Hike East End via Tom's Thumb Trail McDowell Sonoran Preserve, AZ

Jan 20, 2023 — The McDowell Sonoran Preserve hosts a bunch of trails, Tom's Thumb perhaps the most popular. I intended to hike East End and Tom's Thumb, but only realized after starting the hike that Tom's Thumb is a Class 5 endeavor. Dismayed, I decided reaching East End's summit would be my only goal for this short outing and I'd do it hurriedly in order to have ample time for my bigger hike in the McDowell Mountains later today. East End is a nice enough peak and I was still able to see the granitic formations in the area, so not too much of a loss.

I parked at the developed lot built for massive crowds, though fortunately I started early enough to avoid the majority of the traffic. The Tom's Thumb Trail is well-marked and in excellent shape, wide enough that passing fellow hikers isn't a chore. I passed several trail junctions as the Tom's Thumb Trail made its way into the foothills. Though I wouldn't be reaching the summit today, the imposing tower was a cool feature to look up toward. The trail made a bunch of short switchbacks as it weaved up the north side of East End, though the summit wasn't in view. Along the way there are a few named scenic overlooks that I decided to ignore, but these clearly served as a nice resting spot for folks not in a hurry to get to the top.

The Tom's Thumb Trail stopped ascending and traversed horizontally along the slope for a time before reaching an overlook before a short drop. This drop leads to a saddle on the west side of East End, but to reach the summit I wouldn't be going all the way to the saddle. Instead, just after the drop as the trail curves south, a social trail pops in on the left. It's not obscured, though it's easy to miss since it's unmarked. I headed up this overall easy to follow trail, which climbed steeply to the north side of East End. There were some light Class 2 moves here and there. Once at the north side of the peak, the trail continued up the north slope, slightly less obviously, as it weaved around boulders and brush and reached a manmade structure of some sort just below the high point. A cluster of boulder marked the summit, where I took in the morning views outside of Scottsdale.