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| Hiking | 16.19 Miles |
2,918 AEG |
| | Hiking | 16.19 Miles | 5 Hrs 50 Mns | | 2.88 mph |
| 2,918 ft AEG | 13 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | 2020 National Trail Trek. Almost missed it. I set my alarm for 4:00 and went to bed early. The dogs woke me up wanting to go out less than an hour after I initially feel asleep. I let them out and went back to bed. A couple hours later they had to go out again. Probably a result of getting into the trash earlier in the day. This time my sweetie let them out since she knew I had to be up extra early. At some point I woke up and saw that it was nearly 5am. Stupid alarm was set for 4:00pm not 4:00am. Oops 
Anyway, I got to South Mountain a few minutes after 6:00, checked in, and got in line for the buses to the trail head. I just made the cut for the first bus, which I took as a good omen.
It was chilly at the start, but warmed up once the sun was up high enough. I kept up a fast pace (at least for this old guy), and only made a few stops. First stop was at Buena Vista Lookout. Phoenix parks had snacks and porta potties there. I took off the long sleeve shirt there and got right back to hiking. I considered skipping the lunch stop at Holbert Lookout's, but I'm glad I didn't. I needed those calories to finish the hike.
Still feeling great at Telegraph Pass, but the climb after that kicked my butt. I had to stop and rest at the top of the hill and guzzle s bottle of Gatorade before I was ready to continue. I was very happy when I got to the road crossing knowing that there was less than two miles of relatively level trail to go. Snapped a couple of pictures at the finish and then hoped in a van that had an empty seat.
What fun! Last year I was very sore afterwards because I hadn't been hiking at all before the Trek. This year I've been hiking every week and I expect to be much better. I finished a lot quicker, and thanks to my new boots had fewer blisters (why not none I don't know).
Thanks Phoenix Parks for putting on this excellent event! Looking forward to doing it again next year. |
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