The Latest in Kili Training

Well kids, I bought my official Kilimanjaro shoes. The picture (left) was from our first "break-them-in" hike. We went up Dry Creek Canyon near where we live in Alpine, UT to a place we call Elk Camp. To be honest, I'm not sure if that's what it's called or if that's just what Bryan calls it. Either way it's about 2.5 miles up the canyon. The shoes (with my feet in them) are perched on Pride Rock just above Elk Camp. Pride Rock, I am sure, is just what we call it and not really what it's called. It's a pretty fine spot for watching the sun sink and go golden on the horizon. We went up there just for part of an evening to roast some bratwurst over a fire. Lucy (little dog, enamored with Bryan) came along and was great at scouting firewood with us and exploring. She also walked straight up the steep part of pride rock like a mountain goat. It's possible we underestimate her abilities because she's so tiny and enthusiastic.

We're learning the art of being opportunistic as we prepare for this trek. Bryan, for those of you who don't already know, drives semi-trucks. He doesn't have a regular schedule and that's by design, otherwise how could we keep dropping everything and disappearing to foreign places? However, that also means it's pretty hard to make plans more than a few days ahead of time. As such, we have to be ready to drop everything and hike somewhere at a moment's notice. Say he gets home from a trucking run a couple of hours earlier than expected and the weather is nice? We're probably going to find a mountain somewhere to have dinner in. We have to take our chances wherever we can get them. I have a feeling that that will be the key to maintaining an adventurous lifestyle even once we have kids and a little less freedom than we have now. Being ready to jump at any opportunity.

It's a good mental exercise for me. I have one side of my personality that is adventurous and active and ready to go and can't get enough of new experiences, but the other side of me is happy to just sit and binge Netflix and take long, leisurely naps in the afternoon and call it productivity. I'm grateful to have married someone that encourages the one side of me more than the other. It's often hard to get excited about a daunting hike when I'm not in the mood, but I never regret that we did it when we get back to the car. I'm finding it's starting to require less and less inner pep talking to get myself to do physically demanding things these days. Maybe the more active me is finally dominating. Or maybe I'm just in better shape and it's physically not as hard as it used to be, who knows?

By way of explanation about what Kilimanjaro trekking looks like (i.e. what were are preparing for). I'm starting to get the sense that a lot of people envision very technical, ice-climbing-the-north-face-of-the-Matterhorn type of trekking. Kilimanjaro is the highest peak in Africa, but ascending its summit is, in many ways, just a very long walk. You can summit in as little as 4 days, but we're doing it in 8. We're giving ourselves plenty of time to acclimatize, because the hardest and most dangerous part of the mountain is the altitude. 

Except for the day we summit, most days on the mountain won't be more than about 5 miles of hiking in a day. The rest of the time will be spent relaxing, chatting, reading and avoiding the monkeys. 

There are a few high-ish altitude peaks in Utah, but for now Bryan and I are just staying in good day-to-day hiking shape. Monday we hiked a loop from Grove Creek to Battle Creek (two adjacent canyons in Pleasant Grove, UT--see All Trails summary above). It was so beautiful. You're getting incredible valley views within the first 15 minutes of hiking and there are creeks and waterfalls everywhere.

Ms. Lucy came along. It turned out to be kind of scorcher so I'm glad she had tons of opportunities to lap up a cooling drink. You hike through rock canyons, pine forest, aspen forest and big, sprawling meadows. Something I love about Utah Valley is that if you get high enough on practically any mountain, you find yourself in places that look just like the alps. There's Switzerland in them thar hills! It makes it feel like going on a trip without leaving your own community.

The heat of almost-summer was initially a little overwhelming, but it also meant that, in addition to all the greenery coming out, there were suddenly butterflies everywhere. They were so bright and cheerful, I loved having them fluttering around while we walked and talked. Actually, one of the first moments when I started to fall for Bryan (and we weren't even dating yet) was when he called me when he got home from trekking the Annapurna circuit in Nepal and told me he'd seen a butterfly fluttering around the barren, high tundra there and thought, "hey little buddy, what are you going to eat?" It was such surprising, gentle concern for something so small from someone so big. I loved it. And I loved seeing these Grove Creek butterflies. It seems I'm not the only one. Lucy seemed pretty interested in the one that kept landing on our stuff:

 
All in all, the summer's getting off to a grand start and it's only May. (Oh no, is that was someone says just before disaster strikes??) Having Kilimanjaro to work towards is giving me a great excuse to get in shape without my motivation being something tied up in my personal vanity. I want to be healthy and fit, but I don't want to spend all my time thinking about being skinny or eating less. That's such a buzzkill to me.

Instead, I just keep going on a long, beautiful walks with Bryan (and Lucy). I keep putting one foot in front of the other and enjoying his company and enjoying the day and next thing you know, four hours have passed and I've burned 1700 calories without meaning to. It's kind of ideal.

Still ahead for us are trips to Angel's Landing, hiking over the mountain from our place to Tibble Fork Reservoir, a redo on Lone Peak, a trip up Timp and a backpacking trek to King's Peak (Utah's highest mountain).  

Stay tuned (and someday in the future, there will be video...)

Also, if anyone is local and wants to either recommend or join us on a hike, please let me know. You could spend a morning (or even a whole day) enjoying these faces: