I hear when you hit a certain age, it's all downhill after that. So for my birthday I decided to climb up a mountain instead. Now, the first time I hiked Camelback I thought that was a crazy climb with the railings and everything. Picacho Peak was at least 2x crazier. This is a great hike for those who like a little adrenaline rush. I have a fear of heights and am a cautious hiker, but I felt fairly safe most of the hike. I clung unto the railings at the treacherous sections, and that made me feel secure. Definitely start this hike early, we started around 8 or 9am, because you will hit major traffic on the sections of the trails with railings. We had no problem on the hike up, but we hit some crowds on our hike down as others were coming up. Trail conditions and weather were great. It's a good workout hiking up the first part to the saddle, my group were all huffing and puffing. After you reach the saddle, the rest of the hike is over shadowed by the rollercoaster of ups and downs and railings- this is where the fun comes in. I was worried hiking down would be hard, but it was actually a lot easier than I was expecting. We did not have gloves, and it was a really hot day, but I would definitely recommend them especially if it's gonna be hot and sunny when you go. Since it's been about a month since I hiked this, I don't remember the exact distance and time it was, but I think it was around 4-5 miles and took us 2-3 hours to complete. This hike was awesome and I've never done one like it before! Would absolutely go again!