Sailing the Sea of Cortez

Mike and I met our friends Sean, Caroline, Angie and Duane in Mexico for a little Baja sailing adventure. While we had some fun land days too, I'm going to focus on the sailing days in this post.

Just before noon we pulled out of the harbor with Capitan Sean at the helm. They'd said we could have the boat at 10 as opposed to 5 because it was in port, but it wasn't quite ready. Oh well, five hours early is still way better! Since the winds in La Paz seem to die at noon and pick up at 6pm every day, we spent the first day motoring, which was TOTALLY ok, because on the way we saw ALL THE THINGS! The water was absolutely silky smooth. Our first sighting was a pod of humpback whales. This is super significant since it's not whale season. Even the guy who runs the charter company was surprised when we said we saw them. They were spouting and surfacing far away, but before long they were closer and we could see them arcing through the water. There were a bunch of them. A short time later a pod of dolphins surrounded the boat. Sean cut the motor, but I told him they like to play in the bow wake and to keep going. They were right under our boat for a while.

To cap off all of that, we saw manta rays swimming with their little wing tips on the surface. Then they started jumping into the air and belly flopping on the water. This was fabulous! As we passed the sea lion colony on Isla Partida, we saw a few of the animals out hunting for dinner. Can you say perfect day?

Sean pulled the boat into the bay of Isla San Francisco where we anchored for the night with two other boats. Duane and I used the grill on the back of the boat to make fajitas for dinner. The winds picked up at 6 pm causing a lot of movement and a ton of noise on the boat. We all sat outside and watched the amazing stars before bed. I played with the bioluminescence in the water. No one slept very well the first night. Sean was unsure of the anchor, and the rest of us struggled with the noise.

We took the dinghy out for a little hike in the hills above the bay. The dinghy had a little struggle starting which meant half the crew looked to be stranded on land while Sean and I waited on the boat for Mike to figure out a balance between starting it and paddling out away from the waves. The hike itself wasn't long, but it was pretty!

We set sail since we actually had winds. The weather was gorgeous! Captain Sean sailed us north to Isla San Jose where we stopped at beautiful Punta Salinas where there is an abandoned salt mine. As we walked down the beach, we picked up cool shells. I found a paper nautilus shell. It's so pretty and delicate.

What remains of the salt mine are cinderblock structures (one bizarrely full of old shoes), the cab of a truck, and the mechanics of a bulldozer (we think). The salt fields spread out behind looking so wild with their bright orange color and white edges. The super saturation of color in that spot was surreal. Turquoise ocean, white sand beach, bright green plants, white, red, and orange of the salt ponds, backed by cactus and scrub covered reddish hills and all framed by a rich azure sky. Sensory overload! The picture really doesn't do it justice. There was dried salt water on the case.
Since we lost our wind, we motored back to Coleta el Embudo on Isla Partida for the night. On the way, we caught a big pod of whales and cut the motor so we could just sit and marvel in their beauty. Mike jumped in to see if he could hear or see them but the vis is not good in the Sea of Cortez. One whale swam beneath us and surfaced on the other side close enough to actually see its blowhole. We were surrounded, but they kept a distance. There were also mantas jumping out of the water all around us. I've never seen this anywhere else and I absolutely love it!

The sea was ours all day. Not a single other boat after we left San Francisco until we were anchoring for the night. We set anchor having to share our cove with another boat that beat us in because we were marveling at the whales and finished the night with a game of Taboo. This was the loudest night of all. The winds were coming from the front of the boat while the current caused a huge amount of wave slap on the back of the boat. I wore ear plugs, which actually helped, thank goodness.

The wind was perfect the next morning so we went for a sail. There were mantas jumping all around us in the cove as we left. Caroline and I wrapped up in our Mexican blankets and we all enjoyed the wind on our skin, even if it was almost just a bit chilly. Before we lost the wind, we headed back to Isla Partida and anchored in Ensanada Grande which is a super gorgeous cove with white sand beaches, interesting cliffs and apparently tourist groups. We took the dinghy out for a snorkel and saw trumpet fish, starfish, crown of thorns starfish, clams, a ton of sergeant majors and some king angelfish. Cool, but not great vis. There were a couple of little swim throughs to play in. We decided to check out the other side of the cove which was also listed as a snorkel site. The vis was better, but there didn't seem to be much there. It was fun to explore anyway. The rocks were almost perfect blocks as opposed to the interesting sandstone of the other side.

