Desert Daydreams: My (Slightly Delirious) Hike to Tom’s Thumb

On January 15, 2023, I found myself in Scottsdale with a full day to kill while my then-boyfriend played a golf tournament at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes. Golf is great and all… but watching men in polos whisper over putts for six hours wasn’t exactly calling my name. So I did what any mildly feral, semi-adventurous girlfriend would do: I went hiking.

I picked Tom’s Thumb — a classic Scottsdale favorite — because everyone online said it was an “easy” hike. And normally? Yes. Probably. But on this particular day, I’m like 80% sure I had COVID. I was sweating, shivering, seeing desert mirages… the whole dramatic desert-princess experience.

Still, I laced up and powered through like it was a pilgrimage.

The trailhead was gorgeous: big desert sky, saguaros standing like wise old guardians, warm winter sun lighting everything up in that Arizona glow. Tom’s Thumb looked so close you could almost reach out and tap it — rude, honestly, because the trail makes you climb for it.

Every switchback felt like a personal attack, and every cactus I passed felt like it was silently judging me for breathing so loud. But the views kept getting better and better, and eventually I made it to that giant rock formation feeling victorious, dizzy, and very aware that I should have stayed in bed.

But honestly? Totally worth it.

There’s something healing about the desert, even when you’re half-dead and wandering around like a dehydrated Victorian ghost. I sat on a rock, swallowed some water like it was holy, and took in the whole valley spread out below me. It was quiet, warm, and a perfect little reset — even if I coughed the entire walk back down.

Then I drove to pick up my boyfriend, who had no idea I basically completed a fever-dream quest while he was out there golfing for glory.

Would I do it again? Absolutely. Maybe just… not when I’m low-key dying next time.