M.O.V.E.

My hiking partner Misty convinced me to sign up for this annual hiking event in December, shortly after I arrived in Tucson. There will be four challenges: Mighty (8 miles); Major (10 miles); Mega (16 miles); and Massive (20 miles). Naturally, we tacitly agreed we would be signing up for the Massive hike as that is just the way we roll. 

This Saturday (February 24) is the 12th annual M.O.V.E. Across Two Ranges. Not exactly sure what the acronym M.O.V.E. stands for, but I can surmise it stands for Marana Oro Valley Event or some such as it is a joint venture of the suburban cities of Marana and Oro Valley.

Normally, I prefer hiking solo or with a partner or two, not with a hundred other folks, but what the hell. You only have this single life to live, might as well live it exhausted and irritated (I kid the other primates🙂).

It should be quite the event, with over three hundred total participants across four challenges. Plus, it is sponsored by the Dragoon Brewery, maker of my favorite local beer, Dragoon IPA (reminiscent of my favorite Iowa beer, Des Moines IPA, from Confluence Brewing in Des Moines).

I  have hiked more than once in the Tortolitas range, including all of this route as part of a longer 16-mile hike. And the Catalinas are quite simply my go-to range in Tucson, where all my favorite hikes reside. While I have rarely hiked a mere seven miles there, after thirteen miles already under my belt in the morning, a mere seven more will be just dandy.

The first thirteen miles will be in the Tortolitas, on a trail I have hiked at least twice, as part of a longer hike called the Superloop, most recently in December, 2022. It is one of the few long (over 10 miles) hikes I feel comfortable with hiking solo.

The only part of the Catalina hike I have previously tackled is the short section of the Sutherland Trail, that as part of the 18+ miles of that strenuous hike. That I did five years ago in epic, scary fashion.