South Mountain is a great place for short hikes in the winter and this day our intention is to do some short hikes from Buena Vista trailhead to enjoy the beautiful weather and take in the fine views from the top. However the start is not auspicious as the limited parking at the trailhead is full and we have to drive around until somebody finally leaves. After that we descend on a little used road that merges later with the National trail in order to avoid the first busy section of the National trail. And we are rewarded almost immediately with a coyote who after a condescending look decides to go his own merry way.
The views from the mountaintop are memorable with an almost 360 degree field of view. One of the best places to see the views is close to the trailhead from the bench however it is almost always really busy in that area.
As it is close to Christmas some trees near the trail have been adorned with decorations, probably by very busy elves. And the bench surprisingly is empty so we can use it for a few nice photos.
One sight that we don’t want to miss is the “Chinese Wall” rock formation which is an interesting geological site with a natural wall of rock crossing across the length of the mountain. In order to see it we descend a few hundred feet down the Corona de Loma trail which is easy enough downhill but quite difficult when returning uphill.
As the sunset is approaching the mountains appear to catch fire and the views are really breathtaking. After enjoying them for a while we take the car down the really curvy road to the city and our home.
