The Beginning - Piestewa Peak

Back in 2014, our family moved across the country from the Midwest to the desert.  My hubs and I both love the outdoors and we like being active. I am a gym rat but prefer to be outside getting my health on. My hubs, on the other hand, doesn't like the gym as much but likes the outdoors.  I figured, what better way to stay in shape and keep a happy marriage than do active things OUTSIDE! This was the best thing ever.

First, I will go back to when we lived in the foothills of the Appalachians.  We would hike places near us and it was always beautiful but not strenuous enough.  We could "walk" everywhere on trails but had to really dig to find places to increase the heart rate. We would even take the kids - they were somewhat young back then - and so it was a fun adventure but not what I was really looking for. More of a family day. We need/want those types of days but still wanted something that we could do that would keep us active.  I really needed something to keep us healthy and happy - something that burned up some calories. The gym was the only place that worked for us - and again, the hubs wasn't (still isn't) much of a gym rat like his wife.

Fast forward a few years......We moved across the country to the desert. Loads of mountains there! Tons of climbing, hiking, and activities of calorie burning. We started hiking Piestewa Peak, located in the Phoenix Mountains. Total climb was 1085 feet, topping out at 2431 feet so we could see all Phoenix, including uptown and downtown. It was HOT and beautiful! September of 2014 was when it really all began. The trail was about 1.15 miles each way and would take under an hour to get to the top. All hiking upwards without any flat ground to recuperate. No full body climbing. But, as you can see in the pictures below, it made us sweat! A LOT!
 

 

Piestewa Peak - Phoenix Mountains

2nd highest mountain