Hiking, web development, best practices, and general awesomeness
This summer I haven't had much free time to pursue my usual passion of solo hiking and backpacking. Instead, my weekends have been full of Mountain Rescue and parenting. Sure, the kids and I go hiking together, it's just not the same as the epic twenty-plus mile death marches that I prefer. Anyways,…
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…
Munchies and long sips of water helped to strengthen my resolve as I headed north on the Fred Haught Trail. After a tough climb up to the top of the Mogollon Rim I wasn't so sure on my planned 30-odd mile backpack. The food and flat ground helped immensely. My long legs set a good pace, one that I…
A long year has passed by since I hiked around the tip of the Keweenaw, one of my most ambitious adventures to date. Not only was it a rather long hike (around twenty miles in length) but it took me to many locations I had never seen before. Horseshoe Harbor, Keweenaw Rocket Range, Schlatter Lake,…
Cooling air swam around me as I trudged along the two-track, burdened by a full backpack of camping gear. The air felt good against my skin after the August heat of the day. I was walking a familiar path and soon saw the trademark blue shaft with bat cage on top. Today, though, I wouldn't be…
Sleeping in through the cloudy sunrise, I woke up on a rocky outcropping west of Big Bay. I had spent the previous evening hiking around some of the hills on the north side of Blind 35, finding plenty of western views towards Ives Hill and even a limited shot of the Keweenaw Peninsula to the north.…
West from Big Bay is the Huron Mountain Club, stretching over some of the most pristine land in the Upper Peninsula. An old, abandoned road stretches out towards the club, surrounded by tall, forested hills, before suddenly ending at the property line for the Club. These hills are cut in half…
This exploration turned into the best camping experience I've had in the Upper Peninsula. When I started the hike I was only interested in doing some exploring around Mount Ives area, a large chunk of land I previously thought to be within Huron Mountain Club borders. What I found was a beautiful…
Finding my way back to the small campsite on the Dead River, where it enters the Silver Lake Basin, was more difficult than I had planned. A maze of logging roads, mostly impassable in my small car, wound their way from the Peshekee Grade (north of Champion, MI) past Wolf Lake Road and over to…