Aravaipa Canyon 3 day Backpacking trip 3/22/25-3/24/25

Aravaipa Canyon. View from our campsite near
Booger Canyon at sunset

Back in March a good friend of mine said she had four permits for Aravaipa Canyon and she asked me to go along.  I knew nothing about this canyon but quickly said yes! Janelle has done several thru hikes and I knew I was in good hands. I only knew the trip would be May 22-24 and we would spend two nights in this Canyon. I had a busy spring and forgot to look anything up about the area. About a week before the hike, I was on vacation in Seattle with Todd and his parents. We were enjoying Olympic National Park (hoping to do a blog post on that trip soon!). Janelle started a group text. The trip would be Janelle, Kate and I. I had just met Kate a few weeks prior. I finally started doing some research. Quickly I realized we would be in an epic canyon that many people don't realize is only a few hours from Phoenix.   Janelle thanks for securing us permits and inviting me to join in on this epic adventure. We would be hiking in and out of a creek the entire time.  We put a plan together and I was looking forward to hitting the trail with these ladies. 

Todd and I got home super late from Seattle on a Friday night.  After sleeping in and catching up on sleep, I spent Saturday unpacking from that 10 day trip and packing my pack for this trip. I knew work was going to be super busy catching up from being gone so I needed to get things done over the weekend.  My final pack weight was 20.6 pounds! My base weight without food and water was 12 pounds. I have collected ultralight gear over the years and was excited it seems to be all coming together for a lighter pack. I have been hiking on average once a week with a 20 pound ruck to train for the AZT800 bikepacking race (more on that craziness later) so I was hoping that training would be enough because I didn't do any specific training for this hike. I was looking forward to trying out my new pack. After many hours going down the google rabbit hole, last fall I purchased the Durston Kakwa 40. I had not had a chance to use it yet. I was excited about this pack because it was considered an ultralight pack but it also had a minimalist frame and many pockets. Most ultralight packs don't have pockets on the hip belt but this one did.  Plenty of room for all the things I like having easy access to while hiking.   Here is a list of all my items and weight using Lighterpack website. I am super proud of the final weight and base weight. Havasupai back in 2018 was my first true backpacking trip and my backpack was about 35 pounds and my average pack for trips has always been around 30-32 pounds fully loaded. 

Everything I packed
https://lighterpack.com/r/vim00q

Aravaipa Wilderness area requires permits and they can be obtained through recreation.gov. Even if you are a day hiker you need a permit. Only 50 people a day are given permits to enter this wilderness area. This keeps the foot traffic down in the area. I also noticed how clean the area was. I loved seeing that everyone was truly practicing leave no trace. I am glad this place is protected. It was absolutely serene. I felt like I was in a different world.  I couldn't believe I was in such an amazing place only about two hours east of my home. This was the first backpacking trip I have done in a long time that it wasn't crowded with people. I felt like we had this entire wilderness area to ourselves. We saw only a few people as we were hiking in and then didn't see anyone again until we were hiking out. Aravaipa Canyon trail goes along a Aravaipa creek between the West and East Entrance and it is about 12 miles in length. There really isn't a defined trail. You hike either in the creek or along the banks and follow sometimes very faint game trails. We parked at the West entrance and started hiking about 11AM. It was hot when we started and I was so glad when we reached the water. We walked in the creek for a bit because it felt amazing. 

Prickly Pear Cactus! My favorite cactus flower 
I couldn't believe we found one in perfect bloom.

Janelle, Kate and I near the beginning of the trail

Janelle at the first river crossing with
many more to come

I was amazed that the Saguaro were just 
growing out of the rock. 

After a few miles of hiking the canyon walls
were starting to close in around us. 

The flowers in the Canyon were amazing
I couldn't believe how many things were in still in bloom. 

Janelle and Kate enjoying a water section

A cool rock ledge we were able to walk on

Selfie with the amazing canyon walls in the back. 
The pictures really don't do this canyon justice. 

Janelle walking through the overgrown game trail along 

the creek. It was fun finding which trail was better. 

