Hiking the Shaw Butte Trail, Part 2...

Returning to the Shaw Butte Trail

On Saturday, January 18th, 2025, I made an initial attempt at hiking the Shaw Butte Trail at North Mountain Preserve. On that day, I partially completed the trail and vowed to return and complete the trail.

In fact, I made a post about that hike right here on my blog. You can read that post, if you like, right here.

Thus, on the afternoon of Saturday, January 25th, 2025, I returned to North Mountain Preserve in Phoenix, AZ to hike the Shaw Butte Trail.

During my second attempt at hiking the Shaw Butte Trail, I took some more photos.

I also have an update about the ruins of a restaurant that burned down in the 1960s that is along the trail.

Parking at the North Mountain Visitor Center Parking Lot

North Mountain Visitor Center

Since there was road construction at various points on the Loop 101 that weekend, I wasn't able to take the Loop 101 north and east from the Peoria-Sun City, AZ area before heading south on 7th Street to get to the North Mountain Park. Instead, I drove east on Thunderbird Blvd from Sun City to Peoria to Glendale to Phoenix before turning south on 7th Street. After a short drive, I made the right turn into North Mountain Preserve and began to look for a parking spot. Even though it was a sunny Saturday afternoon and temperatures were in the upper 60s, the North Mountain Visitor Center parking lot was moderately full at about 1:30 PM. As a result, I had no problems finding a space to park my car.

Ready to go hiking.

After parking my car, I got and opened the trunk. I took off my running shoes and put on my Zamberlan 996 VIOZ GTX hiking boots. I then filled up my Gregory Nano 22 hydration backpack with water I had bought at the grocery store before leaving Sun City. My Gregory Nano 22 hydration pack has a 3-liter bladder. I then exchanged my Baltimore Ravens hat for my wide brimmed hat that I bought from REI and my work gloves. Before closing my car's trunk door, I remembered to insert my trekking poles into the storage space of my Gregory hydration backpack. My mom said that she bought the trekking poles at Wal-Mart some time ago for walking. I find that the trekking poles are still useful. I was now ready to go.

Putting on my Zamberlan 996 VIOZ GTX hiking boots.

Since I was close by, I briefly considered visiting the North Mountain Visitor Center. On Saturdays, the North Mountain Visitor Center is open from 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM. I looked at my watch and noticed that the time was already 1:45 PM. There will be another time to visit the North Mountain Visitor Center, I thought. Thus, I walked past the visitor center and headed over to the maps for the North Mountain Preserve. To me, the route I was going to hike was abundantly clear. From the North Mountain Visitor Center, I was going to hike north along Trail 101 to the trailhead for Trail 306.

Trails at North Mountain Preserve.

Heading Out on Trail 101

Route of Second Hike at Shaw Butte.

With my route decided, I took a couple of sips of water from the tube for my Gregory hydration pack and then walked over to the trailhead for Trail 101. Despite it being almost 2:00 PM, there were quite a few people hiking at the North Mountain Preserve. Trail 101 connects to various trails at the North Mountain Preserve, such as to Shaw Butte, where I was going, to North Mountain, and to a tunnel that runs east underneath 7th Street, leading to the non-contiguous parts of the North Mountain Preserve. Since the terrain was largely flat, this part of the hike was rather quick. Before I knew it, I was at the trailhead for Trail 306.

Heading out to Trail 100.

When you get to a fork in the trail...

Going right to Trail 306.

Looking south to North Mountain.

Heading toward Shaw Butte.

Encountering a trail runner on the trail.

