1 day, 7 summits, 26 miles.
Kristin talked me into signing up for this back in August. I was nervous, but figured I'd train like crazy and then it would be this really great accomplishment.
But I found myself avoiding the training and having tons of anxiety. About a month ago, I decided to just not do it, and I felt okay with that decision. It was nice to hike for fun and not because I had to train.
I changed my mind again last weekend after Shake Tree. I thought about this quote I saw on Pinterest that said something about a "did not finish" being better than a "did not start."
And I thought, "Well, why not just try and see how I do?"
Pinterest lies.
We started at 6 a.m. I was super slow on the hike up to Dobbins Lookout because it was still dark, and I am awkward and fall down a lot and was trying to avoid that. It was a really cool sight to see all the headlamps bobbing up at down the mountain; it reminded me of that scene in Fantasia with the Ave Maria and the nuns going up the mountain.
Overall, it was an easy 4.5 mile hike.
The second summit, South Mountain, was even easier. I made it up that one quickly and even did some trail running on the way down. I was feeling great.
Then, I arrived at Piestewa Peak. I'd heard this one was going to be a beast, and it was. It was basically like doing 1.5 miles on a very rocky and uneven Stairmaster. Some of the steps were really big! And there were lots of twists and turns, so every time you thought you were almost there, you'd turn a corner and realize there was still more hiking. I ran into my friend Rick on this trail, and he said it only took him 30 minutes to get to the top. (That is really good.) It took me 50 minutes, and I had "Sabotage" by the Beastie Boys on repeat the whole way up. (Thanks, Anne!) I still felt good when I reached this summit. But then I had to go down.
The hike down was really tough on my knees, which were already messed up from falling in Shake Tree. It took me longer to get down the mountain than to climb it; each step was starting to hurt.
But with that hike behind me, I felt confident about facing the rest of the day. I was still in this. I took off at a brisk pace up the trail to Dixie Peak. And then it got HARD. This one probably wouldn't have been so hard if we all hadn't just finished Piestewa. But the people I met coming down as I was going up were like, "OMG, this one sucks! We didn't expect this!" At this point, my knees were starting to hurt even on the way up. And I was having to stop more often to catch my breath (which I didn't have to do at all on the first two).
It was on the way down from this summit that I knew my knees were bad. Every step was terrible, sharp pain. Because of this, I was taking tiny, careful steps, and it took me a long time to get down this mountain. When I hit the flat part of the path, I took off running because I knew I'd spent way too much time on that trail. By the time I got to the car, the pain in my knees was almost unbearable. Even when I wasn't walking, they still ached. I told myself to suck it up and headed to Lookout Mountain.
But then I started wondering... How do you know if you should just push through the pain and stop being a big baby or if you should stop because you are doing serious damage? I didn't want to admit that this was a real problem. I don't want to admit that my bones are getting old and I can't just do crazy stuff without training. So I headed for Lookout Mountain, but I texted my panel of experts: Joe, Kristin, and Brian. The answer was unanimous: stop hiking.
Joe's opinion held the most weight. Joe does not go easy on me. If I was being a big baby, he would tell me to suck it up and keep going. But he was SO insistent that I stop immediately. I don't want to do serious damage. I don't want to be prevented from hiking and canyoneering and running. And I'll be honest- in the moment, I was tired and just kind of hitting a wall. So I turned around and went home.
My knees were in pain for the rest of the night. Even just sitting on the couch, they ached horribly. But I really regretted stopping. I felt like I could have at least done one more. I watched a bunch of episodes of Downton Abbey and cried a little too hard when someone died. Even today, I'm pretty emotional about not finishing. I'm frustrated that my body wouldn't do what I wanted it to do. I'm not even sore today; I feel fine. It's just my stupid knees. I am ashamed of not finishing, and when people are like, "Wow, 14 miles and 4000 feet? That's great!" I'm like, "Don't patronize me." Because it's not that great. I mean, that's not an every day hike, but it's not anything crazy awesome, either. I am really disappointed in myself and kind of just want to forget the whole thing even happened. Until next year. Next year, nothing will stop me.
