Starting from Douglas Spring Trailhead and approaching from the west (versus the north like we did last time), and with a nab of Spud Rock along the way, we had ourselves a delightful 28 mile day with 6k ft elevation gain. I have been asked many times over the years as to whether I’ve done a marathon. No, I have not. But does this count? 😉
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20 miles, 6.5k ft gain.
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Lucky for us, we are surrounded by mountains here in Tucson. From our home the Santa Catalina Mountains are to our north, the Tucson Mountains to our west, the Santa Rita Mountains to our south, and the Rincon Mountains to our immediate east/southeast, “immediate” as in, if you jumped in the car you can be at my all-time favorite trailhead in less than 10 minutes. The problem / blessing about the Rincons though compared to the other three ranges is that one has to really work to get to any of it’s three peaks, work from both an elevation gain point of view AND a mileage point of view. No roads go up into the Rincons. And the trails that do exist are pretty sparse, seeing very little foot traffic once you get past the 5 mile mark. This lovely combination has been tantalizing us for years. I can’t even count the times I’ve longingly started up at these three untouchable beauties from our home, or from most places in Tucson if you just look east. Rincon Peak, 15 miles and 5k feet elevation gain if approached from the east. Mica Mountain, 20 miles and 4.6k feet gain if approached from the north. Tanque Verde Peak, 20 miles and 4.3k feet gain if approached from the south.
Well, now that we are an official 20-miler family, we got ‘em all as of today. Rincon we did back in January, Mica two Sundays ago and Tanque Verde Peak today. The Rincon Triple Crown! Complete!
The Rincon Peak hike in January:
Mica Mountain, 2 weeks ago:
Tanque Verde Peak, today:
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It’s winter. Which means it’s gymnastics competition season. This is the time of year that I find myself getting grumpy with all the running around to competitions (which are never in Tucson) and all the sitting inside gyms or sitting in the car driving to and from gyms on perfectly beautiful winter bouldering days. Inside sports should be a summertime activity! Says this Arizona mama, haha. But then I watch the kids do their thing on rings, pommel, floor, vault, parallel bars and the cringe-worthy high bar (high bar scares me) and I’m over it.
Winter also means it’s Science Fair season. And Ivan has been hard at work with what has become the most wildly successful science fair project of all science fair projects ever attempted in this household. Yes, we’ve had some real doozies over the years. Ivan’s project this year is “Can I design, build and fly a 3D-printed rocket better than the store-bought ones?” The answer is yes. Yes he can.
Ah our beloved mountain trails, which is another wonderful activity to partake in during the winter months. A trail day is grand when one doesn’t need to wake up at 4am to beat the heat!
Which brings me alas to bouldering. Like many winters of late, we don’t quite get outside on real rock as much as we (read: I) would prefer. But what matters most (and what I keep telling myself when I get grumpy) is this: when the opportunity presents itself, we go! We’re still going people! LET’S GO! 🤪
And that about sums up this year’s adventures thus far!
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No Comments »And finally, the grand finale: a whole 6 minutes and 25 seconds of V11 battling. Happy New Year!
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