Trekking Poles, Please

At the trailhead for Trail 306, I was determined to learn from my mistake from when I hiked the trail the previous week. On that occasion, I found that Trail 306 (aka the Shaw Butte Trail) was incredibly steep in many places. This time, I came prepared. I was going to use my mom's long forgotten pair of trekking poles. I have never heard of the SportLine brand of trekking poles. Since my mother needs either a cane or an electric scooter to walk a long distance, my mom bought these trekking poles at Wal-Mart, I think, some years ago. The trekking poles sat in a closet long forgotten. Of course, I have seen trekking poles for sale at REI. I have also seen people use trekking poles on the trail. If you are backpacking and your backpack weighs over 100 pounds, I can see the value of using trekking poles to maintain your balance. Since Trail 306 has numerous steep stretches, I thought that I would give the trekking poles a try. I set each trekking pole to a length of 124 centimeters, so my forearm was parallel to the ground. That seemed to be the correct length. After tightening the telescoping poles, I was ready to hike up Trail 306.

Getting ready to use my trekking poles.

And guess what?

The trekking poles worked. Magnificently. Not only did the trekking poles allow me to maintain my balance up the trail, the trekking poles also provided me extra leverage to work my way up the trail. It was quite amazing compared to my experience the previous week. There was a downside to using the trekking poles, however. If I wanted to use my cellphone to take a photo, I had to unloop my hands and then prop both trekking poles against my body. It was annoying at first, but I quickly adapted to the procedure. I used the trekking poles on both the paved and unpaved sections of the trail.

Looking east from the Shaw Butte trailhead.

Looking east to the Hilton Tapatio Resort.

A hiker coming down and a service vehicle going up.

A steep incline on the trail. 

Getting higher on the Shaw Butte Trail.

Coming up on a bend in the trail.

Looking back down the Shaw Butte Trail.

Looking northeast from the Shaw Butte Trail.

Almost at the top of the Shaw Butte Trail.

Among the Broadcast Towers

Before I knew it, I was back at the top of Shaw Butte. I spent some time at the top walking among all of the broadcast towers. I wasn't as anxious being at the top of Shaw Butte as I was the previous week. My movement seemed to be more natural and confident. Yes, I know that I need to work on my fear of heights, especially if I am going to go hiking in Arizona. I don't know where it comes from, but it's there.

Looking southwest from the top of Shaw Butte.

After several minutes, I headed down the trail from the top of Shaw Butte. I then followed the trail around the corner and along the northern side of Shaw Butte. Now, on this stretch of Trail 306, the trail turns into a steep decline. The week previous I was a little cautious hiking down this stretch of the trail. At this point, while Trail 306 is still paved, the condition of the trail is a bit rough. There were numerous cracks and potholes. Still, with the trekking poles, it was smooth sailing down the trail. When I reached the saddle point at the bottom, I had a decision to make. I could go south toward the ruins of an old restaurant near the trail or I could walk up a moderate incline and walkaround a second grouping of broadcast towers.

Broadcast towers on top of Shaw Butte.

Looking northwest from Shaw Butte.

Monument at the top of Shaw Butte.

Since I was feeling good, I hiked up the secondary access road to the second grouping of broadcast towers. This time, the access road was cement. There was a very rough texture to the cement. After a short hike, I was hiking on the path that led to the second group of broadast towers on Shaw Butte. The trail was a nice elongated loop that led back to down the incline. There's probably not much of interest to the casual hiker about the appearance of more broadcast towers, but the views of northern and western Phoenix were spectacular. There even appeared to be a hiking trail that lead down Shaw Butte to the Thunderbird Road and 19th Avenue area. While it was tempting to follow the path down the mountain, I decided against it. I had more to explore on Trail 306. I finished up hiking the loop around the second group of broadcast towers and headed back down the cement access road.

Going up the service road to the second cluster of broadcast towers.

Looking back toward Shaw Butte.

Hiking toward the second cluster of broadcast towers.

Another view of Shaw Butte.

Looking out to the west.

The second cluster of broadcast towers.

Who uses the broadcast towers on Shaw Butte? Well, I did some digging on the internet, and here is what I found.

The Shaw Butte broadcast towers in Phoenix are primarily used by several television and radio stations, including KASW (ATSC 3.0), KPHO-TV, and others. Specifically, KASW operates a high-power ATSC 3.0 transmitter at Shaw Butte, carrying the main program streams of KASW, KNXV, KSAZ, and KUTP. KPHO-TV, which is the CBS affiliate in Phoenix, also utilizes the Shaw Butte towers. Additionally, various radio stations like KFLR-FM, KVCP, and KMLE are also located at Shaw Butte, according to Rabbit Ears.