When we reached the West parking lot we had a quick snack and then headed out on the trail. It was amazing. After about a mile the canyon walls appeared. Pictures just don't do this canyon justice. We took our time enjoying the canyon. We didn't have an exact plan about where we wanted to camp but we had ideas. All of us did a little research before the hike and we talked about all our options. Janelle and I carpooled to the trailhead and Kate followed us in her car. Janelle and I game planned on the way drive out. We initially thought we may camp around Horsecamp canyon, set up camp and then explore Horsecamp side canyon. Horsecamp canyon is about five miles into the canyon. We passed about 4-5 campsites around Horsecamp. We decided to keep hiking and see what was beyond Horsecamp canyon. There really is not much once you leave the entrance to that side canyon. Around 7-8 miles into the hike you come upon Booger Canyon. There was one campsite there. After exploring the area we decided that was a great place to make home for the next two nights. It was a big shaded site with amazing trees for our bear hang and for my hammock. After setting up camp it was about 5:00pm. It was time to relax in camp and make dinner. I was in my happy zone resting in my hammock and reading a few magazines I had on my kindle app on my phone. Golden Hour lit up the canyon walls. It was hot but the shade was nice and it did cool off as the sun went down. 

Our campsite near the entrance to Booger Canyon

Enjoying Golden Hour from our campsite. I loved this view 
my hammock.

We saw so much wildlife. More than I ever have a backpacking

trip. The mule deer liked to hang out with us. We saw so many 

throughout the three days. We could hear them running in the stream. 

Janelle working on getting the Bear bag hung from the tree. 

We had to move to a different tree but Janelle was successful! 

Day two I woke up 6am. Janelle and Kate were already awake so I decided to get up. It was a nice cool beautiful morning. Before the trip I was able to download some maps using Gaia app. I was also able to download the articles and blogs from others about this canyon the Janelle, Kate and I found. I use the pocket app to download them for offline use.  I reviewed them again while laying in my hammock before falling asleep. In the morning decided the best anyon to explore for the day would be Deer Creek Canyon which takes you to Hell's hole.  We got moving about 8AM. Kate was able to tell us all about the flowers and pants we were passing. It was fine learning about them. So many new ones I had never seen before and some of my favorites. I also had fun uploading them into the seek app as well. After a few miles we reached Deer Creek Canyon. I guess I missed the part that this canyon was mainly along a dry creek bed. All of us were short on water and didn't filter before entering this canyon. We search for water but all the mentioned places along the way were dry. However, after about an hour of hiking we came upon a little tiny flowing stream of water. I stopped and filtered there. Soon after we found water we found a great place to relax and eat lunch. Kate walked back a little bit to filter water in the small creak. Somehow we all missed an arch far up in the canyon walls.  Thanks Kate for looking up and finding this cool arch.  After lunch we continued down the canyon.  The Canyon walls were so narrow. Not a slot canyon but really cool. I different view around every corner. Sometimes we thought there would be no path forward and then we would find a  small way through and the canyon just kept going.  A little further down the trail from lunch we found good flowing spring.  It was a welcome site as it was getting hot. Janelle placed her hiking poles almost on top of a rattlesnake. YIKES! After that we all timidly went to the spring. It was so refreshing and it felt good to wet my shirt as it was getting hot in the sun. Now far past the spring we decided to turn around and head back to our camp. 

I just loved watching the Mule Deer

Southwestern Prickly Poppy (Aregemone pleicantha)

Sacred Datura (Datura wrightii) 

Armenian Blackberry (Rovus armeniacus). 
These blackberry bushes were everywhere. I wish they were ripe!
I love wild blackberries. But then again probably
better they were not ripe yet because they would bring the beers out. 

Janelle posing under a crazy tree

Thanks Kate for finding this natural arch

Booger Canyon. We hiked along this dry wash for miles. 

We were hoping we would find water here.
We found several places where the canyon walls were wet
but no active water. It was all dry. We almost turned around but decided
to keep going a little bit longer. 

I think Janelle Jumped a mile. I had to quickly grab
her poles for her. But I will say I was nervous and 
snatched them so quickly. 

