Picacho Peak (3,374 feet)    by Brian Schultz     Tuesday June 19, 2007

Picacho Peak drew my attention many years ago while driving from Phoenix to Tucson and I thought it'd be a fun peak to climb someday. The opportunity finally came while visiting family and friends in Phoenix and since I had a scheduled climb on Humphreys Peak the next day, it would also serve nicely as a warm-up for that. "Warm-up" turned out to be a literal understatement as I nearly suffered heat stroke climbing this desert peak in the summer.

After flying into Phoenix and picking up my rental car, I drove straight to the trailhead in Picacho Peak State Park, paid the $3.00 entrance fee, and readied my pack. Starting elevation at the trailhead parking lot is 1,970 feet but total gain is 2,300 feet with all the ups and downs of the route. I began at 11:10 AM on the Hunter Trail with little concern about the late start as skies were clear and roundtrip mileage was only four miles. I wasn't too concerned about the 105 degree heat either but should've been.

I set a slow pace on an excellent stone step trail which led to the vertical wall below the summit. The shade of the wall offered some relief from the hot sun as the trail continued to a saddle and then down around the back side of the peak. The descent from the saddle was quite steep on slabby rocks but attached cables helped to keep from slipping. Leather gloves are recommended to protect hands here and on the sections beyond.

The route continued up an exposed near-vertical crack followed shortly by a scramble along a slanted ledge. Though both areas had cables, just a flimsy fence protected the exposed ledge which might make some people nervous but I didn't think it was hard or scary. The remaining hike from the fence to the summit was an easy walk and I reached the top at 12:43, drained a 20 oz Gatorade, and stayed 25 minute before heading over to the subpeak. The short trip was rewarded with a nice view of Picacho but the heat was taking its toll. My body was drying out and I couldn't quench my thirst. Although two twenty minute breaks in the shade on the front side helped, I ran out of water before reaching my car at 2:40.

My head was spinning as I drove to the ranger station, where I stopped inside and bought an ice cold liter of water. The ranger suggested I sit in the air conditioned office, which I did for a half hour while listening to him tell sobering stories of rescues and deaths on the peak. After recovering and enjoying a treat at the local Dairy Queen, I drove up to Flagstaff hoping for cooler climbing conditions on Humphreys in the morning.

Picacho is a fun peak but best to climb in the early morning if climbing in the summer.

Trailhead to summit- 1 hour 33 minutes

Summit to trailhead- 1 hour 32 minutes

Start to finish- 3 hours 30 minutes 

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