Hiking, web development, best practices, and general awesomeness
Morning light shone bright over Mesquite Flat, the small clearing east of Tortilla Flat where Mesquite Creek crosses AZ-88. A number of low green trees crowd this area (maybe Mesquite trees?) and a winding network of tracks mark the passage of countless car campers from years past. I parked the van…
Deep blue water snaked up from Canyon Lake into lower La Barge, pushed back against its natural flow by an unnatural dam on the Salt River. Katie and I looked down at the cool waters, at the people swimming and splashing and kayaking, and wondered why we were doing it wrong. Instead of being near…
Temperatures dropped unnaturally low that night in the little valley near the Hoolie Bacon and Red Tanks Trail junction. Chris was in a sleeping bag rated to forty and I was in one rated to fifty and we both froze. When his alarm started going off it was a real struggle to get up and moving, to…
Cool morning temps and comfortable campsites led to a late start from Reed's Water. The sun was up, hiding behind the eastern ridges, before Chris and I even got out of our sleeping bags and began to move around. Plus we wanted to filter water and get back to full water capacity while we had the…
Several months had passed since Chris and I had a good adventure together. Outside of a quick afternoon outing with the boys over in the McDowells we have each been doing our own thing this year. He went out on an overnight in Bryce Canyon and on a few ski weekends while I've been venturing into the…
Sleep did not come easy on the banks of Horse Camp Seep, though it was mostly my fault. The campsite was perfect and the night sky was clear and beautiful, filled to the brim with stars with only a dim glow of city far to the southwest. I was just not prepared for the cold temperatures. My…
A steady background hum of bees, flies, and wasps surrounded me as I sat on a half-rotten table at Chilson Camp and plotted my next move. Davenport Trail, my planned route, wasn't going to happen. If I had come up Barnhardt Trail this morning and had a few more hours, maybe. But I didn't have those…
Time slipped away as I relaxed near the junction of Y-Bar and Mazatzal Divide Trails. There were a few things to take care of - change to dry socks, eat some breakfast snacks, filter that dirty water I had collected from a spring - so it wasn't a complete break, just a pause from hiking. A well…
Fighting the urge to shiver in the predawn coolness, I busied myself with getting my gear ready to go. The van was parked at Barnhardt Trailhead, an hour's drive from Phoenix, right on the edge of the eastern Mazatzals. At 4000' it was a bit chilly up here - the van's thermometer claimed it was only…
Blinding morning light shone hot over the Superstitions, pouring over the highlands around Bluff Springs and Coffee Flat and trickling onto First Water Trailhead. Katie and I moved like two well-practiced machines under the hot sun. There were sunhats to put on the kids, sunscreen to apply, snacks…