I’m a big fan of goals. They get you motivated and keep you on track. Like my goal to be a group fitness instructor – a lot of hard work but worth it in the end. A goal I met!
Then I had the goal of getting up early and going to a morning workout, but for some reason my brain didn’t want to let me fall asleep until after midnight last night. Uncool brain. When my alarm went off at 5am that goal went out the window. And that’s okay, the extra sleep was needed.
You win some, you lose some.
Now let’s help my aunts Arlene and Arneta make their goal! Remember Arlene? She’s shared all those wonderful hikes with us from mostly Washington, but some across the country and even across seas. Arlene and Arneta have a big goal of hiking in all 50 states. So far looking through the hikes page they’ve accomplished 4 of the 50 states. Just 46 more to go!
Here’s where you come in. We would love-love-love to hear what state you live in (or even country if you’re outside the US), and a recommended hike. A big thanks in advance!
Now moving onto the new 5th state to cross off the list – Arizona. Take it away Arlene!
Peralta Trail (AZ)
By Arlene
The adventure begins! Arneta and I are going to try to hike in all 50 states over the next few years. It’s an audacious goal, but like most endeavors, our reward will be in the journey, not the accomplishment.
We had a short break in our schedules, and facing another week of rainy, 40 degree temperatures, we did what many Seattlites do in February; we headed for Arizona and some sunny vistas. Our first hike was in the Superstition Mountains on the Peralta Trail. This was a worthy hike, both in terms of exercise (4.6 miles with 1300’ elevation gain) and in the amazing scenery.
We were like little kids again; we were as excited by the strange and picturesque vegetation as we were by the amazing blue in the sky.
Saguaro Cactus
While we were too early for the show of the flowering cactus, we were quite pleased with the weather and the beauty of the Sonoran desert. We expected barren land with gray-green vegetation, but we were pleasantly surprised by the relatively green landscape, speckled with bright blooming wildflowers on the trail.
Mexican Poppies
The real star of this hike, however, was the geology. The effect of millions of years of erosion on this volcanic rock has left some amazing sites.
Volcanic hoodoos
The hike ended at a viewpoint for Weaver’s Needle, the sharpened rock created by the weathering of time. After splitting a bag of carrots, some apples, and a lot of water, we headed back to the trailhead. We were hooked on Arizona hiking.
Weaver's needle
Another beautiful hike, thanks Arlene!
Now it’s your turn, pretty please share what state you live in and a recommended hike. Big THANKS!
Heather
PS: Jacob says THANK YOU for all the kind words about the mural progress. It just keeps on looking better and better guys!
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I love these hiking posts! I live in WA too, so my recommendation probably won’t be too exciting for Arlene, but my favorite hike here is Noble Knob. It’s easy enough that pretty much anyone can do it and it has great views from the start, so we love taking out-of-state visitors there.
Ingunn recently posted..Catherine and Ingrid
Great recommendation. I just read about Noble Knob on the Washington Trails Association site. We need to plan this hike for the summer, and maybe Heather will join us with her new baby pack.
Oh it’s a perfect baby hike! Good trail, very little elevation gain.
Ingunn recently posted..Catherine and Ingrid
Wow, it’s gorgeous there! I haven’t gone on a hike since September. I can’t wait for the weather to warm up.
Jennifer @ Peanut Butter and Peppers recently posted..Open Face Pesto Sandwich
The weather is definitely a factor for me too!!
Wow, that’s beautiful! I would love to go on a hike. I’ve been hiking in the rain forest in Coasta Rico and Puerto Rico, but I would love to just drive 20 minutes or so and go hiking. Unfortunately, FL is as flat as you can get ha.
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Coasta Rico and Puerto Rico sound pretty nice to me!
love the photos! so beautiful! I wish I had a place like that to hike around here in NC, Gary loves to go for hikes!
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Does Gary have any recommended hikes for NC?
I will have to get back to you on that, need to ask him
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Your hikes are so pretty, the SUN and scenery. Thank you Elaine
I live in DC now, but I’m from Rhode Island originally. This may not technically be a “hike” (it’s paved) but there is about a 3-4 mile loop in Newport called the “Cliff Walk”. This path takes you all around Newport, the entire time the ocean is on one side and these absolutely gorgeous mansions are on the other. It’s also a popular running/biking path
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I don’t live in these states, but here’s a list of my favorite trails from each of the non-WA states I’ve hiked in:
California: Big Pine Lakes
Arizona: Havasu Falls
Utah: Observation Point
Hawaii: Kalalau Trail on Kauai (and Pipiwai Trail on Maui for a dayhike)