Hiking AZ with Teri Ann - Beginning Hiking Clinic on April 25, 2009

We held our first “Beginning Hiking Clinic” on Saturday April 25, 2009. We had a small turnout, but it was a great class. There were three ladies, besides myself. The first part of the clinic was going over the “Beginning Hiking Clinic Manual” that I had written. It included an extreme amount information for a beginner hiker. Even though I will be tweaking it for the next class, I received a lot of very nice compliments on the manual.

After the class portion, we headed up the “Kiwanis” trailhead in South Mountain. This is an excellent beginner trail and is only one-mile in length (one way). Since this was a beginning hike, we started out very slow. We had a slow and gradual steady climb of 435 feet. At the end of the trail we took our lunch/snack break, which I am sure the ladies certainly enjoyed after doing their hike. We ate our food and took some great pictures, and then headed back down to the trailhead.

After our hike, Carol and I decided to head over to the “ECC” (Environmental Community Center) located @ the beginning of the park. We toured the “CCC” (Civilian Conservative Corp) exhibit, which I highly recommend for all families to see. We also toured the new gift shop, where they had some really cool t-shirts and souvenirs. So, when visiting South Mountain, you really should check that out as well.

We will be holding our next Beginning Hiking Clinic on May 23rd. So, for those of you that have always wanted to try hiking, now is your chance to learn.

Willa & Me - Our first Hike

Willa has been with us for a little more than three months. She has adapted very well on the farm, and is now allowed to stay outside all day with the rest of the motley crew. I have been so busy lately that I haven’t had time to even walk my own dog. So, yesterday I decided to take her for a simple walk, just around the block (our blocks are huge in Laveen). I went ahead and put on my hiking boots to continue breaking them in, and took my GPS unit to calculate the mileage.

As we were starting out, I decided to go ahead and take her to the end of Estrella and head up the 200-foot climb into South Mountain, and that’s it. Well, it didn’t end there. Willa did a lot of huffing and puffing on the climb, but she did very well. I was very proud of her and soon I was trying to decide if we should just head back home or do a little more exploring in South Mountain. Unfortunately, I broke my #1 rule. I had no cell phone or water for either one of us. But we went ahead and did some exploring on an unmarked trail, which had a pretty good climb to it.

Willa still did well, and after realizing that we had already hiked 1.5 miles, I decided to turn back before we reached the end of the trail. So, I never did learn where it went (that’s for another day by myself to explore). Willa and I headed back down the trail. She was a little weary about going down, however, because there were a lot of loose gravel and rocks. She was a trooper though. As we were descending down the trail, Willa showed her true self. She saw a bunny rabbit and tried to take off after it, by heading down the side of the mountain. So, I basically had to hold her back before she took us both off the mountain. After hiking three miles total (the longest she has ever been on a leash), we arrived home safely.

Our next adventure: Willa hiking with her doggie hiking pack on. Now that will be interesting.

Life on the Farm

Life on the farm can certainly get crazy. In the past month, we have added two additions to our menagerie. Introducing Zoë, a Quaker Parrot and Hazi, a painted mare. Hazi was apparently rescued but her new owner wasn’t able to ride her as much as Hazi needed. My sister knew I always wanted a mare paint and thought of me.

Hazi is 5-years-old and is quite the horse. Out on the trail I always have to be on my guard in case she spooks @ the wind or something flying. When I wasn’t on my guard she spooked over something blowing underneath her and did a 360. Now that was fun. But I stayed on…the most important thing.

This picture is of Jessica, one of the twins that comes and assists us on the farm, in exchange for riding lessons and trail rides. She is riding Casper, who has issues of her own lately. She will not ride past a certain point on the street that leads to South Mountain. We have worked and worked with her with no avail. We are determined, however, to get her up that dang mountain.

The picture to the right is of our neighbors chickens on our high wires. Perhaps they were trying to get away from the dogs or coyotes that seem to roam the farm quite often.

Now, on to Willa and me. Willa has been on the farm now for almost three months. She is adjusting quite well. As you can see in the pictures, she has gained a lot of weight. We are working on her always digging her way to China in the front yard, and eating everything in sight, rather it's edible or not.

Bear & Coop

This is Coop (left) and Bear (right) with me in their backyard. They are brothers and are Shiba Inu’s. They are cool dogs, but unfortunately being brothers sometimes they fight. The fight can get quite vicious. I have been training them, the “Cesar Milan” way for a few weeks, and a couple times while we were walking they got into a scuffle. I actually had to turn back one time.

Unfortunately, they were too much to handle for their owner. So Coop was adopted out and now it’s just Bear. It’s really strange how Bear didn’t act at all sad that his brother was gone. Now he chases Sylvester the cat, and we are still working on our training walks. I miss Coop and told his owner that she should have gotten shared visitation rights with Coop.

Hiking AZ with Teri Ann

I have two passions in life: Taking care of animals and the great outdoors. I am already a pet and house sitter, and now I have added my second passion as a business:

http://www.hikingazwithteriann.com

My new adventure consists of:

• Guided Hikes



• Traveler Hiking Adventures



• Women's Hiking Boot Camp



• Children's Hiking Club



• Hiking Excursions



• Hiking Preparedness for Climbing High Peaks

Check out my website

Indoor rock climbing for the 1st time in 18 months

My sister and I went indoor rock climbing last night. It was the first time I have climbed since my truck accident 18 months ago. I am participating in an outdoor rock-climbing course, via Scottsdale Community College, this weekend and I wanted to test out my shoulder strength.

We had a great time and the shoulder held out pretty good. I tried, a couple of times, to climb the very slanted wall, but I wasn’t able to complete it. When I release myself from the wall, I ended up swinging out, almost hitting Tami, since I unable to come straight down, on the belay rope.

The second challenge for me was the wall with the ledge. I have conquered this in the past as well. I only climbed to the ledge itself, not wanting to hurt my shoulder by having to hoist myself up and over the ledge. I didn’t want to injure myself before this weekend.

Now, all I have to do is pack my backpack and get a good night sleep. I am very excited about the climbing weekend, and know that again I will be the oldest participant there, since this is a college course. But, hey I am the only beginner climber that has already taken an indoor climbing course, via the college. So I am going to show those young folks a thing or two.

I will post when I return from my trip and add pictures.

Training for Mt Whitney

When I first went on the South Beach Diet three years ago, I lost 40 lbs. The hardest part of the diet is giving up all sugar, starches and even fruit for the first two weeks. You then gradually add a piece of fruit. Well over the years I have maintained the weight, but have eaten sugar again. My sister tells me I am a closet sugarholic. I do love my sugar. So, since I am now in training mode for the next four months, to prepare for my climb to Mt. Whitney, once again I have given up sugar and am back on the SBD.

This morning I was to climb the Alta trail, but it was hard waking up, so no hiking today. But, I did do 2.5 miles in doggie walks, so I guess that’s better than nothing. Tomorrow morning I am determined to begin getting up @ 5 am and do my hike. It’s a grueling 5-mile hike, with over a 1,000 feet in the first mile, once I hit the trailhead.

April is a pretty busy month for me, and if I want to get as much hiking in as possible before the AZ intense heat arrives. However, I also have a very nice elliptical that I can use when the heat is too much for me.

I will be adding a lot of stories on my blog inclcuding "Willa and Me", so stay tuned.