The Sneek app proved to be use full identifying wildlife.
Arizona Black Rattlesnake

We were so excited to find this spring!

You can se the faint spring in this picture. 
It was amazing water and felt so good. 

Collecting water to filter from the spring. 

Janelle and Kate enjoying the hike in the creek back to camp. 

There were so many caves up in the rock 
in Deer Creek Canyon. 

Wild Turkey along Aravaipa Creek

Aravaipa Canyon is a known habitat for Coati. 

I had never even heard about this animal until now. I am so glad

Janelle spotted it. So cool to see one in person. Thanks Kate

for capturing the video. 

The tail on a Coati was amazingly long

Cooling off on the hike back to camp Day 2.

Kate enjoying the cold water.

Day 3: Kate needed to get back early so she got up about 5 and headed out around 6.  I got up just in time to say bye to Kate. Janelle and I enjoyed another morning and slowly packed up. We headed out about 7:30 to hike just over 7 miles back to the car. This trip was the well needed mental break I needed to recharge. It was so peaceful in that canyon. All of us had some new gear and it was fun talking about our choices. I was happy with my pack. I loved it and at times I forgot I was carrying all my gear in it. You learn something from every trip. This time I was experimenting with some food options. In March I started a weight loss program with Scottsdale Weight loss Center. For me it has been life changing and the best decision I have made for my health (Again maybe I will do a blog on that soon). I am on a high protein low carb diet. I have lost 33 pounds and I got to my goal weight a few weeks ago. Right now I am doing two meals a day and two medical protein shakes. I found some beef sticks and jerky that I like and those worked out well. I also made dehydrated black and pinto beans mixed with freeze dried corn, green beans and peas. I added a chicken packet to it (much like tuna packets) and put it in a tortilla for dinner. This worked out well except I brought to much. Ended up packing about half of it out each night. Jasmine brought in some gluten free/vegan cookies from Insomnia cookies to work on Wed. Instead of eating them at work I chose to bring them along on the hike. Janelle is also gluten free and we both loved them. It hit the spot after getting to camp on day one. Another snack that worked out well was beet chips from nuts.com. I also made my own trail mix of mixed nuts and freeze dried fruit. I had  two of my protein shakes per day and those worked out well. I felt like I had plenty of fuel for the hike. I am still amazed with my energy level on such low carbs. I was really happy with the food I found. It took hours of research over the past month. I am experimenting with different things for my upcoming AZT 800 bikepacking race. This trip was a great test.  On the road out of Aravaipa wilderness we made note of a small apple orchard. One day I would love to go check it out. Aravaipa Farms Orchard and Inn.  Janelle and I checked out small town Kearny (drive by) and then ended getting lunch at Los Hermanos in Superior.  Work has been super busy and I have been working long hours. Sometimes I am very tempted to say no to these opportunities due to how busy work is and I know I will just get further behind by taking time off. Last year I took minimal time off work. This year I promised myself I would get back to a better work life balance and not pass on opportunities to explore. I am so glad I say yes to Janelle and joined in on this rare opportunity to explore this amazing wilderness area. This is why I love Arizona. So many hidden gems. 

I haven't had sweets in months. Best trail snack ever. 
Thanks Jasmine for the gluten free/vegan chocolate chips cookies. 
They were amazing and hit the stop after a long day of hiking. 

Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra). 
These red birds were so amazing in person. 
I loved laying in the hammock listening to them. 

Snapdragon Vine (Maurandella antirrhiniflora)

Davis Mountain Mock Vervain (Glandularia wrightii)

Poison Ivy! Not a pretty flower. We were surprised

to see it in this Canyon. Thankfully Janelle and Kate

recognized it. I brushed against it once but didn't get a rash thankfully. 

Another Golden Hour picture from our campsite. 

One last selfie at the end. So much fun adventuring with you 
Janelle. I can't wait until next time. I enjoyed all your stories about
the Appalachian Trail. Can't wait to hear about your
adventure on the PCT this summer.

