I had a spectacular hiking experience yesterday, and I want to write about it because typing is the only activity that doesn't hurt today! Yesterday was the 17th annual National Trail Trek, sponsored by the City of Phoenix. The National Trail is a 15.5 mile long trail that goes from one end of South Mountain to the other, across a 17,000 acre park system. This city park is one of the largest in the country, and one of the great things about Phoenix is that there are still large areas of desert wilderness that are preserved from city encroachment. Once a year, the city sponsors this event, and hikers who sign up are transported to one end of the trail, fed lunch at the halfway point, and have a chance to win raffle prizes at the end.
This was the second time I have done this event. The first time was 4 years ago, which now seems like about 10 lifetimes ago. That day, the weather was typical Phoenix sunshine, warm even in January, and of course I got a sunburn. Yesterday, we got a treat: rain in the desert. Not just a flash storm, but a nice solid steady rain that started on Friday and lasted all day Saturday. Rain like this is a real rarity in Phoenix, and people really have no idea how to respond to it, but I find that in general it makes people very cheerful. It is like a little celebration of a gift that is bestowed by the weather gods.

Still, I wasn't convinced that the rain would really hold all day, so I optimistically applied sunscreen very early in the morning when it was still dark. I needn't have bothered---I never saw the sun. Within the first hour of the hike, I was getting an object lesson in the difference between water-resistant and water-proof. I was soaked to the bone through my water resistant jacket and layered clothing. Fortunately, I had worn underwear that were more like shorts than like a thong, because my hiking shorts became transparent when soaked! Every step was like a heartbeat that squeezed a little water out of my socks and then soaked up a little more with the next step.

But it was exhilerating to hike in the rain in the desert. There was a sense that every cactus, every plant was just wide open, soaking in all the water it could in anticipation of the next 10 months of excruciating heat. When you're hiking with that kind of receptive energy surrounding you, it's hard not to let your mind also become open and to drink in refreshment for your spirit. Plus, you tend to hike a little faster, just to keep warm!
An important lesson I learned is that toilet paper does not respond well to moisture in places where it is not designed to deal with moisture! At certain points on the trail they had port-a-potties set up in case the contents of your body decided they didn't want to hike with you any further. You go into one of these containers and peel your clothes down with water dripping off your sleeves. At the appropriate time you reach under the toilet paper's little guard house to get what you need, but when you touch a roll, it becomes like cotton candy on your fingers. You can try to claw into a roll and tear some off like a piece of bread, but then you have little wisps floating through the air and adhering to your legs, your jacket, and the walls of the container, leaving the next occupant to wonder what the hell you did in there.

A lot of the intrepid hikers decided to quit at the halfway point, but they missed the most beautiful parts of the trail, in my opinion. The trail continues to climb up and up until you are walking along the spine of the mountain with the land dropping off to each side. On a clear day, this offers spectacular views of north and south, but yesterday I was saying to myself, "That is (probably) a great view of the city," and, "(Most likely) you can see most of the Indian Reservation from here." But in reality, I could not see more than 25 yards in any direction.

At the end of the trail, there was hot coffee and congratulations from the dedicated Rangers who work hard to make this a safe and successful event. Then everyone gets loaded onto vans that take you back around in a 20 minute ride back to the check-in point. Hiking 15.5 miles was challenging, but it was nothing like taking that first step to get off the van after sitting for 20 minutes! And then I drove two more hours back to Prescott, so by the time I exited my vehicle, I looked like a zombie, shuffling and whining. Nothing that a hot bath and some ibuprofen couldn't help, though. And it was totally, totally, totally worth it.
