Squaw Peak

At the beginning of the summer, Blythe said, “I want to hike Squaw Peak.” I told her it was a really hard hike, long and steep. She said, “I still want to hike it.” I knew Kent would not want to hike, so I told Blythe we would need to go on a Tuesday or Friday when I had the day off. Today was that day.

We woke early so we could summit before it got too hot, and began hiking. Blythe talked pretty much non-stop for the first hour and a half, regaling me with tales of a movie she watched, what she is currently writing about, and what she’s looking forward to about the new school year. Then the trail got really steep and most talking ceased because we were both concentrating on breathing. The hike is 7.2 miles round trip, and there is an elevation gain of 3500 feet according to a fellow hiker who passed us on the way up but was at the top when we arrived. A couple of times along the way, Blythe said, “My legs are dead,” or the equivalent, “I can’t go on.” I replied, “I’m not going to stop here; I’m going to the top. So you wait here and I’ll pick you up on my way back down. But I know you can do it if you just keep trying. One foot in front of the other, slow and steady.”

 

Squaw Peak, our goal, in the distance.

It was waaaaaaay high above us.

On the trail up Rock Canyon, before we turned off for Squaw Peak.

The Squaw Peak trail.

It was green and cool and lovely.

And so steep.

It's hard to tell from the picture how steep it really is.

A brief rest to remove a pebble from Blythe's shoe.

Wildflowers in the sun

We both made it to the top, but it took us two-and-a-half hours. We were not speedy. The hike is beautiful, with lots of trees and shade. We hiked through a meadow which is probably spectacular when all the wildflowers are in bloom. There were a few, but not as plentiful as they might have been. We climbed and climbed, thought we were there, then climbed and climbed a bit more. But in the end, we made it. The view was worth the effort, panoramic in all directions. We could see our house and neighborhood and called home. Kent got out the spy-glass and went out in the road when we waved madly from the summit. He saw us! We called Mikayla and made her try and guess where we were. Then we called Grandma Sue. She said, “Hello! What’s up?” “We are!” I replied. “Up on Squaw Peak!” It was very exciting to have made it after such a climb. Blythe yelled out, "I'm king of the world!" because from up there, it really felt like that. I pointed out she should yell she was queen of the world, but in her mind, no one is higher than the king, so she was king of the world.

Behind us the canyon we just hiked up.

Looking southeast

 

The going down took almost as long, two hours, and was probably harder on our bodies than the going up. I was very slow because my ankles and knees were really feeling it. I stopped at one point and felt all the nerves in my lower legs firing and twitching, letting me know I was overdoing it. Blythe asked if I needed a rest, and while I did, I felt like if I stopped, I might not get going again for several hours. I would eventually make it home, but not before dinner. So we just kept on.

I took this picture as evidence of how steep the trail is,

but with the sun, you can't really tell.

So steep!

 

In the end, we were both delighted we made it and can now claim we’ve hiked Squaw Peak. I may never do it again. Blythe might not either. She was on to help Janie this afternoon and knowing she was feeling tired, I went down to help her for an hour. Then I came home and had a nap. She got home and lay around the rest of the day. I was sore and took advantage of the pool to go for a swim and stretch, but I’m certain I’m going to be sore tomorrow.

 

*Post edit: SO SORE! CAN HARDLY MOVE! EVERYTHING HURTS! And how’s this, it’s not just me. Blythe has been complaining that she is sore, especially her ankle which she claims is broken. But hey! We did a hard thing.