On the latest “DiverseCity,” PHX11 staff set out to discover for themselves why National Geographic selected Phoenix as one of the country’s top cities for hiking.
Deborah Sedillo Dugan and Chuck Emmert co-host the program, exploring the city’s best hiking spots and sharing hiking tips along the way.
After hiking Piestewa Peak with Emmert, Sedillo Dugan heads up to North Mountain where she visits with a group of hikers. Meanwhile, Emmert treks through South Mountain where he encounters “Fat Man’s Pass,” a 20-foot-long passage between granite boulders only a foot apart in some places.
Park Ranger Cody Huggins talks about safety and hiking etiquette, and David Urbinato of the Parks and Recreation Department discusses the city’s desert preserve system, which boasts more than 30,000 acres and 200 miles of trails.
The program’s co-hosts also share hiking tips, including the importance of bringing plenty of water, and a healthy trail-mix recipe.
Phoenix’s vast network of desert preserves and hiking trails earned the city recognition from National Geographic, which referred to South Mountain Park as “a veritable wilderness in the city.” Nearly 700,000 city residents visited a desert park or preserve in 2010, according to the Parks Department.
PHX 11, the city’s news and information station, airs its programming on Cox Cable Channel 11, phoenix.gov and youtube.com/cityofphoenixaz. Follow PHX 11 at twitter.com/watchphx11 or like the city at facebook.com/cityofphoenix. Visit phoenix.gov/11 for replay times and to view programs on demand.
