Hiking, web development, best practices, and general awesomeness
Taking Noah on a camping trip has been on my list for some time now. He and Thomas have been hiking with me for almost two years now, and Noah in particular (who is almost three and a half now) asks a lot about all the backpacking that I wander off on. Katie is also very interested in getting Noah…
Driving to the Sierra Estrella Wilderness was a long and boring ordeal. Chris and I had left Mesa at six in the evening, knowing full well that we'd be driving through the night, and as the time ticked by we griped and complained anyways. First there was the traffic to deal with in central Phoenix…
Chris, Kirsty, and I paused on the trail to Brown's Peak for a long breather. It was warm this afternoon, unnecessarily warm for this late in the year, and all three of us were hauling a lot of weight. I was in the lead with a solid fifty-pounds plus (mostly water) and Chris was a close second. When…
Even after living in and exploring the wilderness of Arizona for two years I still consider myself a Michigan hiker. It's only fair, in some ways: my hunger for the outdoors started in the Upper Peninsula and I spent seven years up there hunting waterfalls and old growth and forgotten places. Two…
Late afternoon sun heated up Peralta Trailhead as Chris and I stepped out of his car and pulled our packs on. The temps were in the upper eighties thanks to a storm-ridden cold front that had been rolling through the area this week, and it felt surprisingly reasonable out. I might be singing a…
All things considered I had a decent night in the Mazatzals, camping at The Park. My tarp kept the wind from stealing too much of my heat and I never woke up from the cold. However, my sleeping pad burst early in the evening, and I had left the patch kit at home and had to make due with overlapping…
Rock Creek Trail was likable enough beyond the rock pools. It climbed a short distance under the shade of low pines, swung around on a little ridge, and then swung back to cross Rock Creek above the pools over dry boulders. And then it started to climb up a ridiculous slope of gravel and manzanita…
Dark gray clouds boiled and churned above Barnhardt Canyon. Turning my back to them I pulled my gear out of the van and tried to put them out of my mind. Of course it would be cloudy - the forecast had promised rain and storms up there into the early hours. But it was supposed to clear up, and there…
Early in 2016 I started using a Sawyer Mini as my primary water filter for hiking and backpacking. It was a huge weight savings, going from a one pound MSR down to a little thing that weighs a hair over two ounces. However, I immediately ran into two problems while using it. I couldn't come up with…
This year I've been experimenting a lot with new gear and new backpacking practices. After a few adventures with thirty or more pounds (including nine days on Isle Royale) I've shifted to an ultralight setup that sometimes sinks to a wonderful sub-five base weight. My water system has gotten lighter…