HAPPY THANKSGIVING..........Hike Profile: mcdowell mountain superloop!

Happy Thanksgiving to any of you out there that actually check out my blog!  This morning I needed to take some "me" time to go off on a new hiking adventure.  So, I figured out a nice long loop in the McDowells, threw on my shoes, and hit the trail.  The hike started at the Gateway Trailhead.  I started off on the Gateway loop, then linked that to the Windgate Pass trail, which intersected the Tom's Thumb trail, which lead me to the East End trail, which dead-ended into the Bell Pass trail, which finally brought me back to the Gateway loop and the trailhead.  I estimate the total mileage to be around 12 miles, and the whole loop gains about 3000 feet over the course of the entire hike.  There are many of these "superloops" you can create in the McDowells, but this one looked most appealing.  The weather was perfect today, which is typical in Phoenix this time of year.  So under blue skies, with the Ipod fully charged, I knocked this hike out in just under 3 and a half hours.  Cruisin baby.  Now, I feel no regret about stuffing my face full of thanksgiving dinner.

Hike Profile: windgate pass trail

          In the McDowell Mountains, the hike combinations are almost endless.  This particular hike starts at the Gateway trailhead, and follows the Gateway Loop for a while, until it intersects the Windgate Pass trail, ultimately taking you to your destination of Windgate Pass.  Windgate Pass is a saddle between the north side of McDowell Peak, and the East End ridgeline.  This is another truly great hike in the McDowells.  The roundtrip distance is just shy of 8 miles, and the elevation gain is well over 1000 feet, possibly even approaching 1500 feet.  The Gateway trailhead has a ton of information on the hike, including a topographic map detailing all of the trails in the area.  You could branch off in so many different directions, or even create your own loop by linking together several of the trails.  To access the trailhead, just head east on Bell Road, east of the 101, until you hit Thompson Peak Parkway.  Hang a left at the light, and the trailhead is about a mile up the road on the right hand side.  If you haven't ventured into the McDowells yet get a move on it!

Working hard to realize the dream.....

Just a quick update:  life has been crazy busy lately with all the work going on around here.  I've begun training for the half marathon in January, but other than that, the usual training has been lighter than usual to compensate for all the extra work we're doing.  My part time job consumes a lot of the weekend, and my full time job has a lot of special projects in the works, so that takes up my week.  We've had visitors popping in and out of our condo the last few weeks, which has been nice, but it causes even more work.  Lacie is working on getting her "cake side project" up and running, so I've been involved in helping her get that started.  We also threw a halloween party, so of course we had to do nice food for that.  With the holidays coming up it's been a challenge figuring out who's going to be where, and trying to make sure everyone's feelings are taken into consideration there, which has the usual drama attatched to it.  It's just been plain busy.....but hopefully all of it is pulling me closer to the ultimate goal of raising the money I need to climb my mountain.  The remainder of 2009 should be pretty quiet in "The Endurathon world", but 2010 has a lot of excitement just around the corner.  Stay tuned.....

Hike Profile: squaw peak circumference trail

Squaw peak is a very popular mountain in Phoenix.  The summit trail is the main trail that people go to the park to do.....but there is a trail that is longer, has just as much elevation gain, has beautiful scenery, and sees about 10 percent of the traffic that the summit trail sees:  the circumference trail.  The trailhead is the same as the summit trail, but you can access the trail from almost any of the parking areas in the Squaw peak park.  The trail is a 3.5 mile (approx) loop that circles the entire mountain, and it gains about 1000 total feet, but it's broken up into 2 main climbs.  I love this hike.  The trails sees wayyyyyyy less traffic than it's popular neighbor, so in this crowded park in this crowded city, you still get a feeling of solitude.  If you ever go to hike the summit trail, and the crowds prove to be too much, give the circumference a try.....you won't regret it.

The Endurathon: minor updates

There's not a whole lot to report right now on my project.  The first event (McKinley) is still months away, starting on June 8th, 2010.  My buddy Mark is competing in his first "half-ironman" triathalon this month, and he's the one I'll be doing mine with next year.....this same event in fact.  So, he's doing it this year, so I can get the run-down for next year.  It's still way too far in advance to apply for my Grand Canyon permit.  I'm planning on doing a "warm-up" hike in The Canyon in May, and it's still too early to even apply for that permit.  The half marathon is coming up in January, but that's no big deal.  After the event passes, however, the registration will open up for the next year, so I'll be able to register for my 2011 full marathon (the final Endurathon event).  I am still outside training about 6 days a week.  I've had to give up working out on fridays, because of my part-time job.  For the most part, my training consists of a lot of hiking and biking, a little running, and some pull-ups.  I am working about 18 hours a weekend at my part-time job, and the pay is not very good, but it's great experience.  I have a few other money making opportunities on the horizon, but I'm waiting to see if they work out.  All this extra cash is going DIRECTLY to help pay for my upcoming adventures.  Once I get the money I need, I'm done with all this extra work!  That's really about it.  The rest of 2009 will probably be pretty chill.....I'm really just in a holding pattern for the moment.  Things should start to get exciting as we move into 2010 though, so please keep checking back and supporting The Endurathon -- I'll need all the help I can get!

Ride Profile: reach 11 recreation area

The Reach 11 Recreation Area is a huge plot of land that stretches from Cave Creek Road, north of the 101, all the way to Scottsdale Road.  This park is odd, because the western portion of it is a well developed sports complex with a bunch of soccer fields, restrooms, parking lots, etc, but then, as it stretches eastward, it leaves any signs of development behind, and it just kinda wanders through the desert, crossing an occasional road, or going under a highway underpass here or there.  I have seen more rattlesnakes on this trail (by far) than anywhere else in my travels, and other people have mentioned the same thing.  I prefer to ride my bike here, and sometimes I'll do some training runs in the park, but it's wayyyyyy too tame for a hiking trail (boring).  A lot of people seem to like to ride their horses here as well.  There are a variety of wide, well groomed trails to choose from, and you can do any distance you like, from a mile or two, up to 16+ miles.  My ride of choice is about 12 miles long, and pretty flat.  I actually just ride my bike to the trail from my house for a little extra distance.  I go from the trailhead on Cave Creek Road, all the way to the underpass at 56th street, and then turn around.  There are so many options for variations.  Another one I like is closer to 15 miles, and it branches off the trail at the Highway 51 underpass, then heads south on a paved path all the way to a little park just south of Thunderbird Road, and east of the 51.  The moral of the story here is:  it's a huge recreation area, with tons to do; from sports, to horses, biking, running, wildlife watching, etc, and it's easy to get to.....grab your bike, and hit the trail.

Hike Profile: H3 trail, thunderbird park (lacie's fav)

This trail is located a little further west in the valley than I usually hike, but it's worth the trip.  It's located in Thunderbird Park, off 59th Avenue, north of the 101.  The park contains a variety of well marked trails that could appeal to all levels of hikers, all of which are labeled by the letter "H" and then followed by a number for the corresponding trail (ie: H1, H2, H3, etc.).  This particular trail (H3) is a really nice hike, but it would also make a great trail run, or even a challenging mountain bike ride.  From the closest parking area in the park, the trail is a nice 3.5 mile loop, which only gains a few hundred feet of elevation.  The views are nice, and it provides a different setting than most of the east valley hikes I frequent.  I like the trail a lot, and my wife Lacie says it's one of her very favorites, so there you go.  Check it out.