Did you go through a whirlwind of thoughts trying to pick out your first rock climbing shoe? I know that I did, without a doubt. It took me forever! I would go to the gym, and I’m sorry, but there is only so long you want to use a rental shoe. There’s just something about…
Category: Activities
Race Wrap Up
8 events, two running packs, one running belt, 4 or 5 pairs of shoes and many lessons learned, it has been a great running season for me. A few mantras carried me down the trail; relentless forward progress, pep talk!, just keep moving, it doesn’t matter if you hurt you have to get back to…
An Easy Overnight Loop On Mount Lemmon
Last week I decided that I really wanted to do some backpacking on Mt. Lemmon. I wanted some water and shade to escape the heat of Tucson and my partner wanted some easy mileage as he had just done 15 miles the day before we headed out. As we approached the Catalina Highway we were…
2014 Old Pueblo 50 mile Endurance Run Report
The morning started for me at 2:30 am with an alarm clock. I managed to get more sleep the night before than I would have guessed considering what was looming for the day. 2 scrambled eggs, one Eggo and a bottle of Gatorade went down quickly and I was off to meet Jeremy Davis for…
San Tan Scramble 50k
I’m sitting, resting after completing the Elephant Mountain 22k, waiting for my girlfriend to come through the first lap of her first 50k enjoying the beautiful weather and recounting the past three races that have lead up to the Old Pueblo 50 mile race one week from today. San Tan Scramble was my first 50k…
McDowell Mountain Frenzy 25k Race Report
The third race of the Trail Series with Aravaipa Running and of my season is the McDowell Mountain Frenzy. I had planned on bumping up to the 50k for this race as a part of my Old Pueblo 50 training but I had been sick for the two weeks leading up to the race so…
Pass Mountain 26k Race Report
November 16th marked the second race of the season, Pass Mountain 26k at Usery Park in Mesa. Four of my friends and Summit Hut co-workers (Dave, Charles, Ryan, Kirsten and Maddie) joined me for this race which was great! For this race we decided to go up the night before and camp at the park….
Cave Creek Thriller 31k Race Report
My running season officially started Saturday October 19th this year with the Cave Creek Thriller 31k put on by Aravaipa Running. This is the first of 7 races that Aravaipa will put on between now and March. I’m signed up for all them as well as the Old Pueblo 50, my first 50 mile race….
Oracle State Park Reopens
Oracle State Park entrance It feels really good to help a state park, especially considering all of the funding cuts and closures they’ve had to work around in the past years. Oracle State Park was closed for two years after the state legislature cut the park system’s operating budget. There has been much effort being…
Paradise Found
This is how much I love Paradise Forks, a climbing area at the upper reaches of Sycamore Canyon about an hour outside Flagstaff: when friends and I were driving the four hours from Tucson to get there, we didn’t even turn on the radio; we just bounced up and down on the car seats yelling,…