I've hiked Half Dome, Mount Whitney, Mount Tallac, and numerous other hot spots. I was down in Arizona for Giants Spring Training and had heard that Pablo Sandoval ran up this mountain to lose weight. I figured if he could run up it, I could definitely hike up it.
We hopped in a cab and went to the Cholla Trail side because the other side was closed. Thankfully, we stopped at Starbucks on the way to get bottles of water. We would need them badly later.
The trail was pretty crowded but not overly crowded. We made it up to the top, chilled, took pictures, and came down in a round trip of 2 and a half hours. There was a great sense of accomplishment at the peak. Everyone was really friendly and we even saw a lizard basking on a rock.
I'm proud of the fact that there are some Arizona natives that haven't hiked it, yet we did, at 9 am on a Saturday morning a tad hung over. Bring plenty of water and enjoy the views of the valley!