Better.

So after a rather not-so-great week, it didn't get any better after the last post, I was looking forward to pulling myself into the fetal position and sucking my thumb all weekend. Somehow, I managed to rally though and got a hike in, among other things.

I wanted something nearby, free, easy to follow, and yet a little challenging. So I chose the 5.5-mile Sunrise Trail in Scottsdale via the Ringtail Trail on 128th St. Although I was going to gain some elevation on this one, the switchbacks were quite long, so while it was still a little steep in places, it wasn't like Tom's Thumb (one of my favorite hikes). I decided to push it a little on this one and treat it more like exercise than a meander.



The views behind me were pretty great, but I wasn't worried about turning around constantly to look at them because I knew I'd be coming back that way and would snap some photos and take it all in then. Yeah, that didn't happen. I got to the turn-around, the hitching post, in exactly an hour.

I hadn't planned on going the extra bit to the summit, but I really couldn't resist its siren call. I mean, look how close it is! So I headed up.

It was only an extra 20 minutes and was worth it. There were nice views of Fountain Hills, Scottsdale, mountains, a great breeze. Sigh.



And then I headed back. Where did all those side trails come from? I hadn't noticed most of them on the way up. There was a lot of signage leading to the summit, but nothing on any other trail, so I had no idea which trail was the one I'd come up. I focused on staying on the Scottsdale side of the mountain range and just kept walking. I never saw the hitching post again or the views I had wanted to capture on my return. It turned out I ended up on the "official" Sunrise Trail which is steeper, not a problem going down but I wouldn't have wanted to take that going up. The view was, eh, and the next thing I knew I was at the bottom. On 146th Street.

My car was at 128th Street. The good news is that the street I had to return on wasn't all that busy and rather pretty.

Of course, I didn't just have to get back to 128th St, I also had to get back to the mountain since the street had veered away from it. Oy.

Despite that flub, it didn't ruin my zen. If I'm hiking, I'm happy. Add a view of crystal blue/green water, and it's my version of heaven.  About 89 days...