A quick late lunch on the boat had us fueled for a little hike up to a saddle between peaks. This hike was super duper fun because it was so much rock hopping along a stream bed. There were cool tall cactus the whole way. It was straight out of a movie set. The top had views of the east side cliffs which were shear and abrupt. Absolutely lovely!


Duane, Sean and I jumped in the water when we got back to the boat "to get the moist off" as Duane put it. It felt amazing and was totally worth it. We cooked up some food, played more Taboo and actually slept well thanks to the fact that there was no wind overnight. That was far more wonderful than I would've thought. Girl needs her sleep.

We started the day by moroting over to the next tiny and gorgeous cove to see if we could spot any blue footed boobies, but the colony looked abandoned. Bummer. We had breakfast there anyway since the views were unparalleled. Deep turquoise water surrounded by pinkish cave-pocked cliffs.

From there we used the winds to sail south to Isla Espiritu Santo. On the way we saw one whale and FINALLY saw a tail fluke. It was our last whale sighting and we were so excited about it. We anchored at a lovely cove called Playa Gallena. We took the dinghy out for some snorkeling at Isla Gallo. There were tons of seagulls and vis was bad. When we dove deep, there were some really cool big fish down there. Sean found a huge octopus which was the big find for the day. Duane, Mike and I would have spent more time there, but the girls were cold. So we headed back and had lunch.

Mike and Duane went out on the dinghy to fish while Caroline and I drank rum and sat out on our pool floaties in the amazing water of the bay. We found ourselves invaded by a swarm of bees driving Angie off the deck to hide in her stateroom while Sean attempted to battle them with Off! spray. We finally convinced him to come play in the water with us instead.

We spent the night anchored just past Balandra in Playa Pichilingue. There were two other boats moored there. Being so close to the city made me a whole lot more edgy overnight. Yes I'm super paranoid. Suuuuper paranoid. It was loud on the boat again, so that didn't help.

We finished off the food and played a ton of rounds of act it out on Heads Up. It was hilarious and atrocious. I laughed until I cried multiple times. Duane was all in usually using a napkin shaped different ways as a prop. Sean and Mike waltzed together. Angie was trapped at the table and laughed at the rest of us. It was a great end to the sailing adventure.

The boat had to be back by 10 am. So we packed up by 8 and drove the boat back. Sean let me drive for all but pulling into the cove. It was fun. I looked like a salty old sea dog. Extra salty. We all needed showers at that point. Don't judge.

Fueling and returning the boat took almost no time. Angie and Duane went into town and picked up a minvan to take us all back. What a fabulous trip! Everyone got along well and had a great time! There was never a single cloud in the sky and we saw whales four days in a row! We spent the next few days in La Paz, but that's a story for another day.

Riding Horses in the Mexican Countryside

Last year I found out about a horse resort in Mexico that looked absolutely incredible. I followed them on Instagram, joined the newsletter and dreamed about galloping across the Mexican desert. When we planned a sailing trip to the Sea of Cortez with friends, I wanted to add on some days to go ride. I waffled on it because of cost, time, general business. Finally Mike told me he'd been working overtime and that we were going!

We flew into Mexico City and arrived at the Rancho around 6 pm. The other guests were enjoying the pool and hanging out before dinner. There were a group of five from London, a pair from New York City, and two friends from Atlanta. Dinners were impressive four course meals with a soup, appetizer, main and a dessert. We sat with the London contingency and laughed and chatted until fairly late.

The next morning came early with a lovely dawn. Breakfast is a little buffet held in a gorgeous sunroom. The manager, Shaun, came in to ask which horses we wanted and where we wanted to go. Today's itinerary was a town called Daxthi. It was a full day ride with a stop for lunch at a tiny restaurant in town. We rode with the other Americans. I started on a cute flea-bitten stallion named Diamante. Mike's horse, a big Chestnut stallion named Atila, was being difficult and we ended up switching. Both were dreamy. Diamante has a funny walk, but it doesn't slow him down a bit. Atila has a gorgeous canter that I let ride instead of running full tilt toward the end of the ride. We rode through acres and acres of farmland and a couple of tiny towns. At times we galloped, other times we walked. It was incredible!

The ride started at 930 AM. After a long day of riding, we made it back to our room to shower at 500 PM. The pool and an amazing frozen margarita were calling my name before dinner.

