Hiking, web development, best practices, and general awesomeness
The last year has lasted an eternity. COVID-19 has impacted, well, the entire world, and my family wasn't spared. I don't mean to complain - we are blessed and privileged and are able to react to the uncertainty - there is just no question that every event in the last twelve-to-thirteen months has…
While a newborn girl has been a pretty big event for our household, the largest adjustment is dealing with three little ones. Even relatively simple things like grocery shopping is next to impossible to do with only one parent. I can't even imagine how I'd take all three of them hiking or to the zoo…
Our third child, Charlotte Emerick, was born early on February 13, 2017. She's our first daughter and the first granddaughter on either side of the family, which is evident by the amount of pink that has recently invaded our house. The pregnancy was easier for Katie this time around, with only a few…
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…
Now that Katie is freshly inducted into the cool backpacker's club it only made sense to try out something that I've been playing around with a long time now: a large group outing. Chris and I had gone on adventures, and then Katie and I - why not all three of us? Plus Kirsty, their cousin? Four…
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…
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…
For the last eight years I've embarked on a wide variety of hikes. Most of them have been easy, quick treks less than five miles in length near or in well-traveled areas. Some hikes, on the other hand, have been fraught with danger. Long distances, remote locations, and difficult off-trail sections…
Hiking in Arizona has become more appealing over the last year. To avoid the hot summer temperatures I can start early in the morning or drive to the higher elevations around Payson and Flagstaff. I've only run into a handful of poisonous creatures and never felt like I was in actual danger. Cactus…
A few miles from our house in Gilbert is a little county park that I have barely explored. Well, maybe I misused the word 'little'. San Tan Mountain Regional Park is over 10,000 acres and offers miles and miles of trails. Until now the only loop I've really explored is the Goldmine/Dynamite, both…