Hiking, web development, best practices, and general awesomeness
Softly shuffling around my campsite, hesitant to break the cool, still air of morning, I slowly packed up and prepared to start on the trail before sunrise. I was on the Little Blue Trail, which follows the Little Blue River south out of Bear Valley, and had just spent a long, restful night next to…
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…
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…
Hopping across Wet Bottom Creek was lovely, clear water trickling around the red rocks in the most scenic of fashions. On the far bank was a large cairn and wide path, an open invitation to continue forward on Midnight Trail on my long walk around Midnight Mesa, and yet I paused. It was just after…
The gray clouds hung oppressively low overhead, muting the sunrise colors and darkening the usually-bright rock formations of Superstition Peak. I ignored the clouds and continued marching forward along Lost Goldmine Trail. Behind me, in my pack, my new phone chirped and an app I've been trying out,…
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…
Chris, Kirsty, and I paused on the trail to Brown's Peak for a long breather. It was warm this afternoon, unnecessarily warm for this late in the year, and all three of us were hauling a lot of weight. I was in the lead with a solid fifty-pounds plus (mostly water) and Chris was a close second. When…
Cars, trucks, and semis roared out over the desert mere yards away from Ballantine Trailhead. I guess this is the alternative to long, rocky roads that usually prelude my desert hikes; parking next to a busy highway and doing my best to ignore the traffic. Wincing as my shoulders took on the heavy…
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…
Rain drummed hard on my poncho as I slogged south on the JF Trail in the heart of Superstition Wilderness. I was so sick of being damp and cold. Six hours of rain with only two brief, twenty-minute pauses had sucked away most of my motivation for this trip. I kept my head low, glancing around…