South Mountain
Sep. 7th, 2009 09:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
livingdebMy second day in Phoenix I decided to start my day with a little hike. There was a huge park right near our hotel. I had done a little research but decided to drive to the visitor's center before deciding which trail to take and to get a map.
The visitor's center was closed.
So I tried to find the trail on my own, but that didn't happen. I saw almost no other motorized vehicles but many, many bicyclists.
Even though the road looks like this.
Finally I decided to stop at the next place with some cars parked and see if I could find a trailhead. This plan totally worked, and I began to hike up Ranger Trail.
Just like with the trail I had originally wanted to take, I got a view of Phoenix.
I saw four people on the trail on my way up. First, a boy and his father. The boy was complaining about the heat as I passed, and I hoped he would make it to the top, but I never saw him again, and their car was gone when I returned.
Then I saw an old guy jogging down the mountain. Then I saw a middle aged person jogging down the trail. Can that be wise? Isn't that hard on your knees? These guys were wise enough to be finishing up before it got crazy hot.
Check out this interesting saguaro.
![](https://p.dreamwidth.org/178cff50b4cc/3206548-328494/lh6.ggpht.com/_YGgbTJmFDDs/SqXCU8zRQgI/AAAAAAAAAJg/JSk0zH9Agdk/s400/KICX3488.JPG")
And this little beauty.
The trail I had picked out was described as a three-hour trip that led to a peak. Likewise, the trail I actually found took me 1.5 hours to climb and led me to a peak. Here's what was on the other side (from Phoenix).
I also saw this relatively dense collection of succulents at the top.
Most of the tiny life covering the rocks was black, but I did find yellow lichens.
On the way down the trail, I saw two more humans. One was sitting at the side of the trail in rare shade, panting. The other was jogging up the trail shirtless. As if running up the trail weren't enough, he first had to bicycle to the trail (either that, or the tired guy did)--I saw this further down the trail.
It only took me 30 minutes to get back down the trail.
Closer to the entrance of the park is this lovely building.
And while I'm showing you plants, here is an interesting one from near our hotel:
I really enjoyed starting my day with a nice hike. But then my buttocks were aching for a couple of days after that. (Then, after an hour of hustle dance lessons, doing only two steps over and over the whole time, my right calf was aching for a couple of days. Today, after jogging 30 minutes yesterday, my thighs are aching (though not as badly as the buttock and calf incidents--I had post-exercise peanut butter). Exercise is supposed to make me healthier and make me feel better, but limping every day for over a week isn't my favorite.)
Related news article of the day - Can Running Actually Help Your Knees? by Gretchen Reynolds. A study "followed middle-aged, longtime distance runners (not necessarily marathoners) for nearly 20 years, beginning in 1984, when most were in their 50s or 60s. At that time, 6.7 percent of the runners had creaky, mildly arthritic knees, while none of an age-matched control group did. After 20 years, however, the runners' knees were healthier; only 20 percent showed arthritic changes, versus 32 percent of the control group's knees. Barely 2 percent of the runners' knees were severely arthritic, while almost 10 percent of the control group's were."
A long-term study! With a control group! (My favorite.) These guys were running only 90 minutes a week on average, and there was no mention of them running down mountainsides. (Note that other sports are associated with increasing your odds for bad knee problems.)
The visitor's center was closed.
So I tried to find the trail on my own, but that didn't happen. I saw almost no other motorized vehicles but many, many bicyclists.
Even though the road looks like this.
Finally I decided to stop at the next place with some cars parked and see if I could find a trailhead. This plan totally worked, and I began to hike up Ranger Trail.
Just like with the trail I had originally wanted to take, I got a view of Phoenix.
I saw four people on the trail on my way up. First, a boy and his father. The boy was complaining about the heat as I passed, and I hoped he would make it to the top, but I never saw him again, and their car was gone when I returned.
Then I saw an old guy jogging down the mountain. Then I saw a middle aged person jogging down the trail. Can that be wise? Isn't that hard on your knees? These guys were wise enough to be finishing up before it got crazy hot.
Check out this interesting saguaro.
And this little beauty.
The trail I had picked out was described as a three-hour trip that led to a peak. Likewise, the trail I actually found took me 1.5 hours to climb and led me to a peak. Here's what was on the other side (from Phoenix).
I also saw this relatively dense collection of succulents at the top.
Most of the tiny life covering the rocks was black, but I did find yellow lichens.
On the way down the trail, I saw two more humans. One was sitting at the side of the trail in rare shade, panting. The other was jogging up the trail shirtless. As if running up the trail weren't enough, he first had to bicycle to the trail (either that, or the tired guy did)--I saw this further down the trail.
It only took me 30 minutes to get back down the trail.
Closer to the entrance of the park is this lovely building.
And while I'm showing you plants, here is an interesting one from near our hotel:
I really enjoyed starting my day with a nice hike. But then my buttocks were aching for a couple of days after that. (Then, after an hour of hustle dance lessons, doing only two steps over and over the whole time, my right calf was aching for a couple of days. Today, after jogging 30 minutes yesterday, my thighs are aching (though not as badly as the buttock and calf incidents--I had post-exercise peanut butter). Exercise is supposed to make me healthier and make me feel better, but limping every day for over a week isn't my favorite.)
Related news article of the day - Can Running Actually Help Your Knees? by Gretchen Reynolds. A study "followed middle-aged, longtime distance runners (not necessarily marathoners) for nearly 20 years, beginning in 1984, when most were in their 50s or 60s. At that time, 6.7 percent of the runners had creaky, mildly arthritic knees, while none of an age-matched control group did. After 20 years, however, the runners' knees were healthier; only 20 percent showed arthritic changes, versus 32 percent of the control group's knees. Barely 2 percent of the runners' knees were severely arthritic, while almost 10 percent of the control group's were."
A long-term study! With a control group! (My favorite.) These guys were running only 90 minutes a week on average, and there was no mention of them running down mountainsides. (Note that other sports are associated with increasing your odds for bad knee problems.)