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!
Looking fresh at the start of the hike.This is right at the start of the hike.I love the purple!On our way!We ran into Stevo! Always fun seeing friends on the trail.Getting higher…SO GREEN.Only 1,237 more feet to go!At the saddle. One more mile.Nerdy picture of my Garmin at the saddle.My new friend, Alex!The summit is “somewhere up there.” At the summit! Arizona’s high point at 12,637 ft (3,851 m).Statistics at the summit according to my Garmin.Summit picture (summit sign behind my head).Absolutely beautiful views from the top.Final statistics.The “we’re tired” picture at the end of the hike.
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!
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 