Sedona trip

In the midst of the CX season, I had previously agreed to go on a little 'family trip with my west coast family to Sedona. My friend Michael, who I met when I first moved out to CA over 8 years ago has taken me under his wing and tried to guide me through all of life's harrying decisions. Since he had never had kids of his own, he kind-of adopted myself and another girl April as his 'daughters'. He decided he liked the way we turned out, and if he had kids, he would want them to be like us. Not a bad complement if I don't say so!

He met a lovely woman a few years back named Donna, who ironically is only about a week younger then my real mom (see Brazil trip blog entry). She also has a son names Jeff. April couldn't make it on our trip, but Michael, Donna, Jeff and I headed down to Sedona to Michael's house for some hiking, good food and family fun. The first night back we grabbed a few snacky things in the house to eat, toasted with a glass (or in my case, a sip) of champagne our little family weekend getaway.

The next day we got up bright and early and headed out on a trail for a hike and got in about 7 miles of hiking that day. I haven't been hiking in a while and didn't exactly bring the best shoes for it, but tried my best to keep up. Michael (fondly referred to by April and I as MK) and Donna were more like expert hikers and were off to a sprint within a mile. No lolly gagging in this group! It was a warm day, but in the shade it was still a little brisk. By the time we got to the turnaround point we had gained enough elevation to enjoy some gorgeous views and sunshine while MK climbed around on the rocks above us. As previously mentioned in the Brazil trip, MK is an excellent free climber and has been doing it for most of his adult life...nothing I would recommend anyone new to climbing to try unless you are looking to free fall without a parachute so to speak!

By the time we got back, Donna's mother and aunt who were visiting from Phoenix had already arrived. We got cleaned up and went to lunch and stuffed ourselves with Mexican food. After that I tried to nap, but my stomach was too full, so Donna and I headed out for a walk instead. An hour later we were back starting to prepare a feast for that night's dinner. But, before the sun set we were determined to head up Cathedral rock to watch the sunset and made it just in time. Amazing views and an intense elevation gain in a short amount of time. Yet, surprisingly it's pretty easy to get up this rock even for beginners.

The next day we headed off on another hike up Mt. Wilson and started out on the north side up some pretty loose rocky terrain. It took a little while, but we made it all the way to the top and enjoyed fantastic views of not only Sedona but the greater surrounding area as well and chit chatted with some fellow hikers at the top. Then it was practically a race down the trail back to the entrance to meet Jeff, who had stayed behind because he had injured his ankle the day before. We short-cut across this open grassy area, but I forgot to beware of the Agave cacti and tangled with one of them. I got some nasty cuts on my legs and shredded the front of my pants legs. Alas, that was the last trek for those pants. :-(

The way down was a little more precarious trying not to slip with all the loose rock on the trail, and my feet were killing me as they did not have enough padding in the soles to protect my feet bottoms from the rocks jabbing at my feet from underneath, but we managed to make it back and go get some food and water in us before we died of thirst, heat and exhaustion after 10 miles of hiking in the hot sun all day.


We cleaned ourselves up at the house and packed our things and got ready to head back to the faster-paced reality that is our home in the Bay Area. It was a fun trip overall and I was glad to get away and spend some time with the dear people I call my family on the west coast, not to be confused with my mid-west family that raised me from birth...now I just need to get myself an east coast family and I'll be set! Albeit an amazing trip, it was not quite as relaxing as I thought it would be, with 17 miles of hiking in all! I got acquainted with some muscles I hadn't used in a while, and made a mental note to bring better shoes next time.