Pass Mountain trail

 

Two Saturdays ago dad came with me to hike the Pass Mountain trail in Usury Mountain Park.  It goes all the way around the big mountain with the wind cave trail.  I had actually train run it with a few friends a few years ago and we went counter clockwise.

Dad had hiked it many years ago going clockwise which is what we did!  I highly recommend clockwise because the elevation increase is more gradual and if you go first thing in the morning there's a decent amount of shade going out the first several miles and coming back the sun is behind you.

Arizona desert is just so beautiful!  Since we had a good monsoon season this year there were so many shades of green on the trail, and even a few flowers.  Our desert blooms in the spring so it was a surprise to see some flowers this time of year.

This is at the saddle mid trail.  It was a great spot to sit down for some water and snacks and soak in a beautiful view a breath of fresh air.

I started Runkeeper app at the car and we got in nearly 7.5 miles.  I'd say we kept the pace moving comfortably the whole time.  The last mile felt a little long, just wanted to rest but it was good to push myself.  This is a trail I look forward to coming back to many times.

Piestwa Peak

 I barely squeezed in a August hike on the last day of the month.  After dropping Bea off at preschool I went straight to this trail in Scottsdale, hiked it, and went straight back to pick Bea up with a few minutes to spare.

Our group hiked this trail twice back to back a year ago to train for the Grand Canyon.  It is so hard.  Like really hard.  Just one mile up and one mile back but it's steep and rocky.  An 1,100 ft incline.  It was brutal.  And sooo good.

At the top I stopped for a breather and was able to talk to a couple other athletes.  One girl is a tail runner and has run up to a half marathon, the other an older guy who is visiting from Chicago and has run ultras.  I recommended hiking the Grand Canyon rim to rim and they both said it's on their goal list.  One of my goals is to run an ultra - over a marathon distance.  Maybe a 30 miler, and we'll see if it goes further than that like a 50 or a 100.  Training for even a marathon is such a time commitment.

^ ^ Feeling fresh before the hike. ^ ^

^ ^ Dripping in sweat and proud after the hike. ^ ^

I started Runkeeper app from the car.  The pace goes in line with the incline.  Much harder that last quarter mile.  It took about 40 minutes to hike up, and 27 minutes to come down.  Plan on doing this hike again before the Grand Canyon again this year.