Every Wednesday that we have been in Arizona, Tammy has been able to meet up with her Mom and hike Pinnacle Peak. Most of the time Mazie has been able to join her, but I was working so I couldn’t join. This week I’m on vacation and Tammy and I got to hike it together. It is a great route and the trail was impeccably maintained. They even have volunteers that are there to call for help if anyone needs it.

Satellite map showing a GPS track of a hiking route through desert terrain, with a red start pin on the left and green end pin on the right.

Tammy and I hiked from the trailhead to the end which was 2 miles. We went all the way to the end and touched the gate at marker 101. 436 feet of climbing that way. On the way back Tammy and I went at our own pace, and we both decided to push it.

She quickly left me in the dust. On the way back, the trail immediately climbs steadily for a half-mile and I was “redlined” at 170+ bpm the entire way up. You also get to climb more on the way back with 732 feet of elevation in the 2 mile return route. It turns out the end of the trail is about 300 feet lower than the trailhead!

Rocky granite peak rising above a boulder-strewn hillside dotted with tall saguaro cacti under a clear blue Arizona sky. _View of Pinnacle Peak from the beginning of the trail. You never do get to the peak._ Sonoran Desert hillside covered in saguaro cacti and scrub brush with large granite boulders and distant mountain ridges under a clear blue sky _Can’t get enough of the Saguaro cactus all around the trail._ Sonoran Desert hillside with saguaro cacti and granite boulders overlooking a sprawling valley with mountains in the hazy distance _You can see Scottsdale and the surrounding Phoenix area very well from here._ Desert golf course community with saguaro cacti and luxury homes nestled among rocky terrain, mountains visible in the distance _Golf courses really stand out in the desert landscape. As do the incredible houses in this area._ Saguaro cacti and desert shrubs covering a rocky hillside with a winding dirt hiking trail visible in the distance under a clear blue sky. _You climb and descend twice on this trail. Here you can see the trail on the other side climbing up the second mountain._ Rocky hiking trail with stone and timber steps climbing steeply up a desert hillside flanked by boulders and sparse desert shrubs _Stairs in the trail on the descent toward the end of the trail._ Rusty metal trail sign reading STRENUOUS BEYOND THIS POINT mounted beside a narrow sandy path cutting between large granite boulders. _Strenuous indeed._ 💦