Whether you like the approach or the views once you get there, what's your favorite peak?
I couldn't possibly narrow it down to just one, but I'll throw a few thoughts out there for fun.
Wrightson for proximity, variety of approach routes, and great views. I normally prefer new hikes over repeat trips, but I can do this one a few times a year.
Brown's Brother (Peak 2). My favorite of the four.
Ten Ewe. The best view of the most rugged range in the state.
Abineau. Forbidden fruit that's off the beaten path and avoids the tourists.
Clouds Rest. I haven't been on too many summits in other states, but it's my favorite view of Yosemite, and it's not so popular as to be annoying.
Honorable mentions to Mazzy, Old Smokey, Tenaya, Miller, Bassett, Estrella, and the Greenlee County Highpoint (just kidding !)
Wrightson is up there for me as well. I've had a fascination with the mountain ever since I first set eyes on it during my first AZT section hike in the Santa Ritas. From a distance it always looked like a mountain I'd expect to see in the jungles of South America (and that was before I found out about the Jaguar).
Massive/Elbert: both are very similar views, but I still think Massive is slightly better because you get better views to the North and the approach is much better. Snowy peaks for days on one side, large valley with some more mountains on the other.
Does Cheops Plateau count? Technically a summit. A little isolated island in the Inner Gorge that makes you feel really, really small.
I don't have a huge list of peaks I've accomplished yet, my "hiking career" is still in it's infancy. But those are some that have made an impression on me so far.
For me it's any peak in the valley in the 2k range with great views of surrounding suburbs and retail plazas, however, nothing gets my heart racing more than topping out on a majestic 4ker...
Any peak above the treeline is a favorite for me, I love being in tundra more than anyplace else.
Beyond that, in AZ, I like Wrightson, Baldy, & Mazzy. For nostalgic reasons, I also like Barry Goldwater since I hiked in the White Tanks all the time as a kid. In NV, I think my favorite so far is Mummy Mountain.
But nothing beats an epic trip up Goat Hill. It's at a whopping 2500', a javelina could chase you, there's a chupacabra cave, the brown cloud city views are amazing, and you just might get hit by a stray bullet from the nearby shooting range. I visit it every week!
Hmmm very tough question. California wise I haven't done many but they were good ones to me. 1,2,3- Whitney,Lamarck, Mt. San Jacinto... Arizona wise is tougher. Views from the Mother Load are pretty good. Humphreys in the fall looking into inner basin. Mt Baldy in the Fall looking into the Reservation. Wrightson, Sheep, Geronimo, Frasier,White..etc Dang! lets do them all again and take notes for this question
1. Rincon Peak - the view just might be better than Mt. Wrightson
2. Mt. Wrightson - best laid out 4,000 feet elevation gain you'll ever hike (via Madera Canyon)
3. Mt. Baldy - awesome trail approach, especially via the East Baldy Trail
4. Escudilla Mountain - for fall color before the Wallow Fire
My out-of-state favorite:
5. Mount St. Helens via Monitor Ridge
Camelback on a warm spring afternoon during peak season.
Guess I do enjoy Humphrey a bunch, too.
I could think of a few others, but favorite is hard to do and any listing just starts to sound like a list of peaks I have done. In reality, this probably changes over time for me, since I have moved a lot and lived in 5 places in the last 10 years (since I moved to somewhere with peaks) and 4 places in the last 5 years.
@JasonCleghorn
That's my baby. Not really the views or the journey.
Amethyst Peak of the Four Peaks is my favorite for views. Views mean more to me when I know what I'm viewing. It overlooks many hikes I've done in the Salt River Corridor.
In my earlier days I stood on Wasson or something down in Tucson. Fab views. Without knowing the area it's a snapshot and leave.
Likewise few will probably pick Squaw Peak. One holiday I stumbled upon @JimmyLyding at the peak. He must have named upwards if not more than a hundred surrounding peaks.
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