Hiking, rest day, and cross-training

Friday: My brother, an avid mountaineer, was in town. So I took the day off and we went hiking, of course! He originally had planned for us to do Lone Peak or Twin Peaks, but decided those were too hard for Erica (his wife) and I to do, so he switched our hike to Pfiefferhorn. It was still very difficult! If I'd been in better shape to start with it wouldn't have been as hard as it was, but even so, the class 3 scrambling with exposure was pretty scary for me and I doubt I'd do it again. I'm glad I did it, but...yeah...scary.

It was about 15K total (actually a bit more, at 9.5 miles or so), with 3800 feet (1100m) of elevation gain and then loss on the way back. Wow. But it was very beautiful hiking through forests, past alpine lakes, through meadows of profuse wildflowers, and then over boulders on a knife-edge ridge. The summit views were spectacular, showing us the Salt Lake and Utah valleys, Little Cottonwood Canyon, Mt. Timpanogos, and more.









On the way down, all was well until about 12k, when my right IT band pulled its usual hiking stunt and started to hurt. The last 3k was a slow slog for me, but I made it. My quads are seriously paying for the adventure now, but oh well. It was worth it.

Here are all of the photos. Here's my Garmin data.

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When I got back into cell phone range, I was stunned to have a message from the camp director of the summer camp my kids are in. I discovered that they were BOTH at the hospital (thankfully with my husband Loren) from separate accidents at the roller skating rink. Calvin fell first, bracing his fall with his arms and fracturing his radius and ulna. They set the fracture with him sedated, and he is doing fine now, though in some discomfort. Just after the camp director got back to the skating rink, Grace fell and split her chin open, requiring 5 stitches. They took her over to be with Calvin and Loren at the hospital. By the time I got back from hiking, they were almost ready to leave the hospital, so I didn't go. I was quite relieved to be reunited with them and they are going to be fine.

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Saturday: rest day. I needed it, after all that excitement!

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Sunday: quads still hurting a lot, and calves too. However, I need exercise! So I decided to try the elliptical, and it was fine. I did 40 min elliptical in my swimsuit and shorts, and then peeled off the shorts and jumped into the pool for 20 min of laps. That felt quite nice after the elliptical, and gave my legs a rest.