Hiking, web development, best practices, and general awesomeness
Last night's storms left their mark at my campsite on the bank of the Blue River. A few broken branches were strewn around, ground was soft and damp, and the air felt crisp and cool, a welcome change from yesterday's hot, stagnant atmosphere. More alarming, though, was the river itself, which had…
Spending the night sleeping on a cot at a remote trailhead under starry skies and tall pines gave me a few hours of sleep, enough to feel somewhat rested in the morning, especially given the long drive from Phoenix. When my alarm roused me I stumbled up, made a quick breakfast and checked my gear,…
Fire restrictions for Kaibab Forest would kick in on Friday, making campfires illegal, so I drove the kids up on Thursday after work and we found a small site off of FR 150, south of Williams, and after quickly setting up camp we made our classic hot dogs over a small, crackling fire. It was a…
Mt Baldy rises from the edge of the Mogollon Rim, towering above the lofty pine-covered plateau to an impressive 11,409', making it the second highest mountain in Arizona. While some sections of the mountain were damaged in the Wallow Fire of 2011 it is largely pristine, with some of the finest…
Sunlight filtered softly through the tall pine trees as I eyed up my three kids. We had spent the last few months preparing for this moment, testing our limitations and gear, and I still wasn't sure if we were ready for this particular adventure. Day-long hikes and car camping were one thing -- an…
Early on a weekday morning the kids and I pulled into the Derrick Trailhead near Christopher Creek, one of only three vehicles parked in the normally busy lot. Our first destination, Horton Creek Trail, is a popular hiking trail, and I hoped that the combination of an early start and weekday timing…
Near the end of September, when the school year had started for Noah and the Arizona temperatures were still unbearably hot, we decided to go for another camping trip in the higher elevations. As usual, it was just me and the kids, as Katie's work schedule has her busy on the weekends. I decided to…
For the third camping trip with the kids I decided to take things easy. We drove up towards Payson for the familiar Mogollon Rim and found a small campsite along Forest Road 139, which is a stone's throw from U-Bar Trail. There we met Chris and Kirsty and we all set up our gear. Having three adults…
With uncomfortable summer temperatures in the Phoenix valley, Katie and I decided to take advantage of a long-standing invite from some of her relatives up in Show Low, a small town that sits above the Mogollon Rim and is surrounded by pine trees and mild temperatures. The drive was a small…
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…