Summiting Picacho Peak!

On our first day camping at Picacho Peak State Park in Arizona, what else should we do but - climb Picacho Peak!  Sounded like a good idea to us.  We decided to hike the Sunset View Trail - the longer of two routes to the top of Picacho Peak, 7 miles round trip.

We got up with the sun and hit the trailhead by 7:15 am:

The first two miles or so led us out across the desert behind Picacho Peak to approach it from the south side.  Here is a view to the west as we gained some elevation on the early part of the hike:

The desert is alive with bloom right now - sharing in the great superbloom this year from all the rains that spread across Arizona after they crossed California.  This beautiful cholla is one of many beautiful blossoms we saw:

Slowly climbing, we gained views to the south.  Here, Kathy appreciates them:

Finally, a view of our quarry:  the south side of Picacho Peak!

Once we started climbing, it wasn't long before we had to scale rock faces that would have been difficult or impossible to climb without the help of cables that have been drilled into the mountainside.  Here, David navigates the first steep climb --

== and Kathy shows her climbing skill as she follows on the same rockface:

A little over 3 miles into our hike, we reached the junction with the Hunter Trail, which is shorter and steeper and climbs over the saddle between Picacho Peak and the peak to its west.  By this time, David was starting to feel the strain of the climb:

Things kept getting more vertical.  Here, Kathy is sharing the vertiginous view with a Saguaro buddy:

More rockfaces and more cables.  David is really starting to feel the burn now:

Kathy seems to be conquering the climbs with more aplomb and ease:

Okay, now David has the hang of it, scampering up this steep face:

Before it was over, we had to cross this board bridge on the cliff face:

But it was well worth it.  Here, Kathy gives the "thumbs up" of victory, posing on the summit:

What summit doesn't deserve a selfie?

The following video is a 360-degree view from the summit of Picacho Peak:

Now, if you think this was an easy hike, look at this Wikipedia photo of Picacho Peak from the ground, and note that we reached that highest point:

As excited as we were about our achievement, many others had come before us and greeted us when we arrived:

From our lofty perch, we could see our campground, far below, next to a volcanic outcropping:

We rested awhile and snacked.  As we were readying to return down the mountain, we were buzzed by two small planes.  One flew above us, but this video of the one below us is more striking when you realize that we are above it, looking at the valley below:

The hike back was just as exciting and strenuous as our climb to the top.  By the time we got back to the trailhead, we concluded that we'll be sore enough in the morning.  Perhaps tomorrow will see a less ambitious outing.  Who knows?