Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all of you! How is it the end of 2024 already? The past month has been packed with work stuff, holiday events, and fun outdoorsy things, which is why I’m tardy again in updating this blog! First up, a recap of my now-annual DIY 7 Summit Challenge which occurred on December 7. This year is the 6th year that my hardy crew of hikers have tackled the Herculean task of completing 7 hikes in one day. My DIY event is based on the official 7 Summit Challenge put on by Phoenix Parks and Recreation but without the entry fee! Like last year, all 7 hikes were at South Mountain to help minimize the driving time. Of the 16 hardy hikers that started the day, 5 stuck it out till the end and completed all 7 hikes for a total distance of 21.7 miles (35 km) and total elevation of 5,124 ft (1,561 m). We started the day at 6:32am and ended at 5:21pm, which meant that we took 10 hours and 49 minutes to hike all 7 hikes. This is almost exactly one full hour faster than last year! Here’s a photo dump from the day–enjoy!
Summit #1 attained!Sunrise during hike #1.Another sunrise picture.More sunrise!Partway through hike #2.Summit #2!Summit #3!My S(elf)A(ppointed)T(rainer) and I on top of summit #3.Heading down hike #3.Start of hike #4.Hike #4 desert landscape.Summit #4!Almost at end of hike #4.Saw horses near end of hike #4.Hike #5. This trail currently starts differently than normal, due to some maintenance work.Summit #5!Summit #6! Apparently, none of us thought there was anything interesting to take a picture of during this hike!Late afternoon light during hike #7.Another late afternoon picture.Summit #7!Official end time of the day, according to my phone!My hard-earned dinner!Happy and tired hikers at dinner.
One hike I’ve been wanting to do for a while is Battleship Mountain. I finally got the chance to do this the week after my 7 summit day, which was great timing, as I was in good hiking shape! So glad that my friend Gladys was our hike leader, as she is very familiar with the area and the hike itself. The Battleship hike is in the Superstition Mountains east of Phoenix and is rated advanced, mainly due to the “scrambling” involved. According to my Strava statistics for the hike, we hiked 12.47 miles (20 km) and climbed just over 2,600 ft (800 m). The first 4.5 miles are relatively flat and crisscross a creekbed multiple times. Then, you’ll see some rock cairns that mark the point where you start climbing towards the Battleship rock formation. The views are incredible! Totally makes the climb worth it! It was an epic hike with great company and I’m so glad I got the opportunity to do this. Enjoy these pictures!
Smiling and excited to start this hike.The first 4 miles were pretty easy and relatively flat.Playing with shadows.An attempt at taking an artistic photo.Lots of cacti, of course.We could see Weaver’s Needle (the pointy thing on the right) for most of the hike.Finally, we reached the point where we had to start climbing up towards the Battleship!The back of the Battleship is on the right.Looking at the back end of the Battleship.We had to do a lot of rock scrambling to get to the top!This hike is not the best for those with a fear of heights.More climbing….…a fun, narrow connector…Yes, we climbed up that.Getting closer!Inside a cool cave along the way to the end.Another beautiful view with Weaver’s Needle in the background.Absolutely gorgeous out there!Taking a lunch break at the top!The top is a flat tabletop (i.e., mesa). Canyon Lake is in the center background.Making our way down the way we came up.What a cool view!So happy to be out there!Taking a look at the aftermath of the forest fires the past year.We did it!
The title of this blog post is a mouthful, but the mission for the day is a big one, so the length of the title fits! The challenge is based on the annual 7 Summit Challenge put on by Phoenix Parks and Recreation. If you elect to participate, your goal for the day is to complete 7 hikes around the Phoenix metropolitan area. When I first heard of the event 6 years ago, I was all set to register….until I saw that I’d have to pay about $100 for the privilege of suffering all day. Why should I pay for that when I could suffer for free? With that thought, my DIY 7 Summit Challenge was born. I’ve had a hardy crew of hikers join me each year — except for 2020! — and we’ve had a pretty good time each year. However, because this year’s challenge was the FIFTH annual event, I thought it would be fun to shake things up a bit and do all 7 hikes at South Mountain (SoMo), instead of around the Phoenix valley. So, on Saturday December 2, 2023, an enthusiastic bunch of hikers gathered together at 6:30am and started their mission.