#GoodNight2022Campout 12/30/22 - 12/31/22

Heidi and I planned a bikepacking trip in Flagstaff this past summer. We had the date set on the calendar way in advance. Unfortunately, the fires up north derailed that plan.  The dirt road that was a big part of our route was closed indefinitely while the area repairs itself. We never got another trip planned in its place. I usually love planning far in advance. If it isn't on the calendar way in advance sometimes it doesn't happen. But once in awhile a last minute idea comes together and works out!    Heidi texted on 12/17/22 "I'm assuming you already have plan on the 30-31st" with a link to bikepacking.com challenge #GoodNight2022Campout. I was available that weekend and a plan started to quickly form.  We decided on an overnight route at Hawes with about 10-15 miles each day. 

Trailforks link 

Total time was less than 24 hours not 76 hours! 

We posted an event within our Bikepacking Babes facebook page.  Only Heidi, Berverly, and I could go so we started spreading the word to our bikepacking friends.  John Schilling created a facebook event and posted it on Arizona Bikepackers as a Bikepacking 101 route.  We had a total of 10 of us embark on this local challenge.  We didn't have anyone new to bikepacking but many of us were trying out new gear.  I love these group trips because it is fun to see everyone's setup. I always take away ideas for my own setup! 

I was testing out my setup for Queens Ransom. I am excited but nervous for that trip all at the same time. Queens Ransom will be March 3rd.  It is about 220 miles, 14,000 ft of climbing over 4 days.  It will be an epic ride for me so I really wanted to make sure my setup was dialed. This trip was perfect for that.  Since my last trip I changed a lot of my gear. I did a lot of research and was lucky to find some sales.  I am really happy with my setup. My front handlebar harness did rub once in awhile. I was worried about that. I got a bike fit recently and we moved my bars all the way down with no spacers. I think a little bit of duck tape on the underside of the harness will due the trick in protecting it. I really want to keep my gear as light as possible for the Queens Ransom. I decided that I would try to get away without my rear back rack. I was happy with how the bike handled including the steering. I think this is going to work out. I liked the simplicity of it. I also got to test out my new tent (Copper Spur HV UL Bikepack) and sleep pad. I am happy I upgraded my sleep pad to an insulated one.  It took me sometime to remember how to set everything up. My favorite thing I added to my setup was my rogue panda custom frame bag. I debated on getting a frame bag for so long. I have an XS bike so I was worried it wouldn't be worth it. It is 100% worth it!! I could fit so much in that little bag! I love that they are a local company and based in Flagstaff. I met them at Roam fest and after asking a zillion questions I knew I needed one. 

Beverly was also testing her set up for Queens Ransom

We met at the park and ride at Power and the 202 at 2:30pm.  Beverly met at my house and we rode to the park and ride together. It was nice being able to ride from home and not having to load up our heavy bikes onto the car.  I was closely watching the weather leading up to the trip. There was a lot of rain in the forecast.  It rained a lot that week leading up to the ride and it was supposed to rain all day Sunday. But luckily the rain held off for Friday and Saturday. The sky did look omnious on Friday while we were heading to camp. It misted a little bit while we were setting up camp and that was it. The sunset was absolutely stunning. I decided to take gluten free pizza for dinner and it worked out perfect!

I love my new tent. A lot of room for a one person tent. 

Bikepacking Babes! Heidi, Beverly, Kara

John enjoying his chair before
he sunk into the soft dirt (a very rare thing in Phx)

It took awhile to get the fire started!
We finally used one of the propane stoves and it worked great.

I love ending the day with a fire 

and hearing everyone's stories of their crazy adventures. 

While I was packing up in the morning I heard a familiar voice! 

Rhonda was hiking with her dogs and friend. 

We had amazing hero dirt! 

Heidi just cruising along

It was fun doing a local route. Many of us knew the trails really well. We had so many audibles with route changes but that made it fun.  We even changed where we were going to camp. Initially Heidi and I were thinking about camping at Bulldog Canyon. However, there were so many campers in the area so John had a great idea. We kept heading up the maricopa trail toward Pass Mountain. We found a great area to camp that was open and lots of room for all 10 of us. Many people don't realize that Hawes is part of the Tonto National Forest. So we were able to camp anywhere! The options were endless. 

