get out of your head and onto that mountain

Originally posted May 13, 2013 – edited The mountains were calling. Mr. Enthusiasm suggested we check out an area just outside the Red Rock Canyon state park, an area called Calico Basin. I cautioned that my hiking guidebook didn’t list any trails for that area, so we’d be going in blind. He shrugged and told me to live a…

mt. san jacinto, ca

Originally posted May 30, 2013 – edited My friend, TJ, the hiking program director at the Biggest Loser Resort Fitness Ridge, posted some pictures on Facebook, sharing details of some cool and challenging hikes she had recently completed. I was planning a mini vacation, and looking for some challenge myself. Fueled by TJ’s recent adventures, I focused my online research…

never thought I’d see the day

Monday evening I departed for my second business trip in as many weeks. NYC was my destination, and I was pumped, as evidenced by my status update on Facebook. I love New York. And my employers couldn’t have been more gracious, situating the office right in the heart of Times Square, clearly as a favour to me.…

turtlehead peak: red rock canyon / round 2

Long-time readers may recall the first – and only other – time I hiked Turtlehead Peak back in March 2013. This hike is generally thought of as the most difficult at Red Rock Canyon due to both the terrain and the elevation gain. I vaguely remembered how challenging the hike was, but couldn’t really recall the…

calico tanks: red rock canyon

The moment I realized I would actually meet my goal of 365 days of sweat in 2013, I knew exactly how I wanted to celebrate. I would return to Calico Tanks, at Red Rock Canyon, on the first day of 2014. This is the place where I kicked off My Year of Sweat on Jan 1, 2013. I couldn’t have written a…