The Neurotic Wanderer

I think that this meant something slightly different than it did maybe say....six months ago? Now when I plan my hike, I do so to minimize my likely hood of running into other people and bringing my mask, in addition to all the other safety things I usually bring with me.  And while I know that the likelihood of becoming infected with COVID 19 while recreating in the outdoors is probably pretty low, I would rather be safe than sorry, hence the mask and appropriate social distancing. I try and pick trail in which there are little to no people, pick a time a day in which there are little to no people, or where I can easily move far enough off trail to minimize contact. For the times that I cannot do those things I bring my mask so I can quickly cover my mouth and nose. I am lucky enough to have several cloth masks that I rotate between, I don't feel bad about using mask only for this purpose before washing and disinfecting.  So in addition to thos...

Hanging Gardens (No Official Trail) I really tend to be a creature of habit. I often struggle to go outside of my comfort zone (part of that is fear which I will touch on in a later post). However, I know that variety is the spice to life so to speak and I'm grateful to have friends who challenge me to try new things. With that being said, I have create a list of trails that I would like to try this year, in addition to the trails I have found to be tried and true. New To Me Trails: Camelback Mountain (which I was lucky enough to complete with the family already) Wave Cave Trail- Superstition Mountains Hieroglyphic Trail- Superstition Wilderness Seven Falls Trail- Sabino Canyon Recreation Area Lava River Cave- Coconino National Forest Kendrick Mountain Southside Trail- Kendrick Mountain Wilderness Picacho Peak- Picacho Peak State Park Passage 1 of AZ Trail: Huachuca Mountains A lot of the trails mentioned I actually took from the 52 Hike Challenge Guide, so sho...

A few weeks back I had the opportunity to hike to Vultee Arch in the Red Rock Secret Mountain Wilderness and it was one of the more magical hikes of that week. It's a trail that doesn't see too  many people since it's either a bit difficult to drive to or it can be a bit strenuous with significant elevation change, depending the side you come in from. My work rig is a 4x4 Rubicon, so I was able to pop in through the rough dirt road. The hike itself was short but well worth it. The colors this time of year have really been showing off and the morning was crisp and cool. I honestly couldn't have asked for a better day. Of course there was the customary baby diaper and oddly an old deflated balloon that got caught in the trees as well as some minor graffiti, but all in all, not too bad. I felt incredibly grateful. As I was hiking, I couldn't help but think of what a weird concept hiking actually is. We are all just wandering around out there with food and water, and ...

So September marked my 30th year on this Earth. I really didn't want to celebrate my birthday this year since all celebrations seem meaningless still, but I was pretty glad to be officially in my 30's.  I feel like age has finally started to make me a little bit more confident in myself and I'm grateful to have the luxury to do so. I know that turning 30 can be a big deal and most people make a big deal out of it, but I just didn't want to do that. I wanted to just exist and be grateful and reflect on life up to this point. So, despite protests from friends and family, I packed my backpack and hiked the Grand Canyon. I know that for a lot of people visiting the Grand Canyon, means walking along the rim trail, listening to a Ranger talk or shopping all of the neat stuff in the visitor center (and there is nothing wrong with that because we all have our own path), but for me the Grand Canyon is a spiritual experience. Whether you chose to believe in a diety or not, the Gr...

I've done three solo hikes since I've last written about hiking. My funk had not really cleared but I was starting to feel some physical effects of not being outside and active. Unofficially, I believe that I have a severe vitamin D deficiency, which manifests itself pretty severely if I don't go outside or take supplements. So for my first hike, I forwent the sunscreen for about 15 minutes and didn't wear a hat. I went alone, in part because I went during the day when most of my friends are working, but also to be able to just sit there and feel my feelings. There was hardly anyone on the trail and the sun was shinning and for the first time in a little while I didn't completely hate everything. I took a resistance band and did some arm exercises in an effort to tire myself out as much as possible. I was only out for about an hour and a half, but it was enough to remind me that outdoor is where I belong. I love being a couch potato and playing video games until my ...

My first two hikes of this year (