The next day all of the guests we knew went to see the pyramids. We opted to ride. There were a group of airline workers (pilots, cabin crew, etc) on a layover. So they came to join us. Three of them were on our half day ride. We did a half day ride to Xochitlan de Las Flores, another darling little town. I rode a palomino named Versace and Mike was on a bay called Tequila. Tequila ended up being a favorite of both of ours for the trip. Versace was a good boy, but had super bouncy gaits.

We returned to the Rancho for lunch, which was way too much food between rides, and switched horses for an hour of riding around the hills above the rancho. Tequila was an absolute joy! Mike did not enjoy his ride on Versace. Too much bouncing was really uncomfortable for him.

The Rancho has a yoga room that overlooks a waterfall. Since we were back so early, we went down and visited the falls then did some yoga on our own. It was absolutely lovely. The Rancho definitely needs a good yoga teacher. Maybe I'll quit my day job, live there and spend my days teaching yoga and riding horses.

Our third day of riding was with a fantastic wrangler named Franco who took Mike and me out to a gorgeous canyon and a rock formation called Los Organos. I rode Versace again though he was not the horse I had asked for. Mike rode a big gorgeous palomino stallion named Valiente. He rode him for half the day then switched with me but still struggled with Versace's gaits, so Franco traded him for Calypso, a stout roan gelding. That went much much better.


Los Organos is at the bottom of a canyon. It consists of a little stream winding down the canyon and surrounded by stone fingers. Franco told us the legend is that many years ago there were a lot of small villages around and they all wanted exclusive rights to the water. Each village prayed to the river god to give the water to its people. The river god told the villagers they had to share it amongst all of the peoples. They refused and resumed bickering among themselves. Later they all returned to demand the river god to make a choice among villages. He turned everyone who was there to stone, thereby creating the rock structures. Legend has it when the wind blows through, it sounds like the people whispering "help me" from inside the rocks.

A herd of wild horses including two foals roams the valley. They were curious, but unafraid. They seem to be respected and left alone by the people in the area. We climbed out of the canyon by following a little trail almost straight up the canyon wall. It was amazing! Franco stopped us for lunch at a little restaurant in a corn field before we continued back. For our last night, we stayed up talking and playing pool with other guests.

We went for one more short ride before we left. Mike rode a giant dappled gray named Bronco who was coming off a year of being out of service for an injury. He was so happy to be out. I took a black gelding named Zorro, who ended up limping the entire time. After he almost fell over cantering down the road, I took Bronco and Mike jumped on white Mariachi for some runs through a field. It was glorious! Bronco ended up being the favorite horse of the trip for both of us. Mariachi was a fun smooth ride for Mike. My phone pouch fell off the saddle and there was a mad rush to find out before we left. Thank goodness for the Find My iPhone feature.

I HAVE to go back! I had such an amazing time and can't wait to take out a few more of the horses that everyone else seemed to snatch up before I could ask. I could spend months there and not get everything out of it that's available.

Exploring the Halekala Wilderness

My dad and my step-mom Lorrie came to visit for a few weeks. Since they've both been to Oahu a couple of times, I decided we should visit the lush island paradise that is Maui. It's a nice change from the crowded business of Honolulu. We sent them over a day early so they could do a bit of island exploring before the bigger adventure I had planned: Haleakala. Yes, I know anyone can go to the top of Haleakala. However, there's a wonderful and unique backpacking trip through the crater that was my real aim.

Technically the Haleakala crater isn't a crater because it's not bounded on all sides. It's an erosionary depression with new cinder cones growing up and up. I'm going to just call it a crater because it's easier. I found an article on this hike shortly after moving to Hawaii. The logistics were such that I put it off until Dad was looking for a little adventure. None of us had been backpacking in a while, and Lorrie was brand new to the sport. (Spoiler: she did great!) I stressed myself out reading everything I could find on the hike. It was actaully fairly hard to find info if you're not staying in the cabins. So, I included it here in case anyone other than my mom reads this post. (Hi Mom!)

Permits are required to camp and are given out at the visitor center on a first come first served basis. You can pick them up day before or day of your hike. They are free with your park entry fee or annual pass. There are a limit to the number they give out, but it's rare for them to sell out. There are three cabins with pretty much anything you could want for camping, but they book up fast and cost $75 per night. Each cabin is rented to one group only and can hold up to 12 people. We didn't stay in cabins, though. We stayed in tents. Camping is available near two of the cabins, Paliku (9.8 miles from the Sliding Sands trailhead) and Holua (3.9 miles from the Halemau'u trailhead).

