Corte Bella Adventure Group

COMMUNITY Corte Bella Adventure Group

Steve Downing

South Mountain has many trails worth hiking, but the Hidden Valley Trail via Morman Trail offers a natural tunnel, dry waterfalls, and a squeeze through Fat Man’s Pass. This hike is relatively short at approximately 3.6 miles, however, the elevation gain of 925 ft comes within the first mile. As we ascend the trail, we have great views looking out over the valley, downtown Phoenix, Sky Harbor, Camelback and Piestewa Peak. Once we reached the highest elevation of the trail, we were at the turn off for Hidden Valley. This is where we encountered Fat

Man’s Pass, which was the gateway into the valley. This is a very small crack between what was once one rock. Hiking backpacks had to come off as we inch through the crack sideways. Some of us (myself) might have had more difficulty than others. At one point, I had to lift myself up a bit to get my chest through. For those thinking this could be a bit claustrophobic, there was a way around, or over this huge rock, to bypass the crack. Beyond Fat Man’s Pass was a much wider and beautiful valley, easy to hike until walking into what looked to be a closed canyon. Left to right, Beth Downing, Kathy Szoboticsanec, Jim Lolley, Randy Martin, and Don Seller.

First time hiking this, one might have trouble trail finding the route through and down the cliff. Once you find that small tunnel through the rocks, where a little bit of crouching might be needed, the trail continues. After a bit of easy hiking, you come to what I call the “butt slide”. Best described I guess as an eight foot drop where the rock is so smooth, even our good hiking boots have no traction. Easiest way down is to sit on your butt and slide down like you’re on a slide. Last neat feature through Hidden Valley is the natural tunnel. Nicely shaded and approximately 90 feet long is a tunnel created by nature. My guess is the tunnel was created by erosion and the undercutting of the rocks in that area. With the little rainfall we have in Phoenix, I can only imagine the millennia it would take to do this. Not being a geologist however, this is just my guess. For those of you that may want to try this hike, you can find the trailhead at 8610 S 24th St., Phoenix.