apAdventures

Grit, Manu, Rio and Rosa arrived Thursday. And the needle is pegged at max! Woohoo!

posted by ARR

It’s been a heck of a summer.  Somehow four months has whipped right past my eyes, a blur of house projects, play dates, teenage social life obligations, gymnastics, gymnastics and more gymnastics and way too much work.  Plans to head up to the cool pines of Flagstaff for a day of bouldering kept getting canceled, or postponed.  Tired and grumpy seemed to be tainting our usually psyched and happy household.  We needed to get out, just the four of us. Needed to wake up in the van, hike out to some good boulders and pull hard, head back to camp and make some simple food, climb into our sleeping bags all sweaty and dirty, wake up and do it again.  And if we really wanted to pamper ourselves, throw a big ‘ol epic hike on top of all that.  Yes, this is exactly what this family needed.

That’s it. We’re going. And we’re leaving Friday. Or one of us will most definitely spontaneously combust.

posted by ARR

As noted a lot here on apAdventures, many of our best adventures evolve from an idea that gets planted during a prior adventure. This is another one of those instances. This is also one of those instances where when the opportunity presents itself, we jump on it.

While cruising down the South Kaibab trail last October, we took note of this inviting little thread of a trail headed into a massive plateau of sage bush about two thirds of the way down to the river, off to our left. The little thread was a tiny segment of the massive Tonto Trail, a 95 mile path that traverses the canyon lengthwise between the Little Colorado River in the east and somewhere waaaay downstream in the west, Garnet Canyon according to my map. While the link up possibilities of the 95 mile long Tonto are enough to plant a lifetime of future adventure ideas, the one we had that day in October was both simple and achievable, as long as we stayed fit: start/finish on the South Rim, South Kaibab trail to Tonto West to the Bright Angel Trail, around 14 miles in total and maybe 3500 feet elevation descent/gain. Tonto being notorious for no shade and no water meant we would have to get creative on when to fit this in before summertime temps started to climb, otherwise wait until next fall (because the winter bouldering season is of course off the table as an option). Well, fresh off a 14 miler last weekend that went surprisingly well, and two nights in Mather Campground on the south rim that opened up on recreation.gov meant “time to jump boys!” Bonus: it’s Mother’s Day!

posted by ARR

Tanque Verde Ridge to Juniper Basin, about 14 miles and 3000 feet elevation gain. Very pleased to report that the high mileage base we built last summer and fall with the kiddos is still intact.

It’s gonna be a good summer. 👍

posted by ARR

Not more than 1/2 a mile down into The Canyon during our last visit to the North Rim, someone announced an epic adventure idea.  I can’t remember who exactly started the idea, but by the time we were 1 mile down on our hike that day, the idea was finalized into a plan.  At the rate we were pushing, ticking off one huge hike a weekend in preparation for Mt. Kendall, we knew we would all would be quite fit for something big come October…something really big.  And it just so happened that this October was the one that Silas would turn 13.  And furthermore, his birthday landed on a weekend, smack dab in the middle of the kids fall break from school, which also happened to be the last weekend that amenities were open on the North Rim.  The universe was clearly indicating that this was a primo opportunity.  So like I said, it took us only a 1/2 mile of hiking to hatch the idea, and come up with the highly logistical plan to make it happen:

Hike the Grand Canyon, South Rim to North Rim, in a day, for Silas’ 13th birthday.

posted by ARR

This was last weekend’s adventure, and there was nothing b-side about it: Mt Wrightson via the Florida Trail, all the way to the summit! 16 miles, 6k elevation gain, and weeds taller than last time!! We were sure to come prepared though with a change of pants and “Welcome to the Jungle” by Guns and Roses stuck in our heads. A good time was had by all. 😁

posted by ARR

Big mileage, strong kiddos, patient parents.  Healthy foods, a good night’s sleep, the right gear.  Positive attitudes, endless motivation, words of encouragement.

Ha!  Right, that’s exactly us!  Hahahhaaaaa.  Consider this post the b-side to all our most recent trail adventures with the kids.

B-side adventure happens when:

• I buy a variety of pre-wrapped snacks for the kids to munch while hiking, and realize them picking out which ones to throw into their packs is the one motivator in getting them to pack their pack the night before without complaints.  …and sometimes the motivator for the hike itself

• Our kids bicker endlessly on the hike over who traded what snack and whether or not it was a fair trade

• Our kids have kicked it into high gear and I’m struggling to keep up and know that’s it’s either because a) they just downed an entire pack of those disgusting energy gummies that are nothing but sugar bombs or b) they’re talking about video games

• Our son complains that his backpack hurts his back and instead of buying him a better pack, I buy myself one so that I can carry some of his stuff when he starts complaining next time

• “Brunch at Barrio Charro” becomes the reward for not turning around before the planned destination is reached

• One of the kids needs to poop and the trail is too steep and exposed for detours, let alone privacy

• We realize we’ve left the breakfast and post-hike snack bag at home

• A park ranger notices we’ve brought our kids along, strolls past all the near-death looking hikers, and starts asking us questions on where we hiked in from and where we’re hiking to, and then gets very confused upon hearing our response

• We let the kids stay up way too late the night before because we all want to watch another Mandalorian episode (or three), and then we wake them at 3:45am, drive an hour to the trailhead, start up the trail, and then the youngest one stops dead in his tracks and declares “I don’t want to hike today.” 

• I can’t let go of the boulder problem i didn’t finish this summer in Durango and so decide that on the way to the Mt. Kendall Adventure, we MUST make a stop at the boulders so that I can send, despite massive protests by the kids.  It’s not that the kids can’t wait to get to Kendall for the big hike, it’s that they can’t wait to checkin to our accommodations and watch some TV.  
  (And for the record, yes, I sent).

posted by ARR

In case anyone was wondering why it is we’ve been racking up the trail mileage this summer…

Mt. Kendall. 13,066 feet high and the prominent peak above the little mountain town of Silverton, Colorado, Kendall has a convenient little jeep road that runs right from town to the top, 6ish miles one-way. We hatched the idea while in the area about the same time last year for our wedding anniversary, and all played out even better than imagined. Gorgeous weather, peak fall foliage, just the right amount of family fitness to carry us to the top and back without whining, super swanky accommodations to relax in afterwards, and best of all good company – Linda, John and Mandy (our hardcore crew that can’t ever seem to decline an invitation for a good trail adventure. You guys rock!).

Yup. Nailed it.

posted by ARR

Gleams off the desert grass on the Douglas Spring trail

And also off Ivan’s gorgeous blond hair

In exactly the same way.

posted by ARR