Some people choose to do this hike the hard way and start at Holua. We chose the downhill route. This meant Mike dropped us off at the Sliding Sands trailhead with all of our packs. He drove the car down to the Halemau'u trailhead and hitchhiked back up. This was one of the logistical pieces I was worried about. Turns out, it was no big deal. In no time, Mike came cruising up in the back seat of a bright red convertible Mustang looking for all the world like he expected such a stylish ride. It was the first car that passed that picked him up. Since it's a dead end road to the top, I think people are more likely to give hikers a lift. You definitely want to do this at the beginning of the trip. No one will want to pick you up after three days of hiking and no baths.

As soon as Mike arrived, we set off along Sliding Sands trail down into the Mars-like landscape. The trail has panoramic high desert views the entire way to the base of the crater. The sand is finely crushed volcanic rock of varying colors based on age: black, gray, orange, and red. Beautiful little succulent-like plants called silverswords break up the landscape here and there. Silverswords are unique to Haleakala and only grow around 8000 feet in elevation. They're actually in the sunflower family. So, they're not succulents. I'm just full of useful trivia today.

The first cabin is Kapaloa. It sits in a grassy meadow under the rim of the mountain. It has water and an outhouse, which are both kind of nice to have after 5.6 miles of dusty walking. Remember, water needs to be filtered. The taps are outside of the cabins (another of the answers I struggled to find). We sat at the picnic table out front, had some snacks and watched a nene (Hawaii's endemic goose) and some chukar birds wandering around looking for crumbs. This was the first view of actual life inside the crater.

The next part of the trail was a field of dark gray a'a (rough lava formed by splatter rather than flow) that was starting to grow in with plants. The contrasting colors with the vivid blue sky made this a favorite section of the trail for me.

Eventually the landscape turned to grasses and actual trees as we neared the campsite. The Paliku cabin is at the base of one of the crater walls. The wall itself has trees growing all over it. It's pretty impressive. At this point we're above the clouds. We chose two campsites and set up our tents in the grasses. Everyone was pretty tired. We made simple dinners of pouched chicken and instant mashed potatoes with the jet boil. The minute the sun went down the temperature plummeted and we retreated to our sleeping bags for warmth. We woke later to a sky full of stars. There was some sort of haze in the air that made it almost look like static.

The next morning we woke up to frosted tents. We packed our stuff, topped off our water and walked the 6.5 miles to Holua Camp. The trail takes the opposite side of the a'a field and across the Ko'olau Gap. The a'a field on this side has far less flora. At the end of the field the earth turns to dark gray sand. Against the crater rim, big jagged rocks split the hillside looking for all the world like a laying down dinosaur with stegosaurus plates ,amiright? No? Like the big boulder is the head, and the tail trails off up the hill on the left side? Ok, fine. I'm an adult child, I get it.

Shortly after that section I took a step and nearly squished a big wolf spider. On closer inspection she was carrying tons of babies on her back. Way cool! The spider, with legs included, was about the length of my pointer finger. I'm super glad that wasn't in my house/bed/sleeping bag, but was cool to see along the trail.  We were back to the gray and red sands when we found this gorgeous painted section.

The trail took us through the Ko'olau Gap's dark sands with little bits of lava strewn here and there to a little side trail called the Silversword loop. It lived up to its name and was totally worth the extra .1 mile it added to the trip.

Walking into Holua camp was similar to the other side, but with more lava rock. The plants started coming up and the views were, of course, spectacular. The cabin came into view a short distance later. There's a little cave above the cabin big enough for an emergency holdout for a couple of people. The campground is actually not next to the cabin. It's up a hill further than you'd actually think to walk. Our site was surrounded by a little fairy ring of black a'a and backed by the giant wall of the crater. There's an outhouse up there and a stable for the horse tours that operate occasionally. We're still mostly above the clouds here, but the winds brought in airy clouds and mists that occasionally socked us in completely.

