Today we hiked the Mesquite Trail in the White Tank Mountains. We have never hiked this trail, but I'd heard that there were mule deer sightings recently and was hoping for our own encounters. It was super busy though, so the only animal sightings were of the human kind. So disappointing.
I had no idea this trail was all uphill. I do great going uphill, but going downhill is scary as balls with this ankle. It might be all in my head, but I just don't feel super secure stepping down (especially when there are loose rocks) and with every step I imagine falling and re-injuring myself. So the entire 1.5 mile back down I was basically squatting and going so slowly that an old lady in a sports bra went whipping past me with her walking sticks.
| Fit old people rock |
The views were pretty spectacular though.
We didn't quite make it to the top because our son got pretty worn out, but we hiked almost 2.5 miles!
I love hiking as cross-training because it uses many of the same muscles as running. I have never appreciated cross-training more than this fall, when my ankle was healing and my physical therapist approved me to start working out. Going for bike rides every morning loosened up my stiff ankle and made it easier for me to walk throughout the day. In turn, that enabled me to build my walking base until I could add running intervals back in. My first hike post-injury was only a half mile but it felt amazing!
Hiking also enables me to work hills into my workouts without relying entirely on the treadmill. Someday I'd love to be able to run on some of these trails!
Do you live near hiking trails? It's really my favorite form of exercise next to running. Here are some epic bucket list worthy hikes.
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