The Ruins of Cloud 9

The ruins of Cloud 9 restaurant as seen from the second cluster of broadcast towers. 

After heading south along Trail 306 for about a quarter of a mile, give or take, I reached the ruins of an old restaurant. On my previous hike on Trail 306, I walked by the ruins before deciding to turnaround. This time, however, I was going to investigate the ruins. Still using the trekking poles, I easily hiked up the incline that led to the ruins. After doing some research on the internet, I discovered that the ruins are of a restaurant just below Shaw Butte that was called Cloud 9. The owners of Cloud 9 were Richard and Barbara Barker who purchased 40 acres of land to build a house on a spur near Shaw Butte in 1958. In 1961, Richard and Barbara Barker then converted their home into a restaurant called Cloud 9. The restaurant was open for business from 5:00 PM to midnight daily. As for the food, I imagine that the restaurant served classic American food, such as hamburgers and hot dogs, that was popular in the 1950s and 1960s. The owners of Cloud 9 even operated a shuttle service to the restaurant from the bottom of Shaw Butte, charging customers one dollar for a round-trip. Customers were driven to the restaurant in either a Land Rover or a Mercury Voyager station wagon. The view of central and western Phoenix at that time from Cloud 9 must have been spectacular. As for what Cloud 9 looked like, I am guessing that the building had a Mid-Century Modern design. At that time, the most popular architectural style in the Phoenix area would have been Mid-Century Modern. Unfortunately, at some point in 1964, a fire broke out and burned down the most of the restaurant. The owners never rebuilt Cloud 9. All that is left of Cloud 9 today is the concrete foundation, a short flight of concrete stairs, and the concrete floor of what would have been the patio for outdoor dining. The rest of the restaurant was either destroyed in the fire or demolished after the fire was put out. Hikers are free to explore the ruins of Cloud 9. Just be sure to watch your step. You don't want to trip over anything. When I was walking through the ruins, there was a man and a woman sitting on the outdoor patio. It sounded like they were talking about personal issues, so I didn't bother to ask them if they knew anything about Cloud 9.

The Ruins of Cloud 9 Restaurant (Photo 1 of 12).

The Ruins of Cloud 9 Restaurant (Photo 2 of 12).

The Ruins of Cloud 9 Restaurant (Photo 3 of 12).

The Ruins of Cloud 9 Restaurant (Photo 4 of 12).

The Ruins of Cloud 9 Restaurant (Photo 5 of 12).

The Ruins of Cloud 9 Restaurant (Photo 6 of 12).

The Ruins of Cloud 9 Restaurant (Photo 7 of 12).

The Ruins of Cloud 9 Restaurant (Photo 8 of 12).

The Ruins of Cloud 9 Restaurant (Photo 9 of 12).

The Ruins of Cloud 9 Restaurant (Photo 10 of 12).

The Ruins of Cloud 9 Restaurant (Photo 11 of 12).

The Ruins of Cloud 9 Restaurant (Photo 12 of 12).

Based on my research, author Douglas Towne wrote an authoritative article about the history of Cloud 9 for the July 2009 issue of Phoenix Magazine. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the article at that the Phoenix Magazine website. The furthest back I could search was 2013. On a positive note, it does appear that Douglas Towne has a treasure trove of articles about forgotten historical places and events in Phoenix, AZ that would make for some very interesting reading. The North Phoenix Blog on Blogger has a short blog entry about Cloud 9 that you can read at this link. In addition, Phoenix NPR affiliate, KJZZ 91.5 FM, also has a short article about Cloud 9 that you can read at this link.

Heading Down the Shaw Butte Trail

Leaving the ruins of Cloud 9 restaurant.

