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!
Well, as the title of this blog post suggests, I am surprised by how quickly this year is whizzing by! As I was looking at my calendar, I realized that I haven’t updated this blog in a couple of months. So, per usual, I will write yet another “catch up” post. 🙂
In May, a few friends and I hiked Picacho Peak north of Tucson. The last time I hiked Picacho was 9 years ago (see this post). The hike statistics have not changed, but what I CAN say is that the hike is mostly in shade! When I went 9 years ago, it was in early February and maybe the angle of the sun was such that the hike was not shaded then? I still enjoyed the cables and I greatly appreciated the company. After the hike, we made a detour and headed to the Tucson Art Museum‘s cafe to have some lunch and take home some AMAZING cake. It was SO GOOD. Well worth the detour!
Ready to tackle Picacho Peak!The view partway up the trail.Look how far we’ve come so far!A well-placed sign, in case we forgot which way to go.The trail gets pretty steep.Pretty desert landscape.I really did like the cables!There were also a few bridges.At the top!About to head back down.THIS CAKE IS SO GOOD!
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I hadn’t planned on any trips in June, but when my friend Vicki asked if I wanted to join her for a spontaneous weekend of downhill mountain biking at Angel Fire Bike Park, I said YES. Although the drive to Angelfire, NM is more than 9 hours, we easily did it in a day and we talked THE ENTIRE TIME. I am not exaggerating. I’m surprised my voice survived. The weather was lovely and we planned on 2 days of riding. Day 1 was great, despite my dumb little crash right after getting off the chair lift. It was really dumb….I slid out on some loose rock and fell on my face. Luckily, I was wearing my full face helmet, which did its job. We met up for dinner with some friends of Vicki’s and then I went to bed because I was tired! When we got to the lift the next morning, we quickly learned that the lift was out of service and there would be no riding that day. The resort was issuing refunds and we were scrambling to find something else to do. Apparently, there was a mechanical issue with the lift and the resort had to order parts that would not arrive for another week or so. Bummer! Our plan B was to drive to the nearby tourist town of Red River, have lunch at the brewery, walk around, and do some go-carting! Not a bad alternative. I still enjoyed getting out of the Phoenix heat, so overall, the weekend was still a win.
Can you tell these bikes belong to girls?Vicki and I about to get on the chairlift.Obligatory photo with my bike (a.k.a., Sassy Cat).I had one very good strawberry margarita.Day 2: I just learned the lift is out of service. No riding today.Lunch at Red River Brewery.The town park.Cute little ice cream and burger joint.Most of Vicki’s friends drove up together and got “party shirts” to wear while riding! This is the group after go-carting.OK, got it. Not going to go crazy while driving my go-cart!On the drive back to Phoenix, we stopped in Taos for some coffee. The coffee shop was right in front of a community garden.My chai latte was good!The gate to the community garden space.Lots of murals surrounding the garden.Good reminder.
————————————————*****————————————————Last weekend, I got to check out a new fun trail near Flagstaff called Full Sail. It’s a flowy downhill trail that looks and feels like a bike park trail. It’s smooth with great berms and lots of opportunities for jumps. However, in order to get to that fun downhill trail, we had to climb 8 miles! To be honest, the climbing wasn’t that bad, especially since we had some cloud cover. It’s been super hot in Phoenix because….it’s summer….so we were soaking in the cooler temperatures and reveling in the cool, overcast temperatures! I definitely plan on going back to Flagstaff and riding that Full Sail trail again…and again! Hope you all are enjoying your respective summers!
My Sassy Cat found a skull!!Gladys striking a pose.A pretty flower.Beautiful forest.Our little group before we started the downhill fun.Wheeee!We all got pretty dusty and dirty.Our bikes got dirty too!
reluctantroadie 