Dan writes:

My early years of flying were spent in the Midwest where as long as you
were over 2000 MSL, there were very few obstacles to hit and no
terrain. Now that I have moved out West (Phoenix) I am increasingly
paranoid about hitting terrain at night.

Choosing a cruise altitude is easy (well above anything even close to
your route). However, what I worry about is my letdown to pattern
altitude at the destination airport as well as departure. Short of
filing IFR (which carries with it Oxygen requirements for some local
MEAs) what other strategies do you all use? Any "systems" or
tricks to share, or is it pretty much just look at the sectional and
make a plan?

In the area around Phoenix these days, anything that isn't covered
with lights is likely to be a mountain, as I think that steep
mountainsides are the only spots left that aren't covered with
buildings and homes. The valley itself is quite flat, but it is
filled with traffic around the 12th-busiest airport in the world, and
the mountains rise rapidly around it. The terrain is flatter to the
southeast (Mesa, et al.) and southwest (towards Gila Bend), but there
are still mountains to contend with--flatter terrain is beyond. To
the north, the mountains don't let up much after you leave Phoenix.
South Mountain and its range to the south has large radio antennas
that help to mark the highest elevations.

KPHX is above 1135 feet, so 2000 MSL wouldn't give you much margin in
the valley and it will place you within terrain in many of the
surrounding mountains. I think 6000 MSL would clear most of the
mountains surrounding the valley, but I won't swear to it.

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