Tag: vacation

Vacation-Brin Mesa

The next day we were up early for what was supposed to be a short, easy hike and then followed by an afternoon of shopping in downtown Arizona. However, we had some trouble. We had planned on going to Sugarloaf for the trail there.. The parking lot was full and street parking was not allowed. We then planned for Bell tower but the parking lot was full.  Planned on going to Vultee Arch- couldn’t find the parking lot so we ended up driving out to Brin Mesa. I tell you a four-wheel-drive will be much better to get you there but we were able to find parking. Hallelujah. 

We headed out for what All Trails said was a short 3 1/2 mile out back , it was also supposed to be very easy with very little incline.   Lies!  Brin Mesa started on this marvelous orange trail with green trees and the awesome rocks to your right. . Everything looked amazing. Then we had a little turn and a little climb that turned out to be a lot steeper than we thought. It’s basically like climbing steps, but I wasn’t prepared for that and I was whining. 

 Once we got to the top, we took a breather  and we could see some people out on a rock. So I let my mother convince me to go to the rock.  Once at the rock the view was amazing- 360° view.   Let me tell you, Brin Mesa is worth it.

Then instead of turning around like I had planned, we continued forward. Did we have a real plan?  No.  Was I positive I had  looked at the map at the trailhead right? Also no.   But, choose your own adventure.  So we continued around and eventually Brin Mesa turned into Soldiers Pass Trail, along the way this had one of the best views I’ve ever seen.   Pictures don’t do it justice.  

We continued down into a little gully and started to realize that we were connecting with Soldiers Pass, which I had hiked a couple years ago and I vaguely remembered the area. I was pretty sure we could pick up the other trail and loop around it to Brin Mesa without turning around, but also wasn’t positive. The catch was that I hadn’t actually looked at the map that closely and I couldn’t remember what the name of the other trail was. I vaguely remembered a man’s name so I figured I would figure it out.   It took us past the Seven Sacred Pools and back passed the sinkhole to the Soldiers’ Pass trailhead.. We were able to pick up the Jordan Trail- success!  And then we were headed back towards the Brin Mesa trail head. 

The Jordan trail was nice and pretty easy. There were no real technical moments, just a few parts where you crossed the rocks and kind of lost the trail, but it was fairly easy to pick it up again. I was melting because once again, I was unprepared for how much sun I was getting. We ended up getting back to the trailhead and getting in around exactly 6 miles.  So while it wasn’t long it was  a longer route that I had originally planned, but still worth it. 

However, I was still concerned about the next day, when we would venture into the Grand Canyon. We then spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around downtown Sedona and ate some good pizza before heading back to the hotel to get some rest. 

Vacation- Boynton Canyon/ The Subway

I so needed a vacation and some time in the dirt.   Cue- Arizona.

First up on my hike list was Boynton Trail and The Subway.    This trail gave it all- rocks, red dirt, streams, forested areas, sketch climbs and maybe getting a little lost.  

We were able to get a parking spot right near the trailhead which is also right near the bathroom. I still don’t know how we scored. This parking was only five dollars a day and you can pay on your app so it’s perfect. 

We headed out from the trailhead looking for the Subway and somebody had said something about a Vortex on Boynton Canyon Trail.  The trail took us to the typical red rocks for amazing scenes for the 1st mile before we turned off and headed for the Subway. This is where things get a little weird.  So there’s plenty of trails but they don’t always make a whole lot of sense so a lot of us got lost trying to find the subway.  Then we figured out we were going the wrong way so we all turned around and eventually figured out where we were going.  

The  Subway is this amazing rock and cave formation although climbing up can get a little sketchy. There was water coming down it so it was a little slippery but once you’re up to the top, the views are amazing.  It was spring break so it was super crowded, which I keep trying to avoid, but I keep failing at that. That being said, the people were really cool. We all were able to help each other take pictures or chat about how coming up the subway was a little sketchy. Or how getting down the Subway was going to be a little sketchy too.

