Weekly Newsletter: September 9th-15th, 2024

This week was packed full of activities. Lindsey got in one last big day of hiking practice, Keith spent the week walking on his walking pad and training on his bike, and we finally experienced zip-lining at Sundance Mountain Resort! 😄

Check out our new posts and videos 🆕 🎥 📝

Exploring Stanley, Idaho with One of My Best Friends! Part 3 of 3

Exploring Stanley, Idaho with One of My Best Friends! Part 3 of 3

Keith and LindseyLindsey Huster

Final hiking practice before the Camino! 🥾 😄

Our Camino De Santiago, Portuguese Route trip is just around the corner, and we couldn't be more excited. Lindsey has been spending a ton of time narrowing down her packing list, planning our routes and stops, and completing her hiking training plan. Lindsey has her pack weight down to roughly 15 pounds (6.8 kilograms) and has been training for the past few weeks at this pack weight. This will give her a solid physical and mental base for completing the planned route.

This week, Lindsey once again hiked the Deer Creek Trail along the Deer Creek Reservoir. This trail has definitely become one of our local go-to training trails. Lindsey hiked for a total of 12 miles (19.3 kilometers) with nearly 1,100 feet (335 meters) of elevation gain. This was the perfect distance and difficulty to wrap up Lindsey's training plan.

All that is left to do now, from a physical training perspective, is to start tapering off from training so that her body is fully recovered prior to the start of the Camino De Santiago, Portuguese Route. ☺️

Indoor and outdoor cycling time 🚵 😅

Keith has continued progressing along his knee rehabilitation plan. This plan includes lots of isometric exercises to help restructure his quadricep and patella tendons. It also includes returning to riding in a slow, controlled progression, which is difficult for Keith since he just wants to get back on his bike and ride!

Thanks to this training plan, Keith has been able to spend more and more time on his bikes, both indoors and outdoors. The tendons around his knees are responding very well to the rehabilitation plan. This has given Keith the confidence to spend more and more time training on his bike. This has also given Keith the morale boost that he needed to stay focused on this recovery plan.

Ziplining at Sundance ⛰️ 🚀

A couple of years ago, we went to the Sundance Winter Zip Tour with Lindsey's cousin Joe and his family. The winter edition was so much fun but it only allows for zip-lining down the lower most span.

Ever since then, we have been looking forward to an opportunity to complete the remaining upper spans available during the Sundance Summer Zip Tour. This week was the perfect opportunity for us. Lindsey had received an email offering 50% off the ticket price so we knew we couldn't pass up this deal.

The Zip Tour starts with a scenic chairlift ride to the top of the resort. Along the way, you have breathtaking views of Mount Timpanogos and the surrounding Wasatch Mountain peaks. This was the perfect way to relax and get prepared for the upcoming excitement.

The upper spans did not disappoint! There were times when we were racing each other while suspended 500 feet (152 meters) in the air. 🏁 The spans were also long enough that you really had enough hang-time to enjoy the experience, look around, and look down if you dare! 😱

We also used this as an opportunity to test out our Insta360 X3 360° camera. Keith purchased this camera to use on his planned 2024 Tour Divide attempt and we really haven't used it yet since that trip was postponed due to a knee injury. We knew that a 360° camera would be the perfect tool for capturing such a dynamic activity as zip-lining. Being able to reframe/retarget the point of view as we zipped down the mountain is so cool! We can't wait to share the video with you on our YouTube channel.