We arrived early enough to enjoy the area for a bit. Mike and I played with the drone for a bit. A few large groups of day hikers came and went. We set up camp, had an early dinner, talked over tea. The sunset didn't bring on the cold like the previous night. It was pleasant, but once the sun goes down, there's no real reason to be awake since campfires aren't allowed. Mike woke me up around 3 AM to check out a clear sky full of incredible stars. Whatever haze had blocked the view the previous night was gone. The stars were clear, bright, focused. We could see the Milkyway arcing across the horizon. Between the new moon and the low cloud cover, no light dulled our view. It's crazy to realize how much there is to see when you fully escape human influence. Being in the middle of the ocean has its advantages.

The following morning took us along a ton of switchbacks up Halemau'u trail back to the car. It was a beautiful and remarkably comfortable hike for its elevation gain. Every switchback brought fantastic views across the crater. The car was right where Mike left it, undisturbed. The trip went super smoothly.

We grabbed lunch (real food!) at Grandma's in Kuya. Then we checked out a nearby lavender farm, which was beautiful and fragrent. Finally, we took a dip in the ocean to clean some of the dirt off. It felt amazing!

Things to note: Hawaiian doesn't allow trekking poles as a carry-on. It also doesn't allow camp stoves or fuel. Mokulele, on the otherhand, let us take both. The ride is far more awesome too. Support the little guy! We picked up jetboil fuel at Maui Adventure Sports in Kahului. We flew in the night before and stayed the night. The other option is to fly in morning of the hike. There's plenty of time. The sun is super intense, so I strongly suggest hat, glasses, hood, long sleeves and sunscreen. Our lips were totally chapped for a few days after. Sunscreen them and use chapstick. Oh, and don't forget to charge your phone or camera. I took over 500 photos in three days.

Red Rock Country

Since Mike and I signed up for the Antelope Canyon Ultras 50 miler and 55k (more on that here), we (I) decided we should spend a few days doing a bit of exploring northern Arizona. We flew into Las Vegas to spend a day visiting family and eating delicious Mexican food. I have a huge weakness for tacos. Mom lent us her Mustang so we could cruise the desert in style.

The race was held in the stunningly scenic landscape of Page, AZ. The town itself is not super memorable, but the surrounding vistas are incredible in every direction. I booked us tours of the famous upper and lower Antelope Canyons. They are slot canyons which you really have to experience to fully appreciate. They're different, one being wider at the bottom and narrow at the top, the other being more V shaped. Upper Antelope was the canyon Mike ran through on the race. Since it wasn't part of my course, and would likely be very dark for his, we used the time to take a bazillion photos of the dynamic, flowing tunnel. It was way cool! The guide told us that in a flash flood, it only takes 6 minutes to completely fill with water. There's literally nowhere to go. YIKES! It was REALLY hard to sort through pictures of this trip to find my favorites.

After the tour, we tried to visit the Horseshoe Bend trail, but the parking lot is closed. So there's a shuttle on a 15 minute rotation... sounded like it would take too long. We drove up to a short loop called Hanging Gardens which is right by the Glen Canyon Dam. It was a fast walk through the desert to a cool formation that had enough shade to protect a wall of ferns from the brutal Arizona sun. Once again, it was absolutely gorgeous everywhere I looked.


From that little "hike" we drove to Lower Antelope Canyon. The canyons aren't actually attached. They're a few miles apart, but no one was clever enough to come up with two names. This second canyon was incredible. The light was on point; there were ladders to climb on. It was MUCH less crowded than the upper canyon. Our guide was like all of the Navajos I met down in Arizona: polite, shy and very nice. But, again, the pictures do more than words can.

I guess I really didn't talk about the weather, it was mid-50s with a polar wind that cut right through our clothes and laughed at our thin Hawaii blood. I was beyond nervous for the run the next day. Elevation, cold wind, dry air and thirty-four miles??! EEP! Luckily the wind settled to a nice off-and-on breeze by race day. I decided the race deserved to be its own post. So, let's just skip that day and talk about the rest of our AZ activities.

The morning after the race, I decided we had to explore a place called The New Wave before heading to the Grand Canyon. The Wave is a way cool sandstone formation that is next to impossible to get permits for. They only issue 15 per day. I put in for the lottery for three different days and was unsuccessful. The New Wave supposedly looks the same (I disagree), but is open access. Anyway, this place is a cool formation surrounded by the area's characteristic red sand. We did some wandering around, followed a path that loops the formation, and played with the drone for a few minutes. My knees were very stiff, but I was able to do some exploring. Mike seemed to be fine, but was definitely grumpy that I wanted him to move his legs. I'm an abusive wife like that.