Very creative setup

John was happy it stopped raining since he was cowboy
 camping and was already all set up. 

I never thought to do a trip so close to home. Part of backpacking.com challenge (#goodnight2022campout) was to get out local either solo or with friends. Enjoy a night under the stars. It was fun making memories with my friends and meeting new ones. Bikepacking.com gives out great prizes to five posts of their choosing. No one in our group made the top five but John Schilling's instagram post was featured in the Bikepacking.com #goodnight2022campout wrap up post. 

Heidi thanks for the idea. It was great to end the year under
the stars (they peaked out for a second). 
I'm looking forward to new adventures in 2023. 

Bikepacking Maricopa Trail 3/20/22-3/22/22

My Setup using the Aero Spider Rack! I even had full use of my dropper.

Link to Trailforks map of route

  

For several years I have been wanting to get into bikepacking. I love mountain biking and camping. Why not combine the two. I was always intrigued but afraid to take that leap. I needed to figure out how to carry all the gear on my full suspension bike. I did a lot of searching the internet and came upon Aero Spider Racks. I started asking questions to anyone who would listen! HBRO (Hawesaholics babes ride on)  has been an amazing community of local ladies who love to ride! We have over 700 members in our facebook group. AMAZING!! We do local rides and events.  It is the most active facebook group I have ever been a part of. The stoke is real.  Over the past several months there was recent buzz about bikepacking. Heidi put together a 101 clinic at her house in Feb 2022 with our local bikepacking legend John Schilling.   Several weeks later on 02/19/2022  I went on my first bikepacking trip with John Schilling and a group of HBRO Ladies (and Nik!). Check out John's blog about it! I loved it. It was challenging and I learned so much! I knew I wanted to do this more and enjoyed all of John's stories.  Next year my sites are on his Queen's Ransom group Ride.  Why not dream big and go after a crazy adventure! I think I will need the whole year to train! 

A few weeks later Yoko and Ko who were on the 101 backpacking trip with me were planning a three day bikepacking trip. I saw there post on the facebook group Arizona Bikepackers.  I sent her message asking her about their plans and that I was interested in joining them. We had about two weeks to plan. They had dates in mind but no route or any other plan. March 20-22. I put in PTO at work and we started planning.  Ko and Yoko almost gave up on their bikepacking idea and were just going to go ride in sedona for a few days. I said we can do this! We quickly decided on the Maricopa trail. This is an urban route around Phoenix, AZ that connects our county parks. Some of it is remote but a lot of it is urban and within reach of services. I know the western part of the trail because my in-laws live right off the trail! We decided we would start at Spur Cross trailhead and head west. This would allow us to complete the most challenging section on day one. On day two and three we would have a lot of canals/road. It also would give us hopefully good places to camp. I mapped out a 100 mile route really doubting we would do all of that route. I figured we would maybe do about 80 miles total. But I put it out there! We didn't have a big plan of where we were going to camp each night. I just had a general idea of where we should camp. I also started looking for grocery stores and food along the route. We would have lots of options. John Schilling did the entire Maricopa Trail and all of the spur trails last year. We used his blog post as inspiration and it was helpful with insight on where to maybe stop to refuel and camp. 

Heidi and I were talking the week of the trip! She wanted to join in. She had less than a week to get ready. A trip that Yoko and Ko didn't think they could do was now coming together. All of us  were new to bikpacking but ready for the adventure. Our only trip was just a few weeks earlier. But we learned from the best and we figured no better way to figure things out other than to just get out there and do it! 

With Creative loading we were able to get all of our bikes and gear into Yoko's Van. We were thankful her friend offered to shuttle us up to the spur cross trailhead. After fueling up on coffee at Local Johny's we were ready to head out on this adventure. 

Spur Cross Trailhead: We are all set and ready to embark on this three day adventure.

