Field Report: Joshua Tree, ACG Pegasus Trail

Hard brake. We lurched to a stop, hands onto knees. The Joshua Tree sun had been pummelling our shoulders, sweat on our calves turning sand into mud. It had been a fun day.

The Lab had sent us to this place with a simple goal: to run on many terrains. These new shoes had a fearsome rubber outsole made to chew up any surface, and it showed—we'd started at an even clip on tarmac before diving into a field of cholla and creosote bush. Door to desert. Desert 'til dusk.

The thing is, nothing had been much of a challenge. The ACG Pegasus Trail was a terrain omnivore. We had blasted down dusty roads, through hard-packed trails and even over boulders the size of our cars, and the shoes were more than happy to do it all. So were we, of course.

At one point on our adventure, we had come across an empty desert dwelling—a geodesic dome, home to nothing but shade. Nice location, great view, highly walkable. But we weren't in the market.

The day was almost done now and the sky was putting on a show for us. Red streaks of sunset shot across the endless sky, an impish desert deity hopping from mesa to mesa above our heads to rest below the horizon. The Lab confirmed they received our metrics; everything went well.

Our appetite for adventure was sated. Not for long, but for now.