November 15, 2020

Prior to heading home mid-semester in the spring of 2020 due to covid, my friends as I hiked Piestewa Peak, which happened to be my last adventure in Arizona as a freshman! This fall semester my friends and I happened to hike Piestewa Peak again as my last adventure of the fall in Arizona. This was an unintentional coincidence of course, but it was great way to leave on a high note!

The original plan was to hike Camelback mountain for the sunset, but at Camelback you have to be back in the parking lot by the time the sun sets and that happened to be the time we arrived! Instead, we headed to Piestewa Peak which was about 10 minutes away.

Starting the Trek at Dusk

The sun was nearly completely set as we started our hike up Piestewa. We weren’t super prepared for this hike – but then again when am I ever prepared for a hike! I did have water, but the only flashlight I had was the one on my phone. My roommate had a tiny flashlight, and our two friends decided they were going to use their night vision instead. I don’t know how they did that, because I wouldn’t have been able to see the little rocks everywhere and I definitely would’ve rolled an ankle!

Seeing my First Rattlesnake

About 10 minutes into the hike, we were about to round a corner when we approached a group of people huddling around something with their flashlights on. Turns out, they were all staring at a rattlesnake!

I had never seen a rattlesnake before in person! I actually didn’t even know it was a rattlesnake until we were headed back down the mountain and my friends and I were talking about it. I had gotten so close with my phone to take a video of it because the other people were close to it as well so I figured I was okay! But I guess I got lucky.

The whole way down I was nervous we were going to see another rattlesnake and not have a lucky interaction this time. Luckily, we didn’t encounter another rattlesnake and we all made it out alive. Head to my instagram to see a video of the snake!

The hike seemed easier than when I hiked Piestewa Peak last spring. I think it was because it was at night and cooler out and I wasn’t hiking in the beating sun.

Once we reached the top, we admired how far into the distance we could see even at night time. It was such a cool perspective compared to the view we saw from hiking Piestewa during the day! Click here to see the view during the day.

Post-hike Grub

After our hike, we grabbed In-N-Out right near campus. Getting In-N-Out after an adventure is one of my favorite things to do. I’m normally starving from working up an appetite and In-N-Out definitely satisfies that. I have to take advantage of it while I’m out in Arizona since we don’t have any back home in New York!

I definitely recommend hiking Piestewa Peak at night! It is such a beautiful and relaxing hike and it has a very rewarding view at the top. Just remember to watch out for rattlesnakes – they aren’t all as nice as the one I encountered. And also bring a flashlight so you can see where you’re walking.

Coordinates of Piestewa Peak, in Phoenix, Arizona: 33.540, -112.024