Weather: 99°, warm breeze, sunset
About this hike: Got back from a crazy Hawaii trip on a red-eye flight to PHX this Saturday morning. While I consider myself pretty hardcore, I didn't have any hiking gear in the car, and I was exhausted after no sleep on my flight...needless to say, my Saturday morning tradition didn't happen.
But by 6 pm I was rarin' to get my feet on Piestewa Peak. I didn't take my time for this hike, mainly because I was stiff and sore having spent 10+ cumulative hours crammed into an airplane seat. I knew it wasn't going to be a record-breaker.
What a beautiful evening. I reached the summit just after sunset. A large, puffy white cloud over the McDowell Mountains was shooting out dazzling bolts of lightning. And there was a warm breeze. I stayed up on the zen-like summit for a long time just observing, thinking, reflecting... And then on the way down, all was well (I remembered the headlamp this time!) til near the base when I took a tumble. Not sure how it happened...but I skinned up my hand and knee and hurt my left ankle. None of it bad though, and my injuries haven't stopped me from working out today (not hiking tho!). So after 2+ years of hiking Phoenix's and the surrounding mountains, one minor fall isn't a bad safety record.
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