I could see a corner that looked like it went around the rocks and continued on so I decided to go out and Adventure and see if it did. My mother was very not happy with me. It did work so I was able to get around the corner and they opened up a cave formation.  The caves were amazing and the views were amazing. I also found some cave art that I surprisingly managed to take a picture of without knowing.

From there, we went down a second way and I found that to be much easier than going down the original rocky way up into the subway and we headed back to the trail. Or so we thought. We were with another family and somehow we all got so lost. Do you know how you think you’re on the trail and you keep going but then the trail ends and you don’t know what to do when you turn around and the trail has completely disappeared. Yeah that happened. It was great so then we’re trying to use GPS to figure out where we were and GPS isn’t working properly. We couldn’t figure it out so we ended up what it felt like bushwhacking through some bushes just heading one direction and then somehow we found ourselves back on the trailer we diverted off for the subway. We still don’t know how I managed to get that lost.

From there, we headed up towards the end of the trail in Boynton Canyon and took us into a more forest area with a river which was great. I however was starting to have some problems with the heat. Oops, I packed for the cold. This was not cold, so I slowed way down as we headed towards the end of the canyon.  once into the canyon, they were against amazing views, as I sat and chilled and ate a snack.

From there we turned around and headed back to the car.  The car put us around 7 miles. I was feeling pretty done for the day but my mother was like no we have to get over 10 a day so I refueled at the car, changed my pack for my handheld, and we went out to do some more miles.   

We thought it was just a short shot. We took the Mescal trail to Canyon of Fools. . Mescal was great and user-friendly while Canyon of Fools Canyon was not. I mean technically it was shorter than going all the way around Mescal but we did not know the condition of the trail. The trail is mostly a wash. It is not the place you want to be in case of a flash flood, and you can tell that it had flooded recently.  Because it’s a wash it was very hard to find the trail. It’s also a mountain biking trail so luckily I was looking for wheel patterns but every now and again we’d get a rocky area and I would get a little confused. The wash was pretty cool, although, like I said, you did start to wonder if the flood was going to come and you were in the wrong place. From there, Canyon of Fools dumped us out onto the road and we had a little over a mile walk on the road back to the parking lot.  All in all it was a really good day. I might’ve overheated which I probably should’ve taken as a sign of things to come, but my legs felt good, and I was looking forward to looking forward to the next day.

Vacation- Soldier’s Pass

I love dirt. I really do.

Getting sick in January may have derailed my original vacation plans by a lot, I was still planning on adding getting in some miles on new to me trails. So I headed back to Sedona.

First trail up was Soldier’s Pass.

AllTrails calls Soldier’s Pass a moderate, 4.5 mile out and back trail. There is a small trailhead parking lot but will likely be full. We parked in overflow about a mile down the street at a school/ bike park location. There was a nice trail that ran along the road so it was nice warmup.

I love the color of the rocks and desert in Sedona. I know it gets hyped up a lot but there is a very valid reason for it. That also means be prepared for crowds. Everywhere. From prepared, experienced hikers to people in flip flops.

The beginning of the trail brings you to a cool sinkhole to check out. Then about a mile in (or 2 from overflow) the trail brings you to the Seven Sacred Pools. Maybe I was tired, but this part was a little underwhelming. Were there 7 pools? Maybe. Maybe I was blind. The trail starts to climb a little here but nothing strenuous.

The path was nicely shaded actually as we made our way to a little plateau. From there the real climb begins and things start to get hard. The path narrows and gets steeper as you make the last climb to the rock wall and the caves. The caves are cool. Getting up an into the big one is sketchy but I am proud that my claustrophobic self managed to climb up to the cave level. I spent some time up there for a bit- only almost fell once, ha! It does get crowded up there though and how more people don’t fall, I don’t understand. I did slip on my way back out of the caves and wrenched my shoulders a bit but I didn’t fall, so win!

From there, it was back down to the plateau then on to the Seven Sacred Pools again. Took a few moments here to take a sit and eat a snack or 2. It was a little warmer than I figured for March, even in Arizona.

