this past weekend, some friends and i went up to Flagstaff to hike Humphreys Peak. (the highest peak in AZ)
unlike most people who just hike it in a day, we hiked halfway, camped out over night, and finished it the next day.
yes, this made the initial hike in very difficult because we had to carry a 25 lb backpack up with all of our gear in it. (the boys packs were more like 45 lbs) OHMYGOSH, that thing was heavy and gave me bruises in weird areas, but that made the trip so much more memorable.
the trail itself is 4.8 miles long
(although it felt like 10, i swear it went on FOREVER) and our campsite was roughly the halfway point. after we got to the campsite on friday, we pitched our tents and settled in. once it got dark we made a fire and cooked our dinner, which consisted of freeze dried food and...freeze dried food. its not as bad as it sounds, i actually enjoyed it. sure it may look like mush in a bag, but after a day of hiking and the the cold weather, it tasted pretty dang good!
and big thanks to Nico for bringing the marshmallows because it wouldn't have been a real campout if we didn't have those!
on saturday, we got up, ate breakfast, cleaned the campsite up a little bit and headed off. we left our big packs at camp and hiked with just our camelbacks, which was WAYY easier to carry. it took us about 2.5 hours to make it all the way to the top, however it did prove how out of shape i am. First off the elevation makes it hard to breath, and second, well its straight up hiking. how much more do i need to say!
we stopped countless times to catch our breath, i swear, I've never felt so out of shape in my life. but it was all worth it once we reached the top.
the view was beautiful, no picture could capture how awesome and beautiful it was up there!
Humphreys Peak
Elevation: 12,633 ft
hiking down the mountain is a whole other story, it goes from being rocky and slippery, to woodsy and still slippery. i almost died several times going down the mountain, but hey i never actually fell, that would have been embarrassing.
by the end of the hike, my legs felt like noodles, i was sore, sunburnt, tired, and most importantly proud. proud that i had accomplished such an amazing thing. sure it may not be the hardest thing in the world, but it was till hard.
I'm glad i did it.
i highly suggest everyone and anyone should hike this, you won't regret it, i promise.
and if you have no one to go with, well i might be making this a yearly trip, so feel free to tag along with me!
ally
