Hiking, web development, best practices, and general awesomeness
After a few city hikes in Phoenix I needed a good challenge. Camelback and Piestewa, each steep thousand-foot-plus climbs, had been good warmups. I needed something to make me sweat, something that I test my limits against. Flatiron, a rock formation high above Siphon Draw, looked like it would do…
Emboldened after the quick hike up South Mountain I eagerly scanned over other quick hikes in the Phoenix valley. If Camelback Mountain, one of the more challenging treks in the city, was doable (climbed back in August) and South Mountain was that easy than I should have no problem on any other…
During the first two weeks of September my family spent some time in Phoenix, AZ. By now Katie and I had decided we would be moving down here before the end of the year, a decision I was hesitant about at best, and there were some things we needed to get figured out about the area. What neighborhood…
Since the summer of 2008 I've been exploring the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It all started with waterfalls, the quest to find and document every waterfall within a hundred mile radius of our old house in Houghton. Once Katie and I moved to Wisconsin the adventures slowly changed, becoming more…
My shoulders cried in relief after I shrugged off my backpack and dumped it into the car. Over the years I've tried to upgrade my gear, aiming for smaller and lighter, yet my pack still feels far too heavy. A new sleeping bag is probably up next, and then maybe a lighter mess kit. Anyways, I was…
A cold wind swept off of Lake Superior and swept the trees around Kathleen and me. As the sand stung our eyes and the sound of crashing waves pounded our ears we exchanged an uncertain look. Little Presque Isle was not exactly an easy destination to reach, especially through a turbulent great…
Cool darkness was beginning to pale with morning light on the McCormick Tract. Slowly I rolled out of my sleeping bag, stretching and shivering slightly as I left its accumulated heat. Without dressing I headed out into the cool air, clad only in boxers and a cheap pair of old wet shoes, and headed…
Crisp fall colors and scents poured out over the Peshekee and rushed around me as I stepped out of the car. Ah, yes. Everything was perfect today. The temperature was warm, edging close to eighty degrees. The sun shone down through a cloudless sky. And it was autumn over the McCormick Tract, the…
Most of the mountains in the Upper Peninsula follow predictable ranges. There's the long Keweenaw Ridge that stretches from Copper Harbor southwest past Ontonagon, old Huron Mountains from Marquette to Alberta, and Gogebic and Escarpment out to the west. The majority of my hikes owe their geography…
As my circle of waterfall exploration expanded away from Houghton over the years new thorns appeared on the horizon. At first the thorns, the more stubborn waterfalls that eluded documentation and trails, were still on familiar land. Madison Gap (or Eliza), Upper Sturgeon, Ravine River - at least I…