Hiking Adventures

I'm not sure how we decided this exactly, but my friends and I have decided to try and go backpacking at some point in the future. In order to do this, we realized that we need to start hiking on a regular basis. We're all pretty out of shape, so the trails we're starting on are still pretty short. We started our hikes a couple of weeks ago, and this is where we've gone so far:

Peralta Trail

 

A couple weeks ago, we took the Peralta Trail. This is one of the most popular hikes in the Superstitions and we were hiking during the prime time of the year. Bill and I explored this hike a little bit about year ago. We hadn't gone very far, so we didn't get to see exactly how difficult it was.

This time, our group decided to go to the main landmark on the trail, the saddle, which was 2.2 miles in. What we didn't know was that this hike was almost entirely uphill going in and downhill going out. That was rough on a bunch of out of shape people! Bill and I also decided to take our backpacking backpacks to see how we would do with them. I loaded mine up with some extra food and layers and Bill loaded his up with camera gear.

 Gabby demonstrating the rehydrating properties of coconut water.

Bill finding a moment of zen during one of our breaks.

After huffing and puffing up hill for a while, we saw this lovely view:

 Me with my backpacking backpack. It was tiring wearing it for the first time!

 At this point, I stopped to take a lot of pictures because I was worn out. The view in this canyon is very cool, though, so I didn't mind.

 Gabby and I in the last stretch. We were almost there!

 When you reach the saddle, you can see down the main canyon you just climbed up. On the other side, you can see down a different canyon and you have a great view of weaver's needle.

 Our group!

 The true nature of our group lol.

Bear Mountain Trail

 

 Last weekend we took a day trip to Sedona. The weather was perfect for a winter hike with temperatures in the mid 60s and blue skies. After stopping for Subway (their food has really gotten bad!) and driving around Sedona trying to find our turn off, we finally made it to the parking lot. This is a popular area with a couple of different trails available, so we weren't able to park in the parking lot and had to park on the road.

The Bear Mountain Trail is another difficult hike that is mostly uphill on the way up. It climbs very quickly and reminds me a bit of Picacho Peak with its steepness.

We reached this point about 15 minutes in. To give you some perspective, we parked our car along the road in the picture.

As you continue climbing, the trail takes you back into a canyon and you have these beautiful views.

This was the halfway point on the hike and with the Sedona altitude (4500 feet -- we're used to 1000 feet), we were done about here. This was a great spot to stop though.

Our group this time.

Cheesy album cover "everyone look in different directions" pose.

The view on the way back. We made it just before sunset.