I love Piestewa Peak. I was athletically in my prime in the 1990s and tried to max out my speed when I was in graduate school at ASU. I had a 1993 Ford Ranger and jammed out to Nirvana, Sting, Seal, and Soundgarden while driving to the trail head. At my prime in 1998, I ran up in 18 min and 19 sec. This was great for me, a football player (former lineman). But it was slow by the standards of my friends on the Zuni Reservation in NM. I was able to run to the bench about 2/3 up without stopping. On a "slow" day I would go up in about 19 min. But I lost my mountain running acumen when I moved to FL in 2002. The job market died out west, so I had to relocate. Then in 2005 I injured my left knee, and then my left calf in 2012. Now, as an aging Generation X guy I am about 70% of what I had been back then. Aging catches up to everyone eventually. But I still enjoy an occasional hike. I just go casually with a backpack and sports drink and just try to make it in about a half an hour (give or take a few minutes). I still enjoy the view at the top and the feeling of a good workout. Just beware of snakes and the occasional Gila Monster. At night about a year ago, I fell about 1/2 way up. I had a flashlight and was coming down but bought these new boots I had not broken in. I lost my balance and rolled a few yards. I broke my fall but scraped my left leg badly. It was embedded with many sticker thorns - very painful for about a week. Eventually, I recovered. Be careful up there! Even experienced hikers can have accidents. This time of year a heat stroke is a very real possibility. It's usually best to go early in the morning in the summer. Or just drive north to Flagstaff which has nice parks for hiking within the city limits. Or Mt. Humphrey is there for a summer challenge in cooler weather (still hard though due to altitude).

On our way to Phoenix and planning some sunrise hikes and considering this one. Thanks for sharing. Cheers! 🥂

I just moved to the Phoenix area and was looking for some nice local hikes when I came up on your channel. Looks pretty neat up there. I hope to give it a try soon, thanks!

Love this video. Thanks for bringing us with you.

I miss being able to hike here. Thanks for bringing back some memories :)

I've hiked Camelback from both trailheads numerous times & twice I've hiked round trip from Echo Canyon to Cholla TH & back to Echo Canyon + I've hiked Squaw Peak numerous times. However, I prefer hiking the numerous other trail in the Phoenix Mtn Park because they are less traveled than Squaw Peak. Now I want to watch your Flatiron video, a hike I've done numerous times.

Great hike and thanks for taking me along. I’m not going to make it to Casa Grande this season ... and am missing the weather and beautiful scenery there.

Nice video! I love this mountain as well!! Beautiful!

I am visiting Phoenix, I planned on doing Camelback (Echo Canyon) so I did that my first full day here. The concierge at my hotel told me about Piestewa so I did that o my 2nd day, loved it so much I did it again on my 3rd day. Camelback and Piestewa are both rated as very difficult, but in my opinion Piestewa is significantly easier. Camelback is a challenge while Piestewa is a nice hike. There are 2 peaks, the one most people seem to go to is fairly easy to get up on while the taller one takes some climbing to get up. Getting down off the taller peak is more of a challenge and certainly not for everyone. If you are not sure about your ability to safely climb down then I wouldn't climb up there, just stick to the shorter peak, they both have beautiful views. I made it to the summit in 47 minutes and that was with a few short breaks. This is in December with Temps in the 60s

Nice trail but way too crowded for me

The mountain range look so different than the ones here I'd love to go there one day

My favorite hike

I hike Squaw Peak every other day now for as much as I can and as fast as I can every day from here on out! I was at it every day but unfortunately I need at least one day brake but I want this everyday

Id argue the Flatiron is the best hike in Phoenix :)

I really really have to make it out west... landscape is so different out there.

Nice

Did you hike by yourself? You’re such a brave woman for hiking alone.

I'm trying to decide to go to flagstaff or Phoenix to run

What camera setup are you using? I see your gimbal curious about your camera?

Really nice hiking trail. Do you ever come to Ontario

Hey I don’t know if u still see these comments but I’m planning on going here in November and was wondering what the temperature was like for clothes and such 🙏

I'm visiting for a day and plan to do this hike. How long does it take to summit for a pretty athletic guy? This mountain looks beautiful!

Do you ever see any Crested Saguaros on your hikes?

Is this hike any easier than Camelback?

It’s a ok hike, nothing special . I’d put south mountain trails over this for sure