After leaving the ruins of Cloud 9 restaurant, the trail began its gradual descent from Shaw Butte. The trail became extremely rocky in places. It's always fun to be hiking on a rocky section of trail when one of my feet suddenly slides back as I hike. I was still using the trekking poles. They proved their usefulness in several places on the trail in maintaining my balance. Occasionally, I would come across people hiking up Trail 306 as I was hiking down. Near the bottom of Shaw Butte, I came across a man and his dog that was repeatedly running up an incline to a saddle point. When he reached the top of the saddle point, he would walk back down the incline to the bottom. Then, he would sprint back up the incline. It seemed to me that he was doing sprint work. He may have been a policeman or a fireman, working out for a future physical fitness test.

Heading down the Shaw Butte Trail (Photo 1 of 15).

Heading down the Shaw Butte Trail (Photo 2 of 15).

Heading down the Shaw Butte Trail (Photo 3 of 15).

Heading down the Shaw Butte Trail (Photo 4 of 15).

Heading down the Shaw Butte Trail (Photo 5 of 15).

Heading down the Shaw Butte Trail (Photo 6 of 15).

Heading down the Shaw Butte Trail (Photo 7 of 15).

Heading down the Shaw Butte Trail (Photo 8 of 15).

Heading down the Shaw Butte Trail (Photo 9 of 15).

Heading down the Shaw Butte Trail (Photo 10 of 15).

Heading down the Shaw Butte Trail (Photo 11 of 15).

Heading down the Shaw Butte Trail (Photo 12 of 15).

Heading down the Shaw Butte Trail (Photo 13 of 15).

Heading down the Shaw Butte Trail (Photo 14 of 15).

Heading down the Shaw Butte Trail (Photo 15 of 15).

Return to the North Mountain Visitor Center

Returning to the North Mountain Visitor Center.

Walking back to my car.

Before I knew it, I was back in the valley that separates Shaw Butte from North Mountain. I followed the Shaw Butte Trail as it began making an elongated loop that led back to the trailhead on Central Ave. For whatever reason, instead of following the Shaw Butte Trail back to the beginning and completing the loop, I deviated off the trail and rejoined Trail 101. I then followed Trail 101 back to the North Mountain Visitor Center. I sat down on one of the benches. I had a very successful hike.

After I sat down, I noticed that the endcap to one of the trekking poles was missing. The endcap probably fell off sometime after visiting the ruins of Cloud 9 due to the trail becoming rocky in large stretches. 

One trekking pole missing an endcap. 

Here were my final totals for my second hike at Shaw Butte:

• Total Distance: 5.33 mi
• Workout Duration: 3:18:44
• Average Speed: 1.6 mph
• Average Heart Rate: 120 bpm
• Workout Calories: 1,551 Cal
• Elevation Gain: 1,003 ft
• Highest Elevation: 2,109 ft

Overall, the results of my hike were pretty good. I was pleased with myself. I am not sure if any of these results are personal records. I should probably do a better job at tracking all of the statistics when I complete a hike. After drinking A LOT of water from my Gregory hydration pack, I walked over to my car and opened the trunk. I then took off my hiking boots and put on my running shoes. I then put the rest of my gear into the trunk. To celebrate my accomplishment, I decided that I was going to go to Lake Pleasant Brewing Company in northern Phoenix at 19th Avenue and Rose Garden Lane.

Basic Blonde beer from Lake Pleasant Brewing Company.

Interior of Lake Pleasant Brewing Company (Photo 1 of 4).

Interior of Lake Pleasant Brewing Company (Photo 2 of 4).

Interior of Lake Pleasant Brewing Company (Photo 3 of 4).

Interior of Lake Pleasant Brewing Company (Photo 4 of 4).

Like most Saturdays at Lake Pleasant Brewing Company, there was a food truck. The food truck typically shows up at around 5:00 PM. The food trucks selected by Lake Pleasant Brewing Company tend to really, really good. On this particular day, I believe the food truck was Good Eats Only Mexican Kitchen. I believe I ordered a burrito and a taco. They were both EXCELLENT.   

All-in-all, it was a good Saturday afternoon spent hiking.