We hit the single track right away with a challenging climb.  Two people on the trail recognized us from John's blog post about our biking 101 trip a few weeks earlier. It was fun chatting with them for a few minutes.  John was following our Garmin live track and giving us tips along the way. The four of us were on this adventure but we had a lot of help along the way to make it a success. 

Heidi rolling over one of many gates

Heidi's setup

We all rocked the same rear rack! It works great for especially for small and XS frames. All four of us can't use seat bags due to clearance. To close to the back tire. So these racks work great. 

Ko's Set up

 Ko and Yoko both were on VK enduro bikes. They rocked it. The best bikepacking bike is the one you have! Be creative and make it work if you want to get out there and explore.

Yoko's set up! 

Top of spur cross climb. One of my favorite viewpoints

We were happy to be at the top of the Spur Cross climb. About 2 miles of a rocky climb. Much different on loaded bikes! But the view is amazing at the top. 

Ko and Yoko navigating another gate! 

I thought the challenging trail was behind us as we headed into New River. We headed up a climb with a lot of hike a bike. I tumbled down the hill on the other side. The sky was getting dark. It wasn't supposed to rain.  I started really second guessing leaving all  my rain gear behind including my hammock rain fly.  I love my adventure buddies. They quickly figured out we could all crash in two tents if needed.  As we were trying to outbike the storm Ko crashed hard in a wash. Got her bandaged up and headed into Anthem for lunch.

One of many stops to re-adjust our gear.  We were all still dialing in our setups.
Look at those dark ominous clouds. I won't leave my rain gear behind ever again!

After lunch we headed to Fry's to get more bandages for Ko. I was getting frustrated that it took so long to get our check and we were stopped a long time. Blessing in disguise. The sky opened up and it poured. We stood outside Fry's under the awning thankful we weren't riding in the rain. Next time my rain gear is coming with me no matter what the weather is showing! We were stopped so long John checked in with us to make sure we were ok since our little dot on the garmin live wasn't moving.  We finally headed back out and found a perfect spot to camp somewhere between Anthem and Lake Pleasant. I even found a tree to hang my hammock. I hung it in one big tree! These girls know how to end a long day on the bike. Lots of laughs and toasts around the fire! 

So many laughs and good times around the fire! Best way to end the day. Chears!

I can't believe I chanced finding trees to hang my hammock in the desert. 

So happy I made it work. I couldn't find two trees next two each other. 

After a lot of attempts I was able to hang it in one tree!

The next day we headed out towards lake pleasant. Ko's friend was our next trail angel with mcdonalds! He helped tighten our racks on our bikes and we adjusted gear. I even ate mcdonalds. I had the inside of an sausage egg mcmuffin. It has been probably 25 years since I had mcdonalds but it tasted good! 

Chowing down on McDonalds. 

One nice thing about doing an urban route is your have great options to refuel along the way. We stopped at Sprouts in Peoria for lunch.  Just after lunch we ran into narly wind. I felt like I wasn't even moving. We had to stop a lot to give ourselves a break from the wind. These girls are amazing.  Not even a peep about giving up. We just pushed on into the wind. We had one goal in mind and that was to make it near white tanks. One reason was because we were currently in a very urban area and not a place you wanted to camp for the night.  I couldn't believe we did it. After a super long day in the wind we made it about a 1/2 mile from the park. We scoped for a place to camp and after a mile or so we finally found a great place. I had an awesome tree to hang my hammock in. I can't believe a was able to sleep in my hammock both nights in the dessert.  Good thing since I didn’t bring my tent! It was so windy I was afraid my hammock was going to flip with me in it. Thankfully that did not happen. John again helped out by watching the weather. He gave us intel that we shouldn't have much wind the next day. I was so thankful to get that news. I wasn't looking forward to anymore crazy wind. 

Heidi trying to shield herself from the wind and eat dinner.
Camp the second night. 

The sunsets were amazing. This was my camp the second night.
Found two awesome trees to hang my hammock. Perfect. I slept so good. 

