Finding My Limits

At The Trailhead

Yesterday I tackled the Antoine Peak Conservation Area, linking trails together to make it an 11 mile loop. This was my longest hike of the season and also the longest hike I've done in a single day since my days as a much younger and fitter version of myself working in Glacier National Park.

The trail is rated as easy...yeah...we'll come back to that. The hike did start out easy enough...this trail system is for the most part, old roads so there's no really technical sections to it.

Once up the trail approximately a mile, you start getting some great views of Spokane Valley and Liberty Lake.

The views from the trail

Except for taking photos, I didn't need to stop during that initial climb, so I'm making progress towards my fitness goals. I'm sure alot of that has to do with incorporating trekking poles too. They've been a real revelation in being able to cover miles at a decent pace.

I had a tracker going that would tell me my speed and total time on trail at one mile intervals. Up until Mile 6, Every mile was faster than the last. I don't want to get hyper-focused on speed but I do want to know I'm maintaining a good pace. I wanted to average 2.5 mph and I came in at 2.58 for the entire trip.

At the beginning of Mile 7 you reach the bottom of Canfield Gulch, and start trekking on the loop trail that goes back up. IT. KILLED. MY. LEGS.

It was only 1.1 miles but it was a pretty steep climb, and I could only go 200-300 yards at a time between stops to catch my breath and slow my heart back down.

That 1.1 miles really wasted my legs so from there back to the trailhead was alot of pain.

I got some sun and I really enjoyed the views from up there. Looking forward to the next one.