Boynton Canyon Trail

We woke up at 6 am to make it out early before the heat. We thought surely we'd be done by 10 am, so we brought only 1.5 liters of water each and some sunflower seeds.

About 20 minutes in, the sweatshirts came off. It was 60 degrees. We took the first cut off to the right to go to the Vista. It was a beautiful view. We took a moment to feel the vortex, place out our stones and set our intentions. Yesterday, I purchased a lapis stone. I was attracted to this stone and asked the lady about it. "It's a stone of Egyptian origin that targets the throat Chakra." Of course it does. I've been struggling with using my authentic voice and have been experiencing severe jaw pain from aTMJ flare up. I receive a message... "Don't think about the whole project because that is shutting you down and preventing you from getting started. Instead receive guidance on what you should do each day."

Only about 1.5 miles in, we contemplated whether this was the end of our hike or if we should go further. This hike not counting the one mile diversion we took, is 6 miles. Kris wanted to go a little further down the trail.

As we hiked, we heard rumors along the way about a specific "alligator tree", branches on the ground specifying an alternative path, and a "birthing cave". Birthing cave got my attention. At this point, I wasn't sure we'd make it there and back but my fear of missing out would not let me turn around. Kris was hungry. We stopped and sat on some rocks to eat some sunflower seeds.

I was using my All Trails app and kept checking it only to find out multiple times that we weren't on the right path. Three and a half miles in we made it to the "birthing cave" we thought, just based on what people on the trail were telling us. However, it was actually The Subway cave. There were two different ways up. One was a very steep narrow climb that required a lot of upper body strength and no falling or slipping. I made it one-third of the way up this and realized I couldn't do it, so I had to maneuver my way back down with a steep drop below me. I made it. Today was not my day to die. I found the alternate path around the side. That path was still a steep climb and I used branches and rocks to pull myself up.

At the top, we sat inside a cave. I now realize this is not Birthing Cave, as that is on the Long Canyon Trail. I can't imagine the Hopi women coming up to this cave to give birth. It was a pretty strenuous hike. Whatever it is called, it was serene and had beautiful views. We rested and took it all in before hiking back down the three miles to the parking lot.

It was a 6.3 mile hike that took us 5 hours. It had an 823 foot elevation gain, and we burned almost 2200 calories.Read more