Hiking, web development, best practices, and general awesomeness
Looming over AZ-87 like a great green giant, Mount Ord climbs to over 7100' and is the most accessible peak of the Mazatzal Range. The Beeline Highway (AZ-87) crests at 4000' in a narrow saddle next to the mountain, and FR 626 branches off from that saddle and winds its way up to the summit. Another…
Thanksgiving Day is one of the few weekdays that I truly take off from work. Katie is busy with cooking and I like to spend the time with my boys doing things that we usually avoid on the weekends, like checking out popular hiking areas in the Supes. There was one destination in particular that I…
Four Peaks is a landmark that is visible from most anywhere in the Phoenix valley. Unless there's a building in the way, the rugged profile can always be seen to the northeast, a distant landmark some sixty miles away that may shine brightly under a hot sun, glisten with a fresh cover of snow, or be…
A cool breeze flowed around me as I stood on the summit of Amethyst Peak. The sun had been up for an hour, barely enough time to warm the earth, and last night's low temperatures still lurked around. Chilled, I pulled out a sweater from my pack and put it on, and then continued to eye up the three…
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…
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…