Yesterday, my friend Crystal, and I hiked Humphrey’s Peak, which is the highest point in Arizona. This hike is an annual tradition for us and is our way to catch up, while catching our breath, haha. I call our annual Humphrey’s hike our “do or die” hike because we basically pick a day, meet at the trailhead, and….hike. We don’t train for this. We just do it. Yesterday was also “National Summit Day,” so our hike was particularly appropriate and relevant!

The weather yesterday was PERFECT. It was the best weather I’ve ever experienced while hiking Humphrey’s. Typically, I try to reach the summit by noon, to avoid any potential thunderstorms. However, there was zero chance of thunderstorms yesterday. We had clear skies and a light breeze all day. Beautiful.

The hike took us about 6.5 hours (this includes a few rest breaks and a longer lunch break at the summit). I think we made pretty good time, considering neither of us was in “good hiking shape.” One interesting thing I noticed was that shortly after we reached the saddle, I got a “second wind.” I asked Crystal if she was ok if I hiked on without her (she was) and I motored my way up the last mile to the summit. Hmm. Maybe all the mountain biking I’ve done in the past year, especially the climbing, prepared me more than I realized?

Highlights from yesterday include:

• PERFECT weather and temperature.
• Meeting lots of cute dogs on the trail!
• Seeing our friend Stevo on the trail!
• NOT seeing the usual amount of little bugs on the summit. For whatever reason, there were few of those bugs at the summit, which meant we could spend more time on the summit!
• The summit was NOT windy and cold.
• Absolutely delicious smells during the last couple miles. We were hiking through a Ponderosa pine forest and the bark of the pine trees smelled like caramel and vanilla. So yummy!

My Garmin said that we hiked 10.09 miles (round-trip) and climbed 3,255 ft (992 m) in 6 hours 38 minutes. My Garmin also said that I burned 2,351 calories. I don’t think I burned that many, but I DID permit myself to eat some fries after the hike!