This hike was a leg burner! The climb was good and tough, but just the length overall – I was ready to be done around 6 miles.

We drove down from the valley and arrived around 8:30 AM. We were one of 3 cars in the lot. We finished and arrived back at our car at about 1:00, having taken about a half hour stop at the top.

The views were nice, and the abundance of saguaros is awesome. We also saw some deer on the trail, such a fun surprise!

The hike itself was a general steady incline, in rock. With about a mile left to the summit, you come to a few steep switchbacks, and then continue on a bit more to the peak, which is on the backside of the mountain, overlooking the view to the north. Doing the loop was a longer length, but coming down that way, the trail is more gentle with mostly packed dirt instead of rock, and all downhill.

We came across a ranger along the way who gave us a “pin” which honestly was the highlight of the trip. Felt like a gold star for a job well done!