragedy came opportunity. That's a good lesson for them as well to show them about resilience and teaching them to do that."
Chelsey is hoping to grow her pilot program and says one day, she'd like to see this kind of outreach required for all Arizona students.
