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Photo of the Week 6/25/19
Opting Outside
Photo of the Week 6/17/19
This week’s photo is of the Siphon Draw Trail in the Superstition Mountains, a really cool hike, and tough if you go all the way to the flatiron!
Photo of the Week 6/10/19
Here’s my best outdoor picture of the week, a beautiful Arizona Sunset
Afternoon at Canyon Lake
We cruised out to Canyon Lake, part of the Salt River, to hang out and so I could do a little SUPing. It’s about an hour from the house and the last part is a cool drive through some amazing desert scenery.
We brought Walter the Dog, we’re trying get him used to having people around so he can go do more stuff with us. He gets a little crazy around people he doesn’t know…
Since it was a Tuesday, and starting to get hot, I thought it would be quiet at the lake, but there were a good amount of people out there having fun. It always makes me very happy to see people out enjoying our National Forests, Parks, and public lands, they are one of our countries greatest natural resources.
The main reason we were there was just to relax in a cool outdoor spot not too far from the house, we were able to find a spot on the shore with a tree for some shade. We got a little camp set up and enjoyed the afternoon and some sandwiches. Most of the time there was a nice breeze and the water was super refreshing! Once I got the SUP inflated I took it for a cruise, paddled through some good rollers from the passing boats and almost fell in!
If you head out to Canyon Lake or any of the Tonto National Forest Recreation areas, make sure you get a Tonto Pass before you get all the way out there. They’re available at most gas stations and such as you leave town.
If you’re looking for an inexpensive way to get in SUPing, this paddle board has been awesome so far!
HydroForce White Cap Inflatable Stand Up Paddleboard SUP and Kayak 10′
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A Few of My Favorite Pics from Past Year’s Adventures
While I think we all know that no picture of an amazing outdoor scene truly does it justice, you can still capture some great shots. I think I’ve gotten some cool shots for some guy snapping pictures with his phone’s camera while hiking around, so here’s some of my favorites.
All pics taken with various models of iPhone and some have been instagramed.
Colorado
I’ve been taking a backpacking trip to Colorado every summer for the past 3 years, it is not hard to find some beautiful views,
Grand Canyon
Last year was my first time hiking Grand Canyon and it was awesome, so awesome I’m going again this September! If you took a picture of every amazing view you’d never get to the bottom,
And there’s always more pics on the ol’ Instagram.
Time to Train for the Summertime Adventures
AKA: There Will Be Sweating
The yearly Colorado backpacking trip can be a challenge, mainly because of the altitude. Coming up from Phoenix, AZ (elevation 1086’), makes for a tough first few days. I like to enjoy myself as much as possible, call me crazy, so being fit is the only way to get past the altitude problem. The main challenge during the summer in Phoenix? You guessed it, it’s hot. The good news: as long as you don’t mind early mornings Phoenix is a great place to train outdoors year-round. As I’ve gotten older the heat has started to effect me more and more, and every summer the news is filled with stories of people taken down while hiking in the heat, so you need to be careful and hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. I’ve got another Grand Canyon hike coming up in September as well, so being hiking fit and well acclimatized to the heat is required!
I try to make it to the gym for some strength training twice a week, get in at least one swim, and a hike or bike ride. Usually on my hikes I run the flat parts and try to hike quickly up the steep sections.
I’m not really a fan of training with my pack on, I prefer to just work on overall fitness, so that I’m prepared for the adventures I have planned and anything else that might pop-up. Last year there was some suffering on the uphill hikes, perhaps my plan needs some adjustments…
Summer Fitness Goals
- Hike Mt. Humphreys
- Pyramid – National – Lost Ranch < 2 hours
- At least 2 strength days per week
- 1 swim per week
- Some kind of quick trail running adventure
I am fortunate to live right next to South Mountain Park, the largest municipal park in the United States, and a fantastic collection of trails for hiking, mountain biking, and in general enjoying the outdoors. I love the fact that in my neighborhood I’m surrounded by other active people who like to enjoy the excellent outdoor recreation opportunities that Phoenix provides.
The map below shows all the trails and such.
Pyramid Trail is my standard training hike, a mile of slightly up, then a mile of lots of up!
Once you get up to the top you can add some fun mileage by traversing the ridge line all the way around and descend a few different ways. The ridge is great for running, a nice rolling single track!