The 7 SoMo hikes for the 2023 challenge: Marcos de Niza, Telegraph Pass, Pyramid, Hau’pai, Ranger, Holbert, and Mormon. (Click this link for more information on South Mountain.) A couple of the hikes were newer to me, so it was fun to become more familiar with them. I think my favourite hike was Hau’pai because it had fantastic views! It was pretty steep and I heard several people say that they were surprised by how much climbing was involved. #sorrynotsorry
My personal goal for the day was to complete the challenge in under 12 hours. I didn’t think we’d beat our time from last year because of the unfamiliarity of a few of the trails and less transition time / less rest between several hikes. For example, Hau’pai, Ranger, and Holbert trailheads were only a few minutes from each other. I’m happy to report that we completed all 7 hikes in 11 hours and 50 minutes! Based on my Strava recordings, our cumulative hiking mileage was 26.73 miles (43 km) and cumulative elevation gain was 5,895 feet (1,797 m). Not bad! The post-hike fries were as yummy as I remembered them. 🙂
Enjoy the photo dump. 🙂 Let me know if you want to join me for the 2024 challenge!
Hike #1: Marcos de Niza.“Are we there yet?”Summit #1!I met a cute dog at the summit.Sunrise as we start the descent of hike #1.Another sunrise shot.Heading towards the middle–hike #2, Telegraph.Summit #2!Descending Telegraph.Me with Jess and her daughter. Jess was able to join us for hike #2 and it was great to see her!Najib, Robert, Chris, and me clowning around in the parking lot.Janelle, Carrie, and me on hike #3: Pyramid.Still a ways to go until the summit.Summit #3! Nathan took this photo because of his long arms. He also said he’d take the photo on the count of 3…then took the picture after he said “1.” Apparently, he’s not the best with numbers, lol.Descending Pyramid.Teresa showing off her festive attire.Cool shot of Teresa on hike #4: Hau’pai.Another cool picture on Hau’pai.Khalid at the summit, enjoying a snack.Nathan standing tall at the top.Me and Shelly at the top.My SAT and I did not intentionally coordinate our outfits.Another view from the Hau’pai summit.Part of the “swag” this year included little Fireball whiskeys. My SAT enjoyed a few swigs during each hike.Yet another view from the summit of Hau’pai.Did I mention this was my favourite hike of the day?Summit #4!Descending Hau’pai.Hike #5 (Ranger) wasn’t the most interesting in my opinion, so the only picture I’m including from that hike is the group summit photo.….and hike #6 (Holbert) is perhaps my least favourite because of the big stone steps. So…the only picture you get to see is the summit photo!It’s getting dark quickly during the 7th and last hike (Mormon).A very quick summit photo before we all started descending. My happy group of well-fed hikers!I earned that food! On the left are the 3 stickers I made for this year’s event.
This past weekend, a hardy group of hikers completed my annual DIY 7 Summit Challenge. The event is based on the official Phoenix 7 Summit Challenge and the goal is to complete all 7 hikes in a day. All 7 hikes are located in the Phoenix metro area. The “DIY” part refers to a few modifications I make to the event, such as the order of the hikes and switching out a few hikes to avoid driving all the way up north. This year’s hikes are the same as last year’s, with 1 exception; I decided to include Shadow Mountain, which I hadn’t even heard of! The 7 hikes for this year’s challenge: Piestawa Peak, Shaw Butte, Lookout Mountain, Shadow Mountain, Holbert, Mormon, and Javelina. I tried to group the hikes geographically, then by perceived difficulty. For example, the first 4 hikes are all within a 10-15 minute drive from each other and the last 3 are also relatively close to each other. Also, the first 3 hikes started “hard” (i.e., Piestawa is 2.73 miles long and gains almost 1,200 feet in elevation. Shaw Butte and Lookout are easier because they don’t have as much elevation gain.), the 4th one is short (i.e., Shadow Mountain is 1 mile round-trip), and the last 3 follow the same pattern of difficulty as the first 3.
Highlights of the day included a beautiful sunrise, great conversation, many adorable dogs on the trail, and finishing before dark! I also made stickers this year, which was a fun little project. The catchphrase of the day: “We’re losing daylight!” (I don’t know how many times I said that….probably at least 7 times, haha.) Similar to last year, our celebratory dinner was at Fate Brewery in Tempe and we had to climb the stairs to our table (bonus summit!).
According to my Garmin, total mileage for the day was 20.55 miles / 33 km (mileage does not include the bonus 8th summit), 5,758 ft / 1,755 m of gain, and 11 hours and 7 minutes for the entire event, which is about 50 minutes faster than last year! It was a great day and everyone did SO well! Happy holidays and rest up! 🙂
Just before sunrise on Piestawa Peak.Summit #1: Piestawa PeakA different perspective of the previous photo.Sunrise!A “digger” on the way up to summit #2.Summit #2: Shaw ButteSummit #3: Lookout MountainOn the way up summit #4. This hike was new to everyone. It was pretty steep and had a lot of loose rock on the trail.Summit #4: Shadow MountainSummit #5: Holbert/Dobbin’s LookoutShelly and I were the first ones to reach the 6th summit. My feet were hurting a lot by this point because of some blisters. I think I’m hiding the pain pretty well here!Summit #6: MormonShelly and I were the first ones (again, haha) to reach the 7th summit.I had to get at least one selfie with my SAT (self-appointed trainer). My feet were REALLY hurting. I was very motivated to finish!Summit #7: Javelina. My friend Gladys took this photo from a distance using her watch. The photo is a little blurry, but it captures our joy at reaching the last summit!End time was 5:37pm. It was still daylight!Darkening sky.We had to get 2 tables for our group at Fate.Happy, hungry hikers at table 2.Yum yum yum!The stickers I made for the event. I think they turned out well!
