Hiking, web development, best practices, and general awesomeness
There is a loop in the Western Superstition Wilderness that has intrigued me for years. Chris and I attempted a version of it, back in 2016, and even though we split the route up over three days we still struggled to finish a shorter version. I've been steadily increasing my mileage and heat…
When Chris and I talk about going out on a hike together, it always starts with a general idea of where we want to go and quickly devolves into long phone calls with dozens of possible destinations discussed. Weather forecasts, trail conditions, endurance, points of interest, time constraints are…
Peralta Road was in rough shape, with huge rocks, loose sand, and deep ruts at every wash crossing. It was obvious that a major storm had dumped some water here, though I couldn't think of when. Seems like it's been dry out here for a long time. Maybe that little sprinkle we got in Gilbert last week…
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…
To reach Malapais Mountain from Geronimo Head meant taking a zig-zag path while avoiding two canyons. One canyon drains south to La Barge and the other north to Peter's, and of course they don't line up nicely. If I wanted to avoid several treacherous drops I had to do the zig-zag and rack up some…