Hiking, web development, best practices, and general awesomeness
The day after the challenging and difficult, yet ultimately relaxing and recharging, solo adventure to Deadman Falls, my kids were driving me nuts. They had buckets of pent-up energy, nagging me while I clung to my coffee like a drowning man. Katie was fed up with them after a long Saturday alone so…
There is a set of waterfalls in the Mazatzals that, for as many times I've adventured in the wilderness, I had never seen. They are somewhat popular on social media sites, even though they are deep enough in the mountains that many visitors opt for overnight trips. There is even a convenient, if…
Numerous creeks fight their way through the Mogollon Rim, draining south and west towards the desert lowlands of Phoenix. One of these, Wet Beaver Creek, is not only protected by a wilderness boundary, but it also once supported a thriving native population whose ruins you can still visit today. On…
Dim ridges and cliffs reached high above Cherry Creek, towering above me at the humble Leisure Canyon Trailhead. I was parked about a mile away from the Sierra Ancha Wilderness, near the southeast corner, and I was trying to convince myself that climbing Moody Point Trail with an over-laden backpack…
A full day and night of rain had left the sky gray, the air wet, and the desert damp. I waited a few hours to confirm that the precipitation was cleared before taking the kids out to Willow Canyon Trailhead for a hike in the Goldfield range. The parking lot had a half-dozen cars and a single RV,…
Driving up Hewitt Canyon Road with three anxious kids was an exercise in patience. First there was the traffic to deal with along the first few miles, the ORVs and timid explorers, who clogged up the trail with parked vehicles; then the bumpy travel over exposed rocks on the bottom of Hewitt Canyon…
Snaking along the base of Picketpost Mountain, Arnett Creek has dug out a little canyon that holds onto a semi-reliable trickle of water and lush riparian environment. The creek pulls from the southern end of Apache Leap, picking up leftover tributaries that Queen Creek missed, before itself meeting…
Looming on the horizon, a bulking shadow against dark sky, Weaver's Needle beckoned to me from Fremont Saddle. I shivered in the cold air and pulled my worn cotton sweater, damp with sweat, around me in protection, as if the thin, torn fabric would keep me safe from the imagined dangers hiding…
It is a long drive to Quartzite. I was heading there, early one weekend morning, to visit some of our extended family, with all three kids and a thermos full of coffee. We decided to make the drive a little longer. Instead of the more direct route on I-10 we headed northwest on the 60 towards…
Located in the eastern Goldfields, a few miles from where that range succumbs to the Salt River and Canyon Lake, the Horns of Dilemma are a scenic pair of spires perched on a ridge that are relatively easy to reach. Well, relatively easy, as they eluded us a year ago when I tried to visit them with…