Kristin talked me into signing up for this back in August. I was nervous, but figured I'd train like crazy and then it would be this really great accomplishment.
But I found myself avoiding the training and having tons of anxiety. About a month ago, I decided to just not do it, and I felt okay with that decision. It was nice to hike for fun and not because I had to train.
I changed my mind again last weekend after Shake Tree. I thought about this quote I saw on Pinterest that said something about a "did not finish" being better than a "did not start."
And I thought, "Well, why not just try and see how I do?"
Pinterest lies.
We started at 6 a.m. I was super slow on the hike up to Dobbins Lookout because it was still dark, and I am awkward and fall down a lot and was trying to avoid that. It was a really cool sight to see all the headlamps bobbing up at down the mountain; it reminded me of that scene in Fantasia with the Ave Maria and the nuns going up the mountain.
Overall, it was an easy 4.5 mile hike.
The second summit, South Mountain, was even easier. I made it up that one quickly and even did some trail running on the way down. I was feeling great.
Then, I arrived at Piestewa Peak. I'd heard this one was going to be a beast, and it was. It was basically like doing 1.5 miles on a very rocky and uneven Stairmaster. Some of the steps were really big! And there were lots of twists and turns, so every time you thought you were almost there, you'd turn a corner and realize there was still more hiking. I ran into my friend Rick on this trail, and he said it only took him 30 minutes to get to the top. (That is really good.) It took me 50 minutes, and I had "Sabotage" by the Beastie Boys on repeat the whole way up. (Thanks, Anne!) I still felt good when I reached this summit. But then I had to go down.
The hike down was really tough on my knees, which were already messed up from falling in Shake Tree. It took me longer to get down the mountain than to climb it; each step was starting to hurt.
But with that hike behind me, I felt confident about facing the rest of the day. I was still in this. I took off at a brisk pace up the trail to Dixie Peak. And then it got HARD. This one probably wouldn't have been so hard if we all hadn't just finished Piestewa. But the people I met coming down as I was going up were like, "OMG, this one sucks! We didn't expect this!" At this point, my knees were starting to hurt even on the way up. And I was having to stop more often to catch my breath (which I didn't have to do at all on the first two).
It was on the way down from this summit that I knew my knees were bad. Every step was terrible, sharp pain. Because of this, I was taking tiny, careful steps, and it took me a long time to get down this mountain. When I hit the flat part of the path, I took off running because I knew I'd spent way too much time on that trail. By the time I got to the car, the pain in my knees was almost unbearable. Even when I wasn't walking, they still ached. I told myself to suck it up and headed to Lookout Mountain.
But then I started wondering... How do you know if you should just push through the pain and stop being a big baby or if you should stop because you are doing serious damage? I didn't want to admit that this was a real problem. I don't want to admit that my bones are getting old and I can't just do crazy stuff without training. So I headed for Lookout Mountain, but I texted my panel of experts: Joe, Kristin, and Brian. The answer was unanimous: stop hiking.
Joe's opinion held the most weight. Joe does not go easy on me. If I was being a big baby, he would tell me to suck it up and keep going. But he was SO insistent that I stop immediately. I don't want to do serious damage. I don't want to be prevented from hiking and canyoneering and running. And I'll be honest- in the moment, I was tired and just kind of hitting a wall. So I turned around and went home.
My knees were in pain for the rest of the night. Even just sitting on the couch, they ached horribly. But I really regretted stopping. I felt like I could have at least done one more. I watched a bunch of episodes of Downton Abbey and cried a little too hard when someone died. Even today, I'm pretty emotional about not finishing. I'm frustrated that my body wouldn't do what I wanted it to do. I'm not even sore today; I feel fine. It's just my stupid knees. I am ashamed of not finishing, and when people are like, "Wow, 14 miles and 4000 feet? That's great!" I'm like, "Don't patronize me." Because it's not that great. I mean, that's not an every day hike, but it's not anything crazy awesome, either. I am really disappointed in myself and kind of just want to forget the whole thing even happened. Until next year. Next year, nothing will stop me.
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