We Hiked!

Yes we did! My mom, Kim, and I hiked the Aliso Summit Trail, 4 miles round trip.

The trail followed along one ridge of a canyon. The view off the edge was magnificent.

But on the other side of the trail was a developement of multi-million-dollar houses. I don't know about you, but I think the canyon view was prettier!

It was a very nice trail, about a moderate difficulty, with several small ups and downs but nothing real major, just a nice hike.

Kim, my mom, with the sign.

Me with the sign.

That's all for that hike. We will continue to post pictures as we continue to hike!

Clarifying

O.K., I guess I need to clarify a few points here.

I am Rebekah, of the blog Daddy's Girl.

Kim is my mom. She is part of the blog Grace Upon Grace, but does not have her own separate blog.

Moira is one of my aunts. Her blog will be up soon.

Jerry is one of my uncles. He does not have a separate blog (at least not yet...we might have to work on that *wink*).

We are all preparing to hike the Havasupai part of the Grand Canyon, in less than two years. Other people may join the blog as we get closer to that date, but for now it's just us. There are five other people who are tentatively planning to go with us who have not joined the blog.

So, when you see a post, check the bottom to see who it's by, because this is a team blog.

If anybody out there has any ideas, advice, or suggestions, please feel free to leave a comment and let us know. We would especially like to hear from you if you have done this hike before, or if you have done a similar hike, or even if you are also preparing for this or a similar hike.

God bless!

Rebekah

Heading off to the Hot country!

You're right - Havasupai shouldn't be the ultimate goal because that could lead to slipping back once the goal is attained. I know for me, I need to and want to be in much better shape than I am now. And being in better shape will lead to better health and that is the goal that I have in mind. Lord willing I will attain that goal, one step at a time. To stay as I am is not taking care of the temple that He has given me, and not honoring to Him. May we all keep our eyes focused on Him as we prepare for the hike.

Think about me next week as I start hiking North Mountain early in the morning! I'm looking forward to it, but wish you were going to be with me.

Moira

Just a little bit..

I just wanted to remind all of us that a little bit each day is better than nothing. We don't have to make huge, sweeping changes - we probably wouldn't keep 'em. Just a little bit each day. Can we get another veggie or fruit into our day? How 'bout cutting down on portions? Then there's making a better choice, swapping one not so good for us food for something a little better. Maybe having a smaller candybar or soda. Don't forget about exercising, too. I know it's hot and muggy, but what about parking just a little farther or waiting till the sun goes down (or before it comes up to far) and taking a 10 minute walk? Just little things to incorporate into our days. Those little things add up.

Havasupai shouldn't be our ultimate goal (although it's good motivation). Our ultimate goal should be better health for our coming years (and yes, we're all getting up there - even me :) ). Think about facing those later years - are we gonna do our best now so that, Lord willing, we'll feel better then? Or are we gonna keep sliding now and possibly make things worse. I don't like that prospect.

So, just a little bit each day....

Kim

Woohoo...........

Woohoo..............I'm happy dancing after my appt today at the gym where I was weighed and measured after my first month of working out. I'm down only 2 pounds and a total of 7 inches. That is whole pants size that I'm down!

Seeing results like this is really helping to keep me focused on continuing to work on getting in shape for the hike.

The next two weeks I'm going to be on a working vacation in Phoenix and while I won't be able to use the gym, I'm planning on hiking North Mountain in the early morning hours before I start work. =) i'm looking forward to seeing how long it takes me to get to the top of the mountain. I only wish Kim were there to hike with me.

Moira

After my first post this morning, I thought I better jump into "heavy duty" training mode.

1) For nourishment I went to the store and bought a pound of trail mix. :-)
2) Ate all of it on the 3 block drive hone drive home. 8-P
3) Practiced the switchbacks (aka mowed the lawn). :-)

I to am also looking forward to this trip, not so much the switchbacks on the way out though. It has been a few years since I hit the dusty trail with a pack on my back... for pleasure that is.

I hope Havasupai will be more Enjoyable this time because last time I had a cold and did not take a chance on getting in the pools at the base of the falls, but I still had a lot of fun and lived to tell about it.

I'm really looking forward to this hike and getting ready for it. Kim and I have talked about doing the hike for at least 6 yrs and maybe longer. I'd originally thought to do it in celebration of my 50th BD, but since that's only a couple of weeks away it will have to be in celebration of my 52nd.

