Peralta Trail Run/Scramble

9/5 - 9/18
TOTAL MILES: 5.1
TOTAL TIME: 80 MINS
TOTAL ELEVATION: 1714 FT


MONTHLY MILES: 13.1
MONTHLY TIME: 2H 51MINS
YEARLY MILES: 255.00
YEARLY TIME: 41:13


I was blessed to be able to make it to Peralta Trail behind the Superstion Mountains for a quick but super-steep run/scramble up to Weavers Needle and back. I call it a scramble because there is no portion with more than maybe 30 yards of runnable trail. This trails is about as rocky as you will find in and around Phoenix, and it is steep as hell. The trail can be a real pain in the ass when you are trying to stay in a decent stride only to find yourself zig zagging to and from avoiding the jagged surface more times than not. On top of that you are basically straight uphill for the entire 2.25 miles to the crest. Normally I find myself in a pretty good stride on this trail but this was the first time I had run it with the Trail Minimus' I had purchased and I will be the first to say that the surface really pounded the hell out of my feet on this particular day. I am still inclined to run in the Minimus but for whatever reason I just was not very light on my feet and it showed, especially on the way down. Nevertheless, I made it up in a decent time and enjoyed the beautiful 95 degree weather for a short while before attempting to add on another mile or two on the backside of the mountain only to lose the trail and encounter more ridiculously jagged trails so I made my way back up and headed back down in the twilight hours.

Though it is cooling a bit I am still encountering water shortage problems because of the prevailing temps. I hope it will get down into the 80's here by weeks end and then I will be able to head up for longer runs with just my 20oz'er and enjoy some more trails on the backside of the mountain.