I know I will not be hideing this one but for you mountain goats who will be
the one to get this peak.......
Long wait nearly over for Pinnacle Peak Park
Sherrie Buzby/The Arizona Republic
Park coordinator John Loleit hikes down the trail at Pinnacle Peak Park,
which is to open in January. He thinks nearby homeowners likely won't even
notice the trail.
Peter Corbett
The Arizona Republic
Dec. 02, 2001
It is one of Arizona's revered landmarks, a craggy backdrop for city
slickers wearing stiff boots and eating leathery steaks.
Pinnacle Peak has long been off-limits to all but rattlers and scorpions,
years longer than developers promised the citizens of Scottsdale.
That should change in January, when the city plans to reopen the 3,171-foot
peak to rock climbers, equestrians and hikers who have been fenced off from
the jagged fingers of rock for six years.
The long-delayed completion of Pinnacle Peak Park will come just in time for
the busy winter visitor season, when the nearby Four Seasons Resort and
other north Scottsdale hotels are full of guests looking for nearby places
to explore the desert. It will be Scottsdale's newest park.
Scottsdale officials expect they will see lots of out-of-town visitors along
Pinnacle Peak Park's new 1.75-mile trail.
"Our job is to make sure they don't show up wearing flip-flops," Scottsdale
trails coordinator Scott Hamilton said of guests from the Four Seasons, a
short walk east of the trailhead.
The desert spire is best for well-shod feet, be they of horses or hikers.
Pinnacle Peak towered over empty desert for decades, surrounded by Western
steakhouses and little else. But luxury homes and golf courses have closed
in on the peak since 1994, and the city has repeatedly stumbled in its
attempts to reopen the mountain.
Proponents and new residents of Estancia, a luxury home development
surrounding the peak, resisted turning over the 150-acre park, and top city
officials were lax in forcing them to abide by an agreement to do so, said
Paul Diefenderfer, a rock climber who fought to ensure renewed public access
to the mountain.
"It's been closed forever," Diefenderfer said of the peak and its
challenging climbing routes. "We want to get back out there."
No date has been set, but city park officials say it should be sometime in
January.
"The homeowners did try to stop development, but now the people living in
Estancia and Desert Highlands have accepted it," said John Loleit, Pinnacle
Peak Park coordinator. "I think they will be pleasantly surprised that they
really don't notice that the trail is there."
Stan Norse, manager of the Estancia Homeowners Association, said residents
remain concerned about noise, parking and hikers wandering into their back
yards.
"I think we've addressed everything we can until the park opens, and then
we'll have to take it from there," Norse said. "We really don't see how
screaming and hollering will do anybody any good at this point."
The Coalition of Pinnacle Peak, a group with about 1,300 members, has been
pleased with how the city responded to its concerns about overdevelopment of
the park, said Bob Vairo, coalition president. At one point, a desert museum
and other tourist facilities were included in plans for Pinnacle Peak.
"We all realize there is a park there dedicated for the use of the public,"
he said. "We were able to work out an arrangement where there would be
sensitivity to the residents of the area."
Hikers, climbers and horse riders will reach the trail from a new parking
lot a few hundred yards northwest of Pinnacle Peak Patio, a rustic
steakhouse at Jomax and Alma School roads. A 50-space parking lot, with room
for horse trailers, restrooms, a ramada and park office, are being built at
a cost of $860,000.
Guests at Four Seasons Resort will be able to walk across an easement of
state land to the trailhead.
"For our guests to be able to access Pinnacle Peak is a fantastic benefit,"
said Christopher Hart, Four Seasons general manager. "It's one of the most
notable peaks in the Valley, with great views not only for our guests, but
for residents of Scottsdale."
Four Seasons and other area resorts get lots of requests from guests on
where they can hike in the desert.
It is getting more difficult, with so much development going on, to find
trails that provide a good desert experience that are not too remote, said
Sue Kavanagh, a spokeswoman for Fairmont Scottsdale Princess.
Princess concierges recommend Cave Creek Recreation Area and Phoenix's Squaw
Peak Park to many guests who want to hike. They send a few to Camelback
Mountain with the caveat that it is more of a climb than a hike, Kavanagh
said.
Pinnacle Peak will offer a new hiking opportunity for Princess guests, and
it is fairly close to the resort, she said.
Boulders rock-climbing instructor Kerry Ecker said guests at the Carefree
resort do their climbing on the signature boulder formations on the resort
and hike on Black Mountain or in the Cave Creek Recreation Area. But he is
eager to see Pinnacle Peak reopen.
The best time of year to hike on Pinnacle Peak will be from October through
April, which coincides with the tourist season, park coordinator Loleit
said.
"Last year, the wildflowers started to bloom in late January on Pinnacle
Peak," said Loleit, a former national park ranger. "The poppies and lupines
we're just phenomenal."
He expects the trail to be popular with visitors and locals alike.
Hiking the entire trail and back at a leisurely pace will take about two
hours, Loleit said. The trailhead is at an elevation of 2,570 feet, more
than 1,000 feet above the Scottsdale Airport. The trail reaches a high point
of 2,889 feet before descending to 2,366 feet on the western end.
There is access on the western end to Jomax Road, but parking will not be
allowed there, Loleit said.
Only rock climbers will have access to the actual Pinnacle Peak and two
other climbing areas, called Cactus Flower and Y Crack, within the new park.
When it reopens, Pinnacle Peak Park will be open daily from dawn to dusk.
Park staff and volunteers will patrol the park and offer interpretive
programs about the area's geology, archaeology and wildlife.
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