Just A Blog

All of us were beginner backpackers at one time or another. People are not born with experience and skills. You try, you fail, you practice, you try again, you make a mistake, you try again, and so on. It is an ongoing but wonderful practice that just makes you better...

Grand Canyon is one of the most iconic of the National Parks.  People from all over the world flock to gaze at the magnificent hole in the Earth.  And this place is not only HUGE, there are some other big facts about the canyon you must know – if you don’t already....

I’ll admit it. I jump back and prance in circles on tiptoes, squealing and gesturing “eew, eww, eww” whenever I see a cricket. They freak me out. No idea why, but I hate those suckers. I think it is because they jump so darn far and have untrustworthy eyes. Irrational...

When you gotta go, you gotta go and being in the wilderness is no different. Yet, we girls get so, well girly, about having to pee in the woods.  As a long time pee-er in the backcountry, I have to wonder what the big deal is – women were peeing outdoors long before...

The average Grand Canyon visitor only spends 20 minutes at Grand Canyon. That’s barely enough time to take a couple photos and go to the bathroom before getting back on the bus! The canyon is a big place and you cannot experience it just by bus or car.  You have to...

I like to say if your butt don’t hurt, you ain’t hikin’. This means hiking is challenging and can bring about some common injuries – injuries that are preventable. Get back to civilization injury-free, in one piece and without the help of the local search and rescue....

The desert area just east of Scottsdale are ripe with hiking opportunities, from half day to full day hikes in the vast desert within the McDowell Sonoran Preserve.  The Sonoran Desert is home to unique vegetation, canyons, creeks and mountains – flora, fauna, and...