We Made It! Hikes #15-20!

You guys...we did it!!! We finished our goal of hiking 20 new trails in 2016! Only two days late (if you want to get technical), but hey we did it! 

What a year it was for us. We've had busy weekend after busy weekend filled with working, studying, traveling, hosting visitors, hosting parties and baby and bridal showers, photo shoots, half marathon training, wedding planning....and of course, just life in general. So many mornings we would wake up and be so tempted to turn off the alarm and go back to bed, but we made this goal and I couldn't just let the year slip away without completing it, no matter how stupid or silly it seemed. And you know what? It got us moving, it got us exploring, and it got us outside and into the fresh air more times this year than any other year.

So maybe it wasn't so stupid after all... Happy New Year friends and cheers to 2017! 

Hike #15:

Location: North Mountain, Phoenix Mountains Preserve

Trail: 40th Street Trailhead/ L.V. Yates Trail

Distance: 3.5 miles

Hike #16:

Location: McDowell Sonoran Preserve

Trail: Hackamore Trail (Brown's Ranch Trailhead)

Distance: 3 miles

Hike #17 & #18:

Location: McDowell Sonoran Preserve

Trails: Maverick Trail and Vaquero Trail via Brown's Ranch Road

Distance: 4.6 miles

Hike #19 & #20:

Location: McDowell Sonoran Preserve

Trails: Bootlegger Trail to Black Hill Trail and Turpentine Trail (Granite Mountain Trailhead)

Distance: 2.5 miles

I'm sure you can see, but the last few hikes brought us back to the McDowell Sonoran Preserve. I really love this area....it's not too far of a drive from Old Town Scottsdale, but it's such beautiful desert landscape. This is probably the end of my blogging about hiking, but trust me, we will be going back to the preserve several times this year because there are SO many trails out there! If you're as obsessed with the desert and saguaros as I am, go hiking here. It's my favorite...plus you don't have to fight for parking like at Camelback Mountain! :)