Heavy rains in September and October caused three boulders to come loose at Echo Canyon Trail. The city of Phoenix is starting work this week to stabilize and remove them.
Echo Canyon Trail at Camelback Mountain is closed after rangers found boulders that appeared to have erosion around them.
"So that's what they saw. They saw a boulder that had been visibly secure in its location and then a lot of the material that was around it, keeping it secure, had visibly moved and was no longer helping secure the boulder," said Jared Rogers, the deputy director of the city's Natural Resources Division. He added that the rains displaced the soil that was supporting them.
"After the storm events, you could see daylight around that boulder, and it provided a clear kind of understanding and view of the potential unsteadiness of that boulder and its potential to move," Rogers said.
Rogers said crews will drill holes into the boulders.
"They'll then be injecting expanding grout, which will expand in the holes that they drill and will cause the boulder to separate. So to, you know, break into smaller pieces."
There‘s no timeline for when the work will be completed.
Until Echo Canyon Trail is reopened, the Parks and Recreation Department encourages residents to visit other popular hiking destinations, including Cholla Trail at Camelback Mountain, Piestewa Peak, North Mountain, Dreamy Draw, Lookout Mountain and South Mountain Park and Preserve. Visit phoenix.gov/parks/trails for more information.