The next morning we had a couple bikers come through as we were packing up. We heard them same as they rode by "wow never seen anyone camp here before." We just laughed! Such a pretty time of year in Arizona. We saw some amazing wildflowers along the route especially in whitetanks. We got some water in the park and then coming going. My in-law's live about 6 miles outside of the whitetanks right on the Maricopa trail. It was a great stop. They were amazed by our set ups. My father in law cooked us hot dogs and we polished off a bag of chips!! It was a great stop to refuel.  

I loved all the wildflowers

Bikes all lined up at my in-laws. They loved seeing our setups. 

My father-in-law jumped into action and
made us costco hotdogs for lunch. The best! 

Marcia and Cary my in-laws. I think they thought we 

were crazy but I enjoyed sharing my adventure with them. 

I wasn't a fan of all the miles that followed. Lots of urban riding with lots of streets. It was also getting hot. This was our hottest day out of the three. We were trying to find any shade we could. Finally we reached Estrella Park. I didn't want to leave the air conditioning inside the little giftshop. The cold gatorade hit the spot.  The hilly trails of Estrella were challenging with tired legs and loaded bikes but I really liked the area. I have never been on that side of the part and want to go back soon.  Our end point was near. We could see Phoenix Raceway as we climbed up the last hill.  I couldn't believe it we were ahead of schedule.  Originally I had us ending at Phoenix Raceway. I was skeptical we would make it there. I should have never doubted this group for a second! Not only did we make it there but now we were ahead of our ride! We were shy of 100 miles at that point. I am so glad Heidi pushed us forward to complete 100 miles. We called Yoko's friend and changed our pick up place. We quickly did an audible and continued down the maricopa trail. This part of the route I didn't have mapped out so had to do some route finding with trail forks. I am so glad we did. It was amazing and perfect trails to end out three day trip with. This was the first time I had biked through Tres Rios Wetlands. I couldn't believe we were still in Phoenix. It was like another World. The trails were flat and perfect to end on. 

Almost done but had to take some more pictures. 
Crazy wetlands in the middle of a desert!

Well earned margaritas. Enjoying dinner at Los Dos Molinos on our way home! 

So glad the four of us decided to embark on this adventure. We learned so much in the planning and the execution. So many laughs on the maricopa trail! I can't wait till the next time. 

Kitt Peak TT - 09/27/15 - Race Report

I have lived in Arizona for 10 years and explored many roads on my bike.  I used to shy away from rides with lots of climbing. Never considered myself a strong climber. However, my goal over the past two years was to ride a lot including epic climbing.  I have learned the only way to become a better climber was to tackle those rides with lots of climbing.  My favorite ride every year is the Skull Valley Loop Challenge in Prescott. This year I was joined by three other teammates.  The great thing about teammates is that they will encourage you to do things you never thought possible.  I never would have ventured to Kitt Peak alone. However, with the excitement of teammates who also love to climb the planning began.  I didn't have time to be nervous. The race was only a week away. That is what I love about racing. Most races the deadline to sign up is usually only a few days away from the start of the race. Therefore, racing is great for last minute decisions. This fits well into my busy schedule.  

The week leading up to the race was busy. We needed to find a place to stay. I found us a great condo on Airbnb. The place ended up being perfect.  Saturday was here before I knew it and it was time to head to Tucson. While I was doing a short ride to loosen up my legs my phone rang. Oh no! Julie our new team member who was driving down from Flagstaff to join us had major issues with her bike on her easy ride.  Her front derailer decided it no longer wanted anything to do with her bike. It just fell off. She didn't know if she was gong to make the carpool. I told her to drive safe and we would delay our departure from Phoenix. She ended up borrowing a bike from a friend and headed to Phoenix! She didn't want to miss out on the fun.   

Finally all loaded up at 4pm on Saturday Nathalie, Julie, and I head to Tucson.  We met up with Lisa in Tucson. That night we enjoyed a pot luck dinner at the condo and shared biking stories. Lisa had a lesson on the best way to pin on a number!:) The pillow trick works great. Teammates kept my nerves away. By morning however, my nerves were setting in.  I couldn't believe I was going to race 12 miles with abut 3500 ft of climbing.  I was warned about the last 5K of the climb being the steepest part. I still couldn't believe I was about to do this climb as a race. Was I crazy!!!! 

