Hiking Camelback Mountain has to have been the most difficult 1 1/2 mile hike (Just up, 3 miles total) that I have ever been on. While it is not a very far distance the increase in elevation is over 1000 feet in that short mile and a half. 

The first thing that I recommend is either getting to Echo Park at bright and early (between 4:30-5:30 am) or, if you come later as I did just parking in the overflow parking. You can find a simple map to the overflow parking at: 

http://phoenix.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Camelback-Mountain-Trailhead-Overflow-Parking.png

The walk to the Echo Canyon trail head to the overflow parking is only about 20-25 minutes and it is almost guaranteed to be faster than driving around looking for a parking spot somewhere else. 

The trail itself takes about 20 minutes to actually get difficult but when it does decide to start getting hard it does not let up for a moment. There are chain link fences at a couple of places in the hike to stop people from accidentally tumbling over very steep ledges and even handrails at times for more support up the trickiest sections of the hike. 

The good and bad of this hike is how crowded it is. There will rarely be a moment where you wont see someone coming or going for more that 50 yards at a time. This means that while there is little to no quiet and privacy, that if something were to happen to you there would be plenty of witnesses.

The rest at the top is wonderful. The view is by far the best in the valley and something that I recommend to everyone. Take 20 minutes or so to eat a snack, drink some water, take a breather and take some breathtaking pictures from the summit. The summit is usually pretty crowded so you won't want to stay too long. 

Be careful on the way back. It can be very tricky navigating some of the areas and twisted ankles and even broken legs are not terribly uncommon. Again, take you time and take plenty of breaks when you need them and you should be OK.

Don't forget to take plenty of water, I recommend at least a liter per person if you go in the morning and more that that if you do in when it is warmer outside.