I was hoping to have a solid summer of biking and hiking, but I just haven’t had the motivation to go out in the Phoenix heat!
For a long time I’ve been able to deal with and train through the summer, but in the past few years it has really started to effect me. I started noticing this in 2015, there were a few hot bike rides that really sent me sideways. I’m much more careful than I used to be when it comes to afternoon summer activities, always want to make home to the wife!!
I know with proper hydration and getting up early I can safely enjoy outdoor activities all year long, lots of people do it. But, sometimes when I take the dog out at 4am and it’s hot I just don’t feel like sweating it out.
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…
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!
Pyramid – National – Lost Ranch Panorama of the Area 620 Trails
I try put together some videos of various adventures, check’em out!
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,,,
As pretty much everyone who lives in Phoenix noticed, we had a huge dust storm (or Haboob) last night (7.5.11). People got some amazing pictures of a huge wall of dust overtaking the city, and at the restaurant we fought a battle to keep the dust out! Twitter blew up with super cool pics and updates from around the valley, part of me feels that people just wanted to type #Haboob. It was totally surreal outside (if you could stand it), the dust was so thick in the air. Here’s a few pics:
The picture below was taken by my friend Tom Phillips Jr. in Ahwatukee. It was taken just a few miles from my house as the wall of dirt overtook the city!
Going Down The Trail 