Hike Thumb Butte Prescott National Forest, AZ

Oct 09, 2021 — Thumb Butte is a cute little bump outside of Prescott, Arizona. The trailhead is incredibly popular and easy to access. While there is no official trail to the peak's summit, there's a nice trail system around the base of the peak leading pretty close to the high point. I took the steep, paved option leading directly south, which reaches Thumb Butte's west side. From here an opvious social trail leads northeast up a short, steep slope. I was presented with a few options to gain the scramble to higher ground. The standard option had a fixed rope in place, which facilitates a pleasant stroll up the slab. Without the rope I'd call the moves Class 3+. Alterantively, just to the right of the fixed rope is another option on big Class 3 boulders. I'd say without the rope this would be an easier option.

Once above the fixed rope, some fun, light Class 3 leads to the summit ridge. Light route-finding on fun Class 2/2+ blocky terrain brought me to the summit of Thumb Butte. Once I backtracked to the official trail, I decided to take a longer route back instead of descending the paved trail. This was an easy-to-follow option without much to comment on, except that making hikes into loops is generally more fun in my opinion.