As crazy as it might sound, I had never hiked to the top of Pinnacle Mountain until recently.  I’m only about an hour away from this beautiful spot, but this was my first visit.

Let me preface this by saying that I was a little over-confident!  I run a decent pace for a mile and run for about 5 miles.  The hike up Pinnacle is only about 1.5 miles round trip.  Well, add on top of that about 20 pounds of photography gear, a tripod, and a constant vertical incline and you end up with a very humbled Todd!  

See the pic below?  Yeah, that’s actually the trail after you’ve gone about half-way up West Summit Trail.  FYI, this is the EASY way up!

The trail has nice scenic spots all along the way up.  This little bend was pretty with some wildflowers and sunshine coming through.

Here is the view from about half-way up.

Yeah, more steep climbing!

Almost to the top!

Finally at the peak!  You can get a good 360 degree view from up here!

A much needed rest for me!  Time to eat a protein bar, drink some water, and just spend some quiet time with God.

Here is the view from the base.  After this, I hopped in my car to head to the 2013 HomeBuilders retreat. My calves were so sore from the hike that they were spazzing out on the gas pedal!  Worth the effort though and I hope I can go back when the skies look more interesting!