The exercise and all the prep work is much easier for me when I'm doing it with friends - even if it's long distance like this! I am finding though that I really like doing the aerobics work on the treadmill and the other exercise that I've been doing. Am also working hard to get my diet under control. Not banning anything as such from the diet, but integrating more veggies and fruits into it. Thankfully a month into the exercise, I can feel the difference and have already had to buy a smaller size in shorts - Woohoo! That kind of incentive makes it a lot easier to exercise in this steamy heat.

Once the temps here are cooler, I plan to start day hikes on the weekends and will be posting pics occassionally that I'll be taking. =)

More later from me.

I got you beat kim, this is very first blog posting ever, (I'm so proud of me(but humbeled in the Lord)).

I am also very much looking forward to Havasupai. more going in than coming out!

That's all for now

Jerry

Ok, so this is my first post on this new blog. Hmmm, all the things I wanted to say have slipped my mind, but we'll work on it.

The reason for this blog is just to keep us all who are going to hike Havasupai, Lord willing, in May, 2010, encouraged and anticipating a great time. Hopefully we will have several others who plan to go add comments regularly.

I have alot of work to do between now and then as far as losing weight and preparing physically for this hike (I know... it sounds like I'm climbing Mt. Everest). I hope to do many day hikes in this lovely county in which I live in order to prepare for "the big one." :) I want to post pictures of those hikes as well as exciting things like when we get our packs, etc. Everyone is invited to encourage, suggest and give congrats (even constructive critisism is allowed). However, nay sayers and grumps need not post. Several of us will be using this to help keep us accountable in our quest for weight loss and exercise. Feel free to post recipes. If any readers have hiked Havasupai and want to offer thoughts and suggestions, go for it. We can use all the help we can get!

Here's how this all came about. My daughter, Bekah, and I were talking recently about a way to do something very neat together. The idea of hiking Havasupai came up. Now, I did this years (and years) ago and have told her of some of it. This sounded like a great idea. I was alread working on loosing weight and this seemed like good motivation. However, we didn't want to do it alone, so we invited other close friends to do it with us. Due to certain circumstances, we chose May of 2010. On top of everything else, it gave us plenty of time to get ready. So, here we are, 22 months and counting. I'm so excited I can hardly stand it. I took a hiking class the first summer session at the local community college. I found lots of neat hikes close by and a book that lists 109 day hikes within our county limits. I poured through that book and listed 50 hikes I want to do ranging from 1 mile to 15 miles. I hope to have done them all before we do Havasupai. It's good for Bekah, too. She may be young, but hiking is not the same as a stroll down the street. She's looking forward to doing the hikes, too.

I have already lost, by God's grace, mercy and help, almost 30 pounds. I know I'd like to drop at least another 20. We'll see. As long as I'm in good shape, I'll do what I can do. I'm not doing any specific diet. My motto: EAT LESS, MOVE MORE! (This is not original with me.) That and to make better food choices. It doesn't mean I can't enjoy a little here and there, just in moderation, and be willing to work it off. My desire is to move somehow (biking, hiking, walking, etc) in some way at least 5 if not 6 days a week. That's my desire. Sometimes life gets in the way, and that's ok, too, as long as I get moving again as soon as possible.

Ok, I've rambled enough. I pray that the Lord blesses you with this blog, that you'll be encouraged, if not to do something like Havasupai, to just make little changes that you can do on a regular basis.

God's blessings,
Kim

Countdown to Havasupai -- the blog

Well, here we are. Less than 2 years to go for the trip. We're all looking forward to it (obviously!), which is why we created this blog. Here we will talk about what we're each doing to get ready for the hike, our own preparations, as well as sharing information about the hike itself.

The blog's authors are people who are planning going on this trip. So far we have myself, Rebekah; my mom, Kim; and my aunt, Moira. We may soon have more members, but for now it's just us. :)

We will be going down into the Grand Canyon, the Havasupai area. A few links for you to look at:

http://www.havasupaitribe.com/

http://www.havasufalls.net/

http://www.americansouthwest.net/arizona/grand_canyon/havasu_canyon.html

We're still under construction, so visit often to see the new look, and read posts by each author. I hope you enjoy this journey, as we prepare for the hike.

Havasupai, here we come!