I would like to preface by saying we hiked the Fremont Saddle the same morning and were not expecting to hike Picacho Peak until the following day. However, when we learned there was rain forecasted for the following day, we decided to just do it on the same day (as we drove in from Southern California). Also, we were planning to start at Hunter Trailhead but the lot was full so we drove to Sunset Vista Trailhead and got lucky there and found a spot to park. We started hiking at 11:41am and got back to our car at 3:52pm.

Starting at Sunset Vista Trailhead is a longer route than Hunter Trail but really is such a beautiful trail. I also learned this was the original way up to Picacho Peak but Hunter Trail became the more popular trailhead once it was created. The trail up to the cables was great, such a great desert trail. Once we got to the cables, that's where I got a little frightened. The initial set of cables is just a straight shot up and I have zero (if I could go into the negatives, I would) rock climbing experience. After watching a couple people come down, I decided to put on my brave face and went for it. It was not as bad as I thought!

After this, we hit the hunter trail junction and there were a few more cable sections before getting to the peak. None were as frightening as that first one though. Side note, you do lose some time at the cables if the trail is busy since you have to wait for people to come and down. Once at the peak, we were too frightened to stay for long. Captured a picture, had a quick snack and then started working our way down.

Coming down the cables frightened me all over again! Safe to say, I was happy once I finished off that last cable section. I HIGHLY recommend gloves with good grip for the cable section.