**Please jump over to Kim's blog at Busy-Bod.com and check out my Guest Post for some yummy treats to serve to your friends in family during your favorite college bowl game (Go Hawkeyes!!). Kim is a busy, yet healthy and active, third-year law students. She gave me the opportunity to guest post on her site while she is enduring the maddening ordeal known as law school finals**
This Saturday I spent a lovely afternoon hiking in Red Rock with some of my very favorite people in the entire world. I seriously love the Slow Poke Hikes that
this awesome lady leads with the Hiking Las Vegas Group.
It was another beautifully clear day in Las Vegas; a perfect day to spend out doors burning some calories in nature
It was another beautifully clear day in Las Vegas. The sky was seriously that blue. I don't use filters. I don't have a fancy cameras. 98% of the photos you see on this blog are taken with my (or Adam's) iPhone. Occasionally, I use my Fujifilm XP (we purchased it to have a waterproof / shock proof option).
We started out at the White Rock trailhead and pretty much headed straight up the mountain. Our goal was one of the peaks in the center of the
White Rock loop. The trail isn't necessarily obvious, but it is well
cairned.
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| Cairns are man-made stacks of rocks that often mark the path. |
In addition to a beautiful day doing one of my favorite activities, the day was also perfect because I was out there with my wonderful husband!! (who else would indulge my constant requests for pictures?)
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| I couldn't get enough of the views of Calico Hills in the background! |
We were purposely bringing up the rear to make sure everyone was together and feeling good. This also provided us with lots of opportunities for goofy photo shoots. For example, doesn't it look like I"m living dangerously in the below picture? Well....the drop-off was really only about 3 feet (at most). I'm kind of a big wimp when it comes to exposure. I'm working on it, but I'm kind of attached to breathing and my bones not being broken.
We also saw snow!! As far as images of snow go, this one is pretty underwhelming. However, given the rarity with which I get to enjoy snow, it was really fun to see even this much snow with Christmas right around the corner.
As far as hikes with Hiking Las Vegas go, this one was pretty short - probably a little under 3 miles round trip. For reaching the peak, we were eligible to get the 3 of Hearts.
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| my 18th card!! |
After a little snack break (and more photo shoots), it was time to head back to the cars. I don't really have any idea how long it took us to get to the top. I was having so much fun that I didn't really pay attention to my watch.
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| on the peak |
As a final note, I just want to say that there are certain people in this group that make a day like this so enjoyable (I'm pretty sure they know who they are). They're not in a hurry; they take time to enjoy the surroundings; they cultivate an environment where you support and encourage those around you. I've certainly been fortunate enough to be one of the people giving encouragement, but I've also been the person in the group that needed the encouragement. We all have our good days, our bad days; our days when we need support and encouragement in our fitness journeys and our days when we need to serve as
inspiration and help others grow in their fitness journeys. I sometimes get a bit frustrated with the non-inclusive and non-supportive rhetoric that pervades certain cliques within this hiking group. As I mentioned before, I just received my 18th card, but I'm really conflicted when it comes to whether I want to attempt to complete the remaining peaks. For now, I'm choosing to focus on the enjoyment I receive from the fellowship of the members with whom I hike. Thank you to all of you with whom I've hiked in the past that have made my journey thus far so enjoyable.
(sorry for the rant, but can any of you relate? advice?)
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