December was busy with outdoor activity! I started the month with a holiday ride at Browns Ranch, a popular local trail system in Scottsdale. I had a number of ladies in the HBRO mountain biking group I’m part of request a holiday-themed ride, so I organized one, complete with treats and festive attire. It was a really fun morning and everyone came dressed to impress in their holiday best.
Great turnout for the ride! This is right before we rolled out.Because there were so many riders, I split the group into two smaller groups. This is my group looking their best!Both groups finished at the same time!I requested everyone to bring some treats to share. We had a tailgate-style party after the ride in the parking lot!
The next weekend was my second mountain bike race of the year: Dawn to Dusk. This event is a 12 hour endurance race held at McDowell Mountain Regional Park in Fountain Hills. The objective is to complete as many 16 mile laps as possible in 12 hours. There are many race categories, such as solo men, co-ed duo, and four person teams (men, women, and co-ed). Those categories are further divided into age groups. All that means is that there were A LOT of racers that day on the trail! I was part of the same four person ladies’ team as my race in August because we all thought it would be fun to do another race together. This time, we raced in honour of a young girl fighting cancer; her name is Julia and she’s a friend of one of the ladies on my team.
(My team wearing our t-shirts in honour of Julia.)
I can honestly say that the day went by SO FAST! From meeting up with the HBRO crew way too early in the morning and freezing our butts off (it was just above 32F / 0 degrees celsius at 5am) to actually racing to hanging with the crew while waiting to race to eating to playing with our team dog Maya….12+ hours went by in a flash. In addition to the actual racing, the event featured several food vendors (Peddler on the Path mobile cafe, @pizzart_602, and Stanzi’s Food Truck), Active Bodyworx who offered free 10 minute massages that were amazing, and some bike repair and merchandise shops. Although my team didn’t “podium,” i.e., place 1st, 2nd, or 3rd, we all achieved personal bests—woohoo! A highlight for me was passing 7 guys on the climb during my second lap and telling them “good job.” 🙂 I do enjoy passing guys when I ride!
It was REALLY COLD at 5am!I’m starting my first lap.Professional photo during the first lap.“Home base” while we waited to race.My teammate’s husband and dog, Maya.Beautiful mountains in the distance. You can see how full the venue is with all of the RV’s, trucks, etc.Another view of all the individual spaces.
The last major outdoor event for the month was my annual DIY 7 Summit Challenge. The event is based on the official Phoenix 7 Summit Challenge and the goal is to complete all 7 hikes in a day. The hikes are located in the Phoenix metro area. It’s basically the hiking equivalent of a pub crawl…. without the pubs or beer or food, haha. We even had stickers this year! The “DIY” part refers to a few modifications I make to the event, such as the order of the hikes and switching out a few hikes to avoid driving all the way up north. Highlights of the day include a beautiful sunrise, great conversation, an adorable husky puppy sighting, and a full moon. In a strange twist of “Fate,” we had to climb a bonus 8th summit at Fate Brewery in Tempe to get to our table for dinner. That was probably the hardest climb of the entire day! According to my GPS, total mileage for the day was 21.47 miles / 34.5 km (mileage does not include the bonus 8th summit), 5,054 ft / 1,540 m of gain, and less than 12 hours for the entire event, which includes the drive time between hikes. It was a great day and everyone did SO well!
The group photo right before we started hike #1.View during the first hike.Seeing the moon during the first hike.I don’t recall this photo being taken!Cool picture at the summit.Group photo at summit #1.Beautiful sunrise in process.Christmas tree seen during hike #2.Top of hike #4.More than halfway done!View during hike #5.Steadily making our way up to summit #5.Summit #5 photo.Cute husky puppy named Rory!Catching the last rays of light during the last hike.Seeing the moon again!Summit photo for hike #7!Our bonus 8th summit: dinner.Group photo for summit #8, haha!I INHALED my fries.Some of us found it hard to walk down the stairs!The stickers–hard earned.
I wish you all a Happy New Year and many great adventures in 2022!
reluctantroadie 