Morning Hike

Typically Dooley wakes me up with whining and a swift head butt, but for some weird reason he didn't stir yesterday morning. Because of this I nearly missed my spin class, but was able to get there just after it started. 

After getting my butt kicked, Anne-Marie came to pick me up for our hike. It was the first time either of us had taken this trail, so we weren't sure what to expect. It was actually one of the better trails either of us had been on. The total trail is 6.8 miles, with the first 3.4 miles uphill. At least it made for a nice return trip! 

No hike is complete without a selfie. 

We had spectacular views like this the whole time. It was pretty cool seeing a completely different part of Prescott and it was nice getting outside to enjoy the beautiful weather we have been having. 

Hike with Dooley

I used to take our dog Dooley on walks/hikes everyday, but unfortunately his health hasn't been great the last few months. After taking him to the vet every other week for a few months (luckily we are friends with our vet) we finally figured out what was causing him all his problems (terrible sores on his feet, rashes on his belly) - he is allergic to poultry. 

Wouldn't be such a big deal except we fed him ground turkey for dinner every night. Now that we have taken him off that (and put him on the world's most expensive dog food) he's doing much better. 

To celebrate I thought I would take him out for a hike. We hadn't been out in forever and the weather was perfect! We went out to Lynx Lake which isn't too far from where we live. Dooley made it halfway around the lake before showing signs of giving up (it had been a while), but he was a trooper and kept up with me the whole time. He even ignored most of the dogs we met along the way! 

Although he did make frequent pit stops along the way! 

He doesn't love his picture being taken...but he grumbled and let me do my thing! 

It was such a beautiful day! Somehow we managed to stay in the shade the majority of the time, so luckily we didn't get too hot. 

 

We Went On a Hike

Anne-Marie found an awesome hiking spot through one of her field courses and suggested we go check it out. It ended up being Spruce Mountain which is the second highest peak in the area, so I was excited about the good views.

We rounded up the dogs, packed them in Anne-Marie's new car and off we went!

Riley looks so little compared to Dooley!

The road to get to Spruce Mountain was a bit treacherous! It was a crazy dirt road that went on seemingly forever. I'm really glad we took Anne-Marie's car because I don't think my little 4 cylinder engine could have gotten us up there! 

When we finally got to the entrance the gate was closed. It wasn't a problem though. We just parked the car and hike up the remainder of the road. The hike was fairly easy, although we raised about 2,000 miles in elevation from town so we were pretty winded by the time we made it to the top!

The hike was totally worth it though! Look at those views!

Dooley was being a bit silly and loved exploring everything he could. 

I don't think he sat for a minute the entire hike!

We walked around a bit but decided to head back to the car before we completely lost the sun. I can't wait to go back and check out some of the other trails out there. It was so beautiful it definitely deserves another hike!

Wilderness Orientation

My school likes to torture people before allowing them to take any classes!  Jokes.  Well...I'm not entirely joking.  Prescott College has a Wilderness Orientation for all incoming students - Fresh-persons and transfers alike.  

Under the best circumstances the orientation is 3 weeks of serious trekking through Arizona wilderness that few venture to.  Add on the fact that I was an incoming student in the Spring, meant we got to do our orientation during the winter.  Oh, and I had never backpacked before, nor truly camped, was a great addition.

Our group was lucky enough to trek through the Grand Canyon and Superstition Mountains - something that most people only dream of.  We were 'lucky' in the sense that we were given an incredible opportunity to see some of the most beautiful spots in the US.  The 'luck' didn't really carry over to the weather...

Day 1 - At the Rim of the Grand Canyon

Now, I'm usually a baby when LA gets "cold weather", but winter in the high desert meant something else entirely.  Before this trip, I could count the number of times I have been to snow on one hand.  Now, I'm well into the double digits!

Before I went on this trip we were each given a gear checklist.  Upon reading the list I saw that they were requesting we bring a 0 degree sleeping bag.  

"That's not bad", I thought, "They think that we're going to be around freezing conditions. I can do that."

You see, growing up in New Zealand I have a very skewed sense of measurements.  I can read temperature in fahrenheit, but I have a better grasp of freezing and boiling points in celsius - I mean really...who came up with the freezing and boiling points of fahrenheit!? So...as I was reading the checklist I read it in terms of celsius not fahrenheit!  Much to my dismay, Andrew pointed out that a 0 degree bag meant that we would be in temperatures far below freezing point!  Damn.

Our first night was spent in a miserable -14 degrees - that's in fahrenheit!  Over the course of the next 3 weeks we went through an impressive 92 degree weather change.  Unfortunately the majority of the time the weather hovered at a balmy 35 degrees.

Snow everywhere.  At times it came above our knees...

My group went through an incredible journey.  We lost one team mate around the second day due to a terrible ankle sprain.  We spent the next week and a bit descending and then ascending the Grand Canyon.  We trekked from Rim to river, along the river, and then back up to the Rim. And that was just the first half!

Ami (the girl who sprained her ankle) and me.

It was the first time I had ever seen the Grand Canyon!

Everyone sticking close on the trail

Day 1 - Looking back up while breaking for lunch

For more photos and the rest of the story, click below!

Leisurely Nature Stroll

Andrew doesn't like hiking, but in my attempt to stay active while away for the weekend I convinced all our friends and Andrew to go on a 'leisurely nature stroll'!  This was certainly not a hike.  It ended up being a little shorter than I was hoping it to be, only 0.7 miles, but we did get to see a beautiful part of California!

Photos taken by me