Insta360 X3 Get-Set Kit

• 360 CAPTURE & REFRAMING: X3 captures 5.7K 360 Active HDR video, so you'll never miss the action. Choose your favorite angle after the fact with easy reframing tools in the AI-powered Insta360 app.
• DUAL 1/2" 48MP SENSORS: X3's new sensors pack in more pixels for greater clarity and detail, even in low light. Capture 72MP photos, 8K timelapses, and more.
• 4K SINGLE-LENS MODE: Select a lens to shoot wide-angle footage just like a single-lens action cam. Get maximum resolution with 4K30fps or an extremely wide 170° field of view with 2.7K MaxView. Your first-person view footage has never looked so good.
• FLOWSTATE STABILIZATION & 360 HORIZON LOCK: FlowState Stabilization and horizon leveling algorithms come together to deliver incredibly smooth videos.
• IMPOSSIBLE THIRD PERSON VIEW: Don't ruin the view with an ugly selfie stick! The 360 Lens makes the Invisible Selfie Stick totally disappear from your shots for impossible drone-like footage and third-person perspectives.

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We finished off our fun day of zip-lining with a delicious meal at Thai Papaya in Provo, UT. This is a local, casual Thai restaurant that serves inexpensive yet delicious meals.

Putting Keith's knee rehab to the test 🚵 🥵

Keith had a goal to be able to put his knee through a real mountain biking endurance test prior to our departure for the Camino De Santiago, Portuguese Route. Keith intended to use this as a check-in point to determine if the tendon rehab program is working or not. The results of this endurance test will help Keith to determine if he needs to make any adjustments to the program and/or potentially visit his doctor/physical therapist upon our return home. Thankfully, the rehabilitation is working and his knees are doing even better than he expected! 🥳

Keith decided to go big this week, I mean... really big! Keith set a goal to complete the Kyhv Peak to Hobble Creek Canyon loop with the return track on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail. This is a mostly dirt road / singletrack route that is nearly 50 miles (80.5 kilometers) with over 6,000 feet (1,829 meters) of climbing!

Keith started his ride very early in the morning as the sun was just starting to rise. The route starts with nearly 3,000 feet (914 meters) of climbing to the top of Kyhv Peak. From there, a dirt road winds through the Wasatch Mountains towards the descent into Hobble Creek Canyon.

Keith then began the nearly 10-mile (16-kilometer) descent down to the base of Hobble Creek Canyon. Unfortunately, after a few miles of descending, Keith heard the dreaded sound of air leaking from his front tire. Keith runs a tubeless setup which will typically self-heal small punctures. However, the air continued to escape so Keith was forced to stop and assess the damage. This was worrisome since Keith still had over 20 miles (32 kilometers) to go on his planned route.

Keith quickly discovered a nearly 1-inch (2.5-centimeter) gash in the sidewall of his front tire. This was not going to be an easy repair. Keith also realized that he has mistakenly forgot to repack his full tire repair kit prior to this ride so he was left with only a handful of tire plugs to attempt to fix the tire. 🤦‍♂️ Thankfully, Keith was able to rig together a somewhat working fix by shoving 5 large tire plugs into the sidewall gash. This fix allowed Keith to continue down the trail but he would have to ride extra careful and continuously monitor his tire pressure for the rest of the route.

Thankfully, Keith's trailside fix actually held for the rest of the route; requiring over dozen pump ups along the way. It even held throughout an additional climb up the Provo section of the Bonneville Shoreline Trail singletrack. 🤯 Unfortunately, Keith couldn't stop to take too many pictures at this point because air would start to leak from the tire if it sat in one place for too long.

All in all, Keith's route took him across 53 miles (85 kilometers) of beautiful backcountry roads/trails with nearly 7,100 feet (2,164 meters) of climbing. Keith's knees both felt great at the end of the ride and the next morning (the next morning is the important part 😄). This made Keith's week to know that the tendon rehab program is working so well and that he should be in good shape for an attempt at the 2025 Tour Divide in June of next year.

Upcoming posts and videos 👷‍ 👷‍♀️️

Lindsey has wrapped up the post series from her recent trip to Redfish Lake in Idaho. We also have several prior trips that we haven't yet shared so be sure to subscribe to our blog if you haven't done so already.

We hope that you are enjoying our newsletters. Have you enjoyed your summer? How do you like to enjoy the summer? Are you ready for the upcoming fall season? Let us know in the comments section below.👇 💬