Saturday, October 4, 2008

Views from Piestewa Peak

My friend Jacob Hansen has conned me into hiking the Grand Canyon with him later this month, so I figured I had better train a bit. Piestewa Peak is situated in North Phoenix, and from the top you can see the entire valley. The Summit Trail gains 1200 feet of elevation in 1.2 miles of hiking, averaging roughly a 19% grade - not a particularly easy hike.

Last Saturday I hiked it for the first time, and reached the summit in 30 minutes - not bad for a beginner. Today I hiked it twice back-to-back, the first time in 27 minutes and the second time in 31 minutes. Oddly enough, the second hike seemed easier since my legs were already numb and my heart was already pumping.

Here are some views from the summit, unfortunately taken with the camera on my cellphone:



And roughly one hour later, after reaching the peak for the second time:


It was an absolutely beautiful morning, with temperatures in the mid-70s and a nice breeze. It's times like these that remind me why I live in this desert!

5 comments:

runningfan said...

Impressive effort, Dave!

Mark Dixon said...

I'll make it with you one of these days!

The Wizzle said...

My husband is awesome. Next week, the whole family is coming with you, although I don't imagine we'll all take the Summit trail. ;) The kids and I will probably mill around the base while you frolic up and down and all around. The weather is really starting to turn, though. YAHOO!

granny said...

Good job, good job. Way to go.

Anonymous said...

Giminy Christmas that is a hike! Now that the weather isn't so gross, I'm sure it will be ever more fun. Note to self, do more cool things.