Arizona Summits: Tom’s Thumb (3,830′, roughly)

Granite Sunrise, #2. McDowell Mountains, Arizona, 2014

OK, technically speaking, to get to the top of this one requires you to climb a minimum of 5.7 or so, and actually place protection–it isn’t an indoor jungle gorilla-gym route, dontcha know! [NOTE: There is a less-aesthetic 5.2 route up the west corner.] But, no need to go all the way to the top of the Thumb to have an enjoyable outing, as my buddy, Jimmy D, and I did this past Sunday morning.

You’ll find this area of the McDowell Mountains to be a mysterious wonderland of bizarre granite chaos. A climber’s delight, certainly, but also a photographer’s inspiration.

For the quickest access, try the trailhead on the east side of the mountains. At a good pace, you’ll be up in the Thumb area in an hour. If you want to be there early for sunrise, you may be forced to park outside the parking lot gate as it doesn’t open until some later hour (scroll to bottom of the link for Park hours), so add maybe 10 minutes to your walk time from your parking spot along the entrance road. By moonlight or headlamp, the trail should be quite easy to follow, but it is probably a good idea to hike it first in the daylight to scope out your photography sites and note the different trail intersections.

Best time to go: November through March. Avoid the summer unless you are Larry of Arabia or a Bedouin tribesperson.

Once up on top of the world, amongst the billions of boulders, consider walking past the Thumb itself, farther along the ridge to the north, for some great views. You can come down the climber’s trail at the northern end of this ridge and make it a loop. (Although the trail is steep and not for the weak-ankled.)

As always, check The Photographer’s Ephemeris for the sun/moon rise/set lines to see how they might line up with the Thumb and other interesting geographic features.

Some selected images…