We entered Grand Canyon National Park through the east entrance. We were heading to the hotel to meet Mom and Wayne, but decided a short detour for a peek at the canyon and a bathroom break were definitely in order. The canyon is almost unfathomable. It is so vast and impressive that my brain can't actually comprehend it. It appears to look flat, like a poster. I was immediately resentful that my knees weren't pulling their weight so that I could go hiking. They reminded me with mean little twinges that it was MY idea to force them to run through sand for nine hours. Touche, knees.

On the way out of the park to our hotel and rendezvous point, we had a five minute delay due to elk all over the road. Way cool! After a late lunch or early dinner, the four of us headed back into the park to do all of the east side lookouts. Each one has a different close view with changing colors of rock. It's absolutely awe-inspiring.

We woke before dawn to try to catch a sunrise at the Visitor Center. It was cloudy and not particularly spectacular, but enjoyable nonetheless. I mean, ignoring the fact that it was 30 degrees out and my toes wanted to fall off. No big deal. When did I turn into such a wimp? I'm a big fan of my tropical island lately.

Once everyone had warmed up, caffeineated, and had sandwiches for the road, we headed back to the park and jumped on the red shuttle to see all of the lookouts to the west. It was really beautiful. The skies cleared to that deep, rich blue that really pops against the reds, oranges, and tans of the desert. We stopped at almost every stop, but I was pretty glad when we were done. My knees were making sure I didn't forget abusing them two days past. My favorite stop was the Abyss, and I am still unsure if that's because of the name or the scenery. 50/50 shot there.

Aside from not having time or ability to hike, I really enjoyed visiting the Grand Canyon and now want to add three more items to my bucket list: backpacking to the bottom, doing a rafting trip down the Colorado, and visiting the North Rim.

Running the Antelope Canyon Ultras 55k

Remember back in June 2016 when I ran the Seattle Rock 'N Roll marathon and said I would probably never do another? Yeah, I lied. Let's go back to last summer. I was slaving away making dinner and Mike was lounging on the couch eating bon bons and scrolling through Facebook. He abruptly sat up exclaiming, "We should do this!! Watch this video!" Three minutes later we were on the Vacation Races website checking out the Antelope Canyon Ultras courses and distances. I told him, "You can run the 50 miler if you want to, but I only want to run the half, at most." Since I was occupied and the race hadn't actually opened for registration, we left it alone for a few weeks. During that time, I somehow lost my mind when I decided I didn't want to miss running through a slot canyon. I was still decidedly not at all interested in running 50 miles, much less the shorter 55k (34 miles) option. So, of course, Mike signed up for the 50 miler and I signed up for the 55k, thinking to myself that I could drop down to the half marathon option if I didn't feel ready when the time came.

October hit and I decided I should actually start running regularly. I did short to medium length runs up until January when we were finally back from traveling. I swear I was off island almost the entirety of October, November, and December. After that, I started working toward 30 mile weeks. I hate running when I have to run. I like to run when it's an adventure. Running a trail instead of hiking it is fantastic. Jogging through the lapping waves and deep sand at the beach is totally my jam. Running on a treadmill or plodding along down the road for hours... eff that. Anyway, no one gives a crap about the training. Let's talk about the race.

First, I did not drop to the half-marathon distance. I probably should have, but my pride said no, and my sense of adventure yelled HELL NO! So, here we went. We woke up at 4:30 AM to have Mike at the start line in time for a 5:45 take off. It was 38 degrees and pitch black out. We bundled up in our warm clothes and headed out. Dawn was just beginning to touch the mountains while we listened to a Navajo prayer and the fog horn set the 50 miler athletes running through the desert with headlamps bobbing. I cheered on the subsequent 100 miler runners on their start a few minutes later. My race started at 7:00. I needed to find a way to stay warm until then. As it turned out, the cedar and mud hut called a hocum behind the start line had a cheery fire in a 55 gallon drum with a chimney inside. It was nice and warm with benches. I hung out in there until 6:57 when I walked out the door to the start line ten feet away. Winning!

