Our friend Sean gave me this Garmin Forerunner 945 watch. He just took it off his wrist and said, “Here, this is for you.” What a great gift. Among many other excellent qualities, this guy is generous beyond expectations.

As I reported in my last post, we are training for our Grand Canyon trip next year. This was what we did today! It makes me happy to see this all on one screen. Of course I can save all the info from our hikes and I do that too. We can set new goals, and today marks the second hike that I’ve used my Gregory day pack to load up on weight. I’m mostly carrying water right now and am putting 15 pounds on my back. The first time I did that, it was brutal. But today was only the second time, and it’s already easier, so we did a full loop and all went very well.

We had rain yesterday, and from the looks of the clouds up there, we knew we’d get more today. We didn’t get any on our hike, but shortly after we got home, it started. Here in southern Baja California we need a lot more rain. It’s been so dry for a couple of years.

On these hikes we’re pumping constantly. Very few stops and mostly those are for giving our dog, Kailani, water. We can drink from our hydration packs in our backpacks, so we don’t have to stop. But Kailani is at our mercy. She is such a good hiker, staying close to whomever is up front and checking on the one in last place (me) all the time.

I’m keeping up though, and my stride matches my short legs, so I’m about 20 yards behind Greg all the time. He keeps checking on me, and I appreciate that.

We get into a rhythm and just motor along on our hikes, finding places on the trail with fewer rocks, and pushing without stopping. I would be taking more photos, if it were not for the training aspect of these hikes.

My Garmin watch is great, but not as accurate with noting sea level as it should be. There are lots of natural reasons for that, and it’s certainly not a big issue.

We sure do sweat a lot on these hikes. You can tell in the photos how wet my husband is.

He’s pretty darn cute, though.

I’ve gained a lot of strength and lost a little weight since we started these hikes. I highly recommend this type of activity for the endorphins and how good our moods are because of them.

I am getting used to hiking poles too. I only use them on the uphill. In some ways they slow me down. But the assist they give is crucial. When we do the GC we will only be going up anyway.

Because it was our second time using the weighted packs, we added mileage today to descend to the “Old Port” (it’s called the sugar port on google maps). So we did the full 5.3 miles. It’s such a gorgeous hike, but mostly I’m just looking at the trail so I don’t slip on rocks.

It’s called the Sugar Port because it’s where they loaded the sugar on the ships for export. There are lots of old buildings where they did the processing down at the bottom where we start the hike. I’m surmising they used horses to carry the sugar up and down. This was a long time ago. I think I need to read up on the history.

Greg is always reminding me that we have to step carefully so as not to stumble and fall. No ankle twisting, no falls. No broken bones. Being mindful like this is good for me too. Practicing being in the moment is healthy and productive. One step in front of the other.

I’ve been active my whole life, but this hiking we’re doing 3 days a week is my new high, and the togetherness is pretty sweet too.

Happy Trails.

Oh, and Kailani was tired when we got back to the car. She drank water while lying down.