Words about science and hiking
This morning I awoke not to the cheerful twitter of birds but to the patter of graupfel snow hitting my tarp. I quickly breakfasted, packed up, and gratefully made use of the Camp Manning pit toilet as the storm rose. I had another mile or so and a 500 foot climb to the top of Read More …
Mar 30 — mile 140, in Manning Camp The AZT is a hard trail to plan for. The extremes in climate and topography send you from hot shadeless desert to frigid mountain top forests and back again on an almost daily basis. Today I needed both a lighter pack and more warm clothes. Can’t really pack for Read More …
No spots available at Saguaro NP tonight, so I opted to make it a semi-zero day. Now that Saguaro is a National Park, camping is restricted to established campgrounds. That means Grass Shack (15 miles, 2500 foot climb) and Camp Manning (20 miles, 5000 foot climb) were my only options. I called the ranger office Read More …
Woke at 2am to the sound of coyotes gossiping and noticed flashes of lightning to the north over the Santa Catalinas and the Rincons. I was hoping that the storms would stay north but then noticed a flash due west and hopped out of my warm sleeping bag to put up my tarp. The first Read More …
I feel like I am starting to get into this hiking thing a little more now. My internal dialog is shutting off for longer stretches. I am just being where I am rather than thinking about where I am. In principle this should make me more aware of my surroundings, but I flushed at least Read More …
Smooth sailing today. Shared the campsite last night with Jerry, who is hiking the AZT to mark his retirement. He was cooking his dinner when I rolled in about 4:30 and we had a nice chat but he got in his sleeping bag immediately after and I heard no more from him. He is toting Read More …
Not so much a how-to as a why-to, published in Trail Groove.
A leisurely morning in Patagonia before I moseyed out of town at the crack of 10AM. The trail leaves town as it entered it, on a road, but this was at least a dirt road and lightly used at that. Did cross paths with some ATVers and rec shooters at Temporal Gulch. Last night at Read More …
Mile 51, town of Patagonia The stormy weather passed last night, leaving cold still air in its wake and a layer of ice in my water bottle in the morning. I’ve hiked down far enough now that the mesquite trees are leafing out and more birds are in evidence. Most of them are of the Read More …
Woke to cloudy skies and the wind delivered a series of cool Pacific squalls not long after I began hiking. The wind and rain animated the whole countryside, throwing the clouds and peaks into a confusion of storms and sun. Although a bit damp, it made for delightful hiking through the Canelo Hills. The wind Read More …