I try put together some videos of various adventures, check’em out!
Have any great training tips? Feel free to share!
Touring around the Old Stomping Grounds
On our 3 trips to Kentucky together my wife had never been to the Red River Gorge. We were in Kentucky this time as a quick trip for my nephew’s graduation, and since we had some time on Monday we made the hour drive down the Bert T Combs Mountain Parkway. Back in the early 90’s rock climbing was my passion, and the Red was the mecca of sport climbing for me and my friends.
We didn’t have a whole lot of time and weren’t prepared for a long hike, so the sky lift to Natural Bridge and a little driving tour around seemed like the way to go.
While the Appalachian nature of the area was a bit new for her, she totally enjoyed the beauty of the place. The trail to the one crag we were going to hike to was super muddy, so we didn’t get to any actual rock climbing areas, maybe next time.
The sky lift was a great choice, we got up to Natural Bridge without the uphill hike and then could just walk around on the short trails up there, cruised through Fat Man’s Squeeze, and took in the view.
We drove through the ‘burg of Nada. This was truly the the eye opening part, it’s a very different place than we’re used to now. But we did get to drive through Nada Tunnel, a one lane tunnel carved through the rock!
Since I was talking about rock climbing, I had to throw in one of the best rock climbing pics ever taken of me! (probably 25 years ago)
This Summer’s Adventures
Working in the restaurant industry in Phoenix necessitates taking vacations during the summer. While it can be a little warm in Phoenix, I’m still able to do a decent amount of outdoor activities and get away for some cool backpacking.
One of the first escapes should be a few days car camping with my wife. I just recently got us a 6 man tent, for excellent comfort in the campgrounds. While I enjoy the backpacking experience immensely, some comfy car camping is fun as well!
After that comes the Colorado backpacking trip, usually the highlight of the year for outdoor adventures. The past few years, for various reasons (impressive volumes of rain and wind or serious lack of precipitations), we haven’t been able to have a campfire. Really hoping for a few small campfires to sit around this time. Heading to an area around the continental divide, moving between some lakes. After a long hectic season of work the simplicity of backpacking and the beauty of the mountains help recharge the spirit. I feel like I can live pretty comfortably while backpacking, the REI Co-op Double Shot Press Mug doesn’t hurt (apparently it’s not available anymore, but I bet you can something similar). A real cup of coffee sure makes mornings in the mountains exceedingly nice.
Then in early September it’s back to the Grand Canyon! There will be four of us this time, should be a fun group. We’re going about two weeks later than last year, but it’s early September so it will probably still be pretty hot! As usual, i’m sure we’ll challenge ourselves. So we’ve got that goin’ for us , which is fun. The canyon is such an amazing place, around every turn is another incredible picture!
If I mix in some SUPing out at the lakes around Phoenix, it should be a good summer.
Who else has some sweet summer adventure plans?
Making it a Habit
I’ve been able to continue the heading down to Tempe Town Lake for some post-work Stand-up Paddleboarding theme. I’m new to the paddling, so I’m just looking to get in some miles and a good workout. I very much enjoyed listening to an audio book and putting forth effort, it’s a great way to decompress. Much need lately.
My Garmin Forerunner has always struggled a little with elevation, obviously the website will correct after the fact, but it is always very evident when I paddle. The graph below is my elevation while paddling Tempe Town Lake,,,
Wednesday on the Lake
My 3rd time on the Stand-up Paddleboard was pretty nice, it has become an excellent Wednesday afternoon pastime. I feel that it can become a good workout, but mainly it’s just super relaxing to cruise around Tempe Town Lake. It is unbelievable how many buildings are being built along the lake, 20 years ago when I moved to Phoenix it was a dry riverbed!
I wore the earphones today and rocked my AC/DC playlist, ripe for digging in. I definitely need to get some good technique, I feel like the main limiter in it being a cardio workout instead of just pleasure is my poor paddling stroke, so any knowledgeable tips are appreciated! Perhaps I should watch some YouTube videos. Fortunately for me, the people who’s totally awesome pics of paddling around made me want to try it are gong to start paddling around soon .
There was some actual going where I wanted!
Effort #2, so much better than the first time battling the wind.
This mess was my first SUP time, because I had decided to go and just because the winds are gusting to 25 ain’t no thing. apparently…
Going Down The Trail 