The count down began. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and I was off. The suffer fest has begun. I ended up loving the fact that I signed up so late and was the last girl on our team to start. I focused on the pink in the distance and tried to chase them down.  It helped to keep my mind busy and focused.  I fellow women racer said before the start, "Don't forgot to look at the beauty around you". She was right. I am glad a took a couple moments on the climb to enjoy the amazing views. I finally caught Julie and said Hi. Next thing I know she was up the road again.  I could see her getting farther and father away. I start rotating standing and sitting. Sitting for 20 pedal strokes then standing for 10. It takes my mind off of the pain. Finally I approach the last curve and see the finish.  I did it! This climb was a great way to end the racing season. I am so glad my teammates encouraged me to race. After taking some finish line pictures and gaining the ability to breath again we headed down the hill as a team.  

Kitt peak is often listed as one of the top climbs in Arizona. After experiencing all 12 miles of Kitt Peak I agree! The views are absolutely amazing. I can't wait till next year. 

Podiums for the day: Kara Woolgar 1st cat 4, Julie Mueller 2nd Cat 4, Nathalie Potvin 2nd 50-54 and Lisa Crujido 1st place 55-59 . 

Some comments from fellow teammates and what they thought about the race. 

"The ride was beautiful but when you see the white dots up top the mountain far away, you feel a stomach pinch.  You suffer for 8 miles or so and then the majestic white giants appear, those little bumps you saw earlier."

 - Nathalie

"For me, the hardest part was miles 3-5, trying to convince my legs that we were going to climb for several more miles.  Then of course dry heaving at the top because I tried so hard.  the best part was knowing you ladies were out there hammering away!" - Julie 

We did it!:) Happy to be at the top.  Julia, Lisa, Nathalie, and Kara 

Kitchen Experiments = Yummy Brownies

I have been craving something chocolate and sweet. I no longer can just run to the store and buy a candy bar or ice cream. I was reading about the avocado oil I use and scrolled through their recipes they suggested.  I was intrigued when I came across a recipe for brownies. I couldn't believe their was no dairy added.  I was skeptical if I could make something edible. I never made traditional brownies from scratch and now I was going to alter the recipe to make it fit my dietary needs. Let the experimenting begin. I have learned with going gluten, dairy, and soy free you have to be willing to experiment and try new things.  I created this blog so I can let others benefit from what I have discovered. On the right hand side of the blog is a running list of recipes I have adapted.  I hope you give them a try and enjoy them.

Ingredients Used to make the brownies

I was introduced to Avocado oil at the Ahwatukee farmers market this past fall.  I love cooking with it.  The best property of this oil is that it doesn't change the taste of your food. I made two batches of mayo to test the difference. One batch with olive oil and the other with avocado oil. The olive oil mayo tasted horrible. Nothing like mayo at all.  I ended up throwing it out. It has become a staple in my kitchen.  It also has many health benefits and a high smoke point so makes it good for cooking with.

"You can use your favorite brownie recipe and just replace the butter or oil with Ahuacatlan AvocadoOil.  Remember, the Ahuacatlan is not just great for making brownies but for all your favorite baked goods."

I was excited when I read this quote when looking at recipes using avocado oil.  The possibilities may be endless.  Looking forward to experimenting more in the kitchen in the near future.

Another hurdle with making baked goods is flour. A lot of gluten free recipes use almond flour as a substitute. However, I am conveniently allergic to almonds.  I did a lot of internet searching and came up with sunflower flour. People stated you can use it 1:1 ratio but it just doesn't seam to be the same consistency as regular flour. I noticed a lot of gluten free flour in the store is really a mixture of a few different kinds of flour. So I decided to just add a little bit of coconut flour to the sunflower flour in recipes.  Coconut flour is very thick and absorbs lots of water so you don't need a lot but it helps balance out the other flour.

The finish product! They tasted just amazing:)

I was amazed at how well the brownies tasted. It takes time to home make baked goods, but when I have a sweet tooth these sure will hit the spot.  Check out the recipe here!