Got to Get Up Early if You're Hiking

Family has arrived and what a week in which to arrive!  A daughter and son-in-law wanted to hike so I decided to try Pusch Peak.  Hindsight being what it is, that was not such a good idea.  On a prior visit I had escorted them up Picacho Peak but this is an entirely different animal.

An early start is required so from the Linda Vista trail head we began, at 5:30am. The climb would almost entirely be in the shade so that was good.  But....

....if you've done the hike, you know how steep it is once you leave the Linda Vista trail for the unnamed trail to the peak.  That portion of the hike has an average grade of 30% so I was not surprised when my daughter, who lives in South Miami Beach, needed to take a break or two.

We arrived at the "wall" and.....

....climbed it but I evaluated my hiking companions and decided rather than head for the peak, we'd.....

....make Breakfast Point our destination.  

The sun began to clear Pusch Ridge and what a sight it was.

Breakfast Point was still in the shade but not for....

....long.

After enjoying a break, we headed back, finishing with 2.9 miles and 1400' of climbing.