Awakening the Dawn

(In the distance is Squaw Peak, the mountain we hiked this morning)

Well, it's necessary that I preface my blog today with a little story. Not too long ago, I had gotten home from work and taken Jake out for a run, well, not long into it, he began to display signs of fatigue. This was interesting to me, as he had been home all day while I was at work, and trust me, he's always ready to get out and play. So, the next morning we'd gone on a long walk/jog and I decided to sneak a nap in before work. Well then my doorbell rang and one of my neighbors asked me if Jake was tired 'last night.' I first thought it strange, but then I told her he had been and asked her why she would ask that... she just laughed and said she had 'stolen' him the prior evening to accompany her and her dog, Sally (Jake's girlfriend), to the park. She said they played really hard. Ah-huh!

He, of course, had not mentioned anything to me of his rompings and frolickings. So, a few days ago my neighbor Kathy, who, it's important to mention here, is a 'tri-athlete' (minor detail, right?! Right!), and I had made plans to hike one of the more difficult mountains in Phoenix.

Today: 6A.M. rolled around and it was time to head out the door for our 'morning' hike. On the way I told Kathy to please go easy on me as I was still not up to the intense stuff yet... like falling on deaf ears (insert sigh). On our way she mentioned her friend Doug might be there to hike with us, I thought that was great, the more the merrier, right... she then proceeded to say that Jake loved him. huh?! Wait, mom's getting a tinge of jealousy... "Oh, Jake knows him too, huh?!" So, the moral of the story is... I got to meet some of Jake's friends, and go hiking with them. Hmmmm... something's wrong with this picture! I really need to get out more! :)

Well, as we began our, uh, what Kathy would call an 'easy' hike, I began to feel some strange burning sensations in places I didn't even know had muscles, like my ears.. ok, well not that bad. haha... no really the hike was pretty intense for about a mile, then I asked her if she remembered that we still had to go back... she just smiled and said, "yes, I know." I had to keep going, I didn't want to look like a wuss. Before I knew it, I could no longer feel the burning in my legs, well... I just really didn't feel my legs much at all, so it became easier to keep going.

Our hike this morning was amazing! Probably the most diverse terrain I've hiked in a long time. There were a ton of switchbacks, inclines, straight aways, descents and even a bit of rock crawling. haha! As many of you know, I'm not a big fan of the desert or Phoenix for that matter... but even with the weather as warm as it was... I had a great time. Of course, we were sweating like maniacs, so this helped... no, really... when you're soaking wet and a little breeze kicks up, you feel like it cools you down by 20 degrees, and that's a good thing!

After about 5 miles, we got to a section of the trail that said, 'No dogs allowed.' So we thought about putting our packs on their backs and putting some other clothes on them to see if we could sneak them by incognito on that trail, since that was the shortest way back to the car, but we decided against it. One lady told us, we'd just have to head back the way we came... uh.... NO, another 5+ miles.... uh, I don't think so! It had been almost 2 hours since we'd started so the weather had already climbed to about 100. Doug said something extremely profound, "WE ARE NOT GOING BACK, WE'VE COME TOO FAR!!" So there!! Hmmm... (The Lord reminded me that this is the same level of determination we should have to make it to our Heavenly home.) So we added another 1 1/2 miles to our already long hike to get around the mountain with all the 'non-dog friendly' trails. :-/
It was better than heading back the 5+ miles we'd already come.

I learned several lessons on this hike:
1. You can do more than you think, if you'll push yourself and if you can't make yourself, surround yourself with others that will!
2. Camelpacks, Dri-Fit clothes and Good Hiking Boots are treasures.
3. We were meant to awaken the dawn, the dawn was not meant to awaken us. Best views, weather and just the overall best part of the day is the morning. Well, at least it sets the stage for the day.
4. Just because something looks hard... and even though it is, doesn't mean it'll kill you.. it might just make you stronger. (Well, at least until you get over the soreness, ouch!)
5. There are always others that enjoy doing what you do, you just have to step out your front door to find them.
6. We've come too far to turn back now!! (oh, and don't trust anyone that says you should go back, keep going forward there 'has to be' a way through.)

(Last but, certainly, not least)

7. Rewarding yourself with a delicious bagel breakfast sandwich at your local Einstein's is entirely acceptable after a 7-8 mile Moderate - Difficult hike.

If you've never had Einstein's Bagels you are missin' out - Big time! If you ever come visit, I'll buy ya one... but you'll have to buy the dozen you'll want to take back home with you. Wink, wink! =)

Happy Trails!!