PIESTEWA PEAK (2608’)

February 9, 2011

By Tim Briese

2.4 miles roundtrip, 1200’ elevation gain, 1:50 roundtrip time

Piestewa Peak is a rugged and rocky peak in the Phoenix Mountains Park, about 10 miles northeast of downtown Phoenix. Formerly known as Squaw Peak, its name was changed a few years ago due to cultural sensitivities. There is an excellent but steep trail to its summit that sees extremely heavy use. I pulled into the parking lot on a beautiful cool February morning and joined over 40 other cars already parked there. Thank goodness it was a weekday or empty parking spaces might have been nonexistent.

view of piestewa peak from the parking area

At 10:45 I headed up the nice trail surrounded by other climbers, joggers, runners, etc. I was about the only one out of 100+ hikers with trekking poles and a sizeable pack, but hey, I didn’t care if I was different!

the beginning of the trail

view of downtown phoenix from the lower part of the trail

 I set a brisk pace up the steep trail, enjoying the increasingly expansive views as I climbed higher.

other hikers on the rocky trail

 The route steepened just below the summit and at 11:20 I stepped on top. The surrounding views of the Phoenix metro area were outstanding.

view to the west from the summit

camelback mountain, which offers another fine climb in the phoenix area

I visited for a while with two fellows from Alaska who were lounging on the summit. Although the great majority of hikers stop here and call it good, there is slightly higher small rock outcropping about 50 feet to the southeast that is the true summit. A minor rock scramble is required to get over to it and of course I had to do that.

the true summit is over there

climbers on the "tourist summit"

After a half hour I left the top and headed down. A continuous stream of hikers was going up and down, including a shirtless jogger who was on his second trip up the peak this morning. An older guy from Chicago was sitting and resting in the shade of a bush and I stopped to visit with him for a few moments. The ascent took me only 35 minutes, since I was in the mood for a workout, but the descent took 45 because my mindset became more leisurely. The day was rapidly warming up when I returned to the car and I was glad I had not done the climb later in the day.