The race started in the opposite direction as the previous two groups as we weren't doing the actual Antelope Canyon run. Yes, yes, I know. How can it be the Antelope Canyon Ultras if I didn't run the canyon? I don't know. They could have called the event the Horseshoe Bend Ultras or the Lake Powell Ultras, but nope. They went with Antelope Canyon because those elite distance crazy people ran through it (in the dark). I'm not jealous anyway . Anyway, my clearly superior course went across the desert on a sandy road to the beautiful Glen Canyon. The trail, which was really just a bunch of strategically placed pink and disco silver ribbons, followed the rim of the canyon with incredible views of Horseshoe Bend of the Colorado River for about five miles. We climbed up and up and up over the slick rock and sandstone. I had to stop a bunch of times, not because I was tired, but because the view was so amazing I felt like I would be missing something important by continuing. I guess at this point it is prudent to mention that the elevation in Page, AZ is 4000 to 4300 feet. I live at sea level. So, I definitely had a small disadvantage here. I spent the first two hours of the race running by myself, but any time there was somewhere amazing to stop and take pictures, I did, and others did. We all marveled at the views, commiserated about the sand, complained about whatever was hurting at the moment, or talked about life. After playing leapfrog with the same people for miles. I'd chat for a few minutes before one of us pulled ahead. I ran with an artist from Charleston and an east coaster on vacation with her family for 2.5 miles on a long stretch of sandy road through a field. I met two young female engineers (Whoop!) on another stretch.

After the beautiful river and canyon views, the trail cut back across the highway (all two lanes of it) and dropped into Waterholes Slot Canyon. This was probably my favorite part of the trip for the sheer adventure of it. The descent requires both hands and some rock scrambling. The canyon itself is beautiful, winding red sandstone formations. It was beautiful and I loved it. The pictures don't do it justice and neither can my descriptions.

Climbing back out, we ran for miles through loose sand and slick rock, back past the start line to the Page Rim Trail. This is a ten mile loop around the city of Page with panoramic views of Lake Powell. It's a nice hard, packed trail, which seemed like a real gift after 20 miles of loose sand. If you've never run in loose sand, lucky you. It is HARD work. By this time, my knees were hurting any time I went downhill. So, I won't pretend I ran this loop. I did, however, keep up with almost everyone I had been with since the beginning by alternating a slow jog with a power walk. I feel good about that.

On the rim trail when I was really hurting, I slowed to talk to a man I'd been passing back and forth with for an hour. We walked together for a half hour or so. He had sore feet, I had hurt knees. He told me about his fiance and their hiking adventures as well as his ultra marathon ambitions. He found me at the finish line and told me I'd really helped him get through the last few miles. I had thought the same. I left him at Mile 31 and did some jogging. By Mile 32 I was super done and ended up next to a man from Phoenix who had found running, lost over eighty pounds and was prepping for his second half-Ironman. His story was so feel-good that it kept me smiling for the last two miles.

As I ran through three to four inch deep sand toward the finish line, I couldn't help but grin. I was finishing something I never would have believed I could do. I was tired, but not completely spent. My knees were the limiting factor, not my endurance. I jogged across the finish line with a huge smile and shakas in the air as the announcer said, "Aloha, Kelsey from Hawaii! Welcome back!" What an emotional experience. There was never a point I thought I wouldn't finish the race. Each segment had its own feel. I felt exhilarated at the start; free and inspired on the mesa at Horseshoe Bend; adventurous through the slot canyon; sore and slightly resentful as I ran past my car; overwhelmed climbing the hill to the Rim Trail; resigned on the trail, but still in awe of the view; then relieved, grateful, and joyous at the finish. I ran THIRTY FOUR miles on an extremely challenging course. My finish time was 9:05:40, which was about an hour more than my optimistic guess.

This post is clearly all about me, me, me! But, I should probably mention Mike as well. If I have to... Mike's 50 miler was equally painful to my 55k. He had tweaked his knee at work the day we flew out of Hawaii. We were both worried about it holding up. By Mile 32, he had decided to drop out, but was told he would get a 55k finisher award if he went to the next aid station. So, he ran there. At that aid station, they told him just to run to the finish since it was less than two more miles. All said and told, he completed 37 miles on an even more challenging course than mine. That is 2.33 miles shy of a marathon and a half in a single day. He's still pissed that he didn't finish the 50, but it wasn't worth permanent injury. Whether he ran 50 miles or 37, I'm incredibly proud of him.

It's been just over a week and we're both doing pretty well. Mike ran a few fast miles by the end of the week and I went on two 30-mile bike rides. My right knee hurts going down stairs or walking too far. I also have some pretty awkward tan lines on my calves from my capris and around my neck. Otherwise, we came out of the experience with smiles, photos and fond memories.