onepinkfuzzy

I got back to my roots yesterday morning: I took a hike. (PICTURES)

After a fun Friday night spent with a friend and her "rock-star" boyfriend (he's in a local band, Preposterous Theory) at one of his gigs (at a local music store), followed by a late dinner at BJs Brewery (my new favorite restaurant even though I can only eat one item of food - their drinks are to die for!), I woke up early this morning and let Johnny sleep in. I was a little shaky and dehydrated, but feeling better than I had for the last two weeks. Ash and I had a nice morning listening to Hot Hot Heat and the Posies' new album, playing Go Fish! and generally just chillin. Then, I started feeling ancy. That late dinner and drinks were extra calories I didn't need, and even though I got out for three (!) runs this week (yay!), I felt the need for more - more movement. I've been craving a good hike lately, and I got inspired reading an article in Trail Runner (road running vs. trail running - lame article, but the trail dude started waxing poetic, and I got inspired) this morning.

I've been worried about my ITB. It's been doing much much better, but I have a race coming up (I'm sure I'll place dead last, but that's okay - at least I'm participating!) at Sabino Canyon - 7.75ish miles up and then back down the canyon. Not a lot of vertical, but enough that I was worried. So I decided to test my knee this morning on a whopper of a hike: Finger Rock Canyon up to Linda Vista Saddle. 3 miles one way, with 2500 vertical feet of elevation gain. To top it off, the first 1.1 miles gains only 500 feet - leaving the remaining 1.9 miles with 2000 feet to go. The trails around Tucson are notorious for being gnarly, and this one is known as one the the gnarliest around. Steep slabs, super rocky, totally adventurous - especially as a single female. I am usually too scared to go out by myself, but I needed this today. (Side note: cool link to a site on climbing the actual Finger Rock.)

Johnny gave me his blessing (thank you honey, I know you didn't want to!), and I got ready in about 15 minutes. Took off for the trailhead, stopping at a CVS Pharmacy along the way. Note: never choose CVS over Osco. CVS had nothing I needed. No Clif bars, only two choices for Gatorade and nothing was in a logical place. As I walked in, I realized I left my visor at home! Oh, no! I managed to find one hat at CVS - a $3.99, 100% cotton, giant brimmed hat - with a bow in the back! Sigh. I bought it, knowing I needed the sun protection.

I found the trailhead, and took off. Woo hoo! I tried jogging at first, but quickly doused that idea. I decided to make it a hike. Just a hike. A quick hike, to be sure, but no pressure to run. I had a blast making my way through the desert. I was very jumpy - I kept thinking I was hearing mountain lions! There were plenty of people on the trail - it almost felt like a race, because of the amount of people out, and the fact that I actually kept catching up to and passing people! (Okay, so that's not usually my experience in a race, but hey.)

The first 1.1 to the spring went well. Then the uphill really started - and I was able to keep going at the same speed! I caught up and quickly passed a few people. The trail was just up, up, up. Relentless. I felt like such an adventurer. Finally, an outlet for all those emotions that were crippling me this week. I could just let them all go. It was okay to be scared out there - and I just kept going, knowing I was safe. (I figured the hat added to the "not-a-very-good-victim" vibe I had going on.) It had been at least six years since the last time I visited this trail; it was a trail I used to avoid at all costs. But I still remembered certain distances (known in my head as the 3-I spot and the 4-I spot, for the Canyon Ranch difficulty ratings - ability level designations), so I had mini-goals to help me through the tough spots. But I had only passed the 3-I spot once before, so my memory was a little sketchy of what awaited me above. With about a mile to go, I ran into a number of people coming down the trail. I asked each one, "didya go to the saddle?" and they all said, "no!" I was getting so frustrated - I wanted to know how much farther I had to go. I knew it was more than .5 mile, and less than 2!

I laughed about mountain lion fears with another crazy single female (who turned around even before the 4-I spot), got strange looks from a couple who were shocked that I was hiking alone and almost caught up to another couple who I could just barely keep in sight in front of me. Finally! The 4-I spot - unmistakable. Beautiful rock layers/benches, gorgeous views of Tucson - and the trail turned a corner. There she was - Linda Vista Saddle.

I kept Johnny's admonitions in mind, "remember, honey, there's still another lo-o-ong .5 mile to the saddle from there," and almost danced my way up, up, up. I was thrilled that I had climbed so quickly from cactus in to the desert grasslands, with oaks and junipers - TREES! And there were FERNS under the trees! (Courtesy of the snowfall last week.) The couple I had been stalking were only 10 feet ahead of me, and suddenly, a spur trail appeared at the end of a switchback, heading to a saddle. I stop, confused. The couple turned on the switchback, and continued heading up! But, I thought, this is the saddle. The destination. Right? I followed them up for about 20 feet, thinking maybe there was another saddle, up a little higher, but then I thought, "hey! I brought the map!" So I walked back to the (unsigned) junction, and pulled out the map. Oh, was I glad that Johnny writes on his maps! Sure enough, the spur trail was drawn on the map - reassuring me that I was, indeed, in the right place. I ran the last tenth of a mile down the spur trail, and there it was: Linda Vista Saddle.

I made a pit stop, ate a Kashi bar, stretched, took some pictures, and then headed back down the trail. I kept my camera with me back down to the 4-I spot - where there were now SEVEN couples hanging out, relaxing! I guess they called it a day at that point (it is beautiful, after all). A woman with her son and ferret (yes, you read that correctly) were arriving as I put my camera away, and took off.

I made sure to be gentle with my left knee (ITB and all), and I used my arms a LOT, to lower myself down the rocks. This is the rockiest, steepest, craziest trail, I swear! It was like a scramble. Let me tell you, I LOVE my new Hardrocks - they were super-secure. I was getting hot and sweaty - darn that 100% cotton hat! I stopped a few times on the way down to stretch my legs, and by the time I had .5 to the springs, I was able to start jogging. Slow jogging, mind you, it was still incredibly rocky! But jogging nonetheless. And I kept it up on the way out, getting faster and faster. This time, I didn't fall (whew). I felt like I was gliding over the ground. It was awesome. The wind was picking up by the end, and catching the giant hat, almost blowing it off my head!

Summing it up: I hiked a wicked trail, all by myself, I ended up running some of it, I made it to a destination I was too afraid to attempt in the past, I got to strength train, it was a meditation, I got to release or purge some of the intense feelings from this past week, wore a cheesy hat that clashed with the rest of my technical, synthetic gear, and I was happy. The flow is starting.