All in all, round trip from the overflow lot to Soldier’s Pass was 6 miles with around 800 ft of elevation gain. Most of that in the last .25 mile or so. Totally worth it.

Recover

The race might have been my slowest ever but I was still a little achy post race.

Actually I had some very angry toes to deal with and they had been angry since I laced up my Wave Rider’s on race morning. It’s odd because toe pain is never an issue I had with them before. I had not worn flip flops one time since we left town. I have been having PF issues, particularly with my left heel so I wore running shoes the entire trip leading up to the race. Primarily my old Ghosts and a little bit of time in my newest trail shoes. The Ghosts are not really old, less than 100ish miles on them but no longer work for me running so I retired them into travel shoes- maybe beach shoes- so I don’t know where the pinched toes came from. I finished the race with one bloody toe and one black toenail. Boo.

The real pain came from the 17+ hour drive on Monday. For some reason we decided to go from northern Washington to middle of California in one day. Dumb. Between short tempers and crappy food and a fiery pain in my right leg- one I remember from when I commuted- I don’t know how we did it.

I think that left me the most sore and tired for the next few days. So Tuesday through Friday were pretty lazy vacation days. There may have been a nap or two.

I did get out for some miles over the weekend. Some trail miles with the pops on Saturday. Where I hiked up and ran down like a lunatic. It’s been so long since I did that. I forgot how much I missed it.

Sunday, I headed out for a short run/walk. Figured I would do whatever felt good. Last week was kind of lazy but I needed a chill week. Work is about to get crazy and I am starting a new training plan for another half, so a laid back week was good.

Actually, I wish it could have been a little longer.

Consistent

Not a word often used to describe me. Even more surprising when you factor in that vacation for me usually means a vacation from coffee too. What???

That said, last week was a good mix of doing nothing, sticking to my training plan and doing nothing. Wait did I say that already? Seriously though it was a pretty good week. I meant to write a post last week but I was just so busy doing nothing, it was a distraction.

When the week started, I had planned to stick to my training plan like it was written but reality saw me moving things around. With my doctor’s appointments and first service on my car, moving things fit my week better. And I added on the extra 2 miler instead of cross training. Woo hoo!

Actually, the 2 miler was the first work out errr, walk out of the week on Tuesday. I kept it close to home and quick. Well, as quick as walking can be. Only downside was a band aid malfunction. I’ve learned I am allergic to band aids-yay- and the sensitive skin ones have less than ideal sticking power.

Wednesday’s speech therapy appointment put me in the same town as the lake path so, yay! It was warm! Plan called for 3.5 miles and I know 3 laps around the lake is 3.5 miles. Instead of carrying water, I made my car an aid station and stopped when I needed to. My watch has been malfunctioning- I broke the dial- so sometimes it starts or stops and sometimes it doesn’t. Partway through my second lap, I realized it hadn’t started again and shorted me around 1/4 mile. So of course I had to walk an extra 1/4 mile to make up for it.

Thursday saw a rest day as my heel was sore. I need better work shoes so this is nothing new plus I had a few appointments.

Friday was supposed to be a hike but just wasn’t feeling it so I headed out for 3.5 miles at the river path. Where there was a nice breeze. I also had another band aid malfunction a little over a mile in so I turned around and headed back for the car. I hit 3.1 miles for the day instead. Grrr.

Saturday was supposed to be hiking and shopping… and it was! It was supposed to be a harder trail but I wasn’t feeling it so my mom and I headed for the Headlands trail. Very user friendly with views of the ocean- sign me up! All was good until almost 2 miles when I bottomed out. Occasionally I get what feels like low blood sugar attacks where I get real clammy, shaky and both feel starving and nauseous at the same time. Usually I have snacks in my purse but because this was an “easy” hike and the weather was nice, I had nothing on me. Not even water. Stupid. I leveled out enough to stare at the ocean some and get back to the car where I had fruit snacks, water and soda.

Sunday was an intentional do nothing day. Except instead of napping, I did some laundry and some cleaning and generally got ready to go back to work.

All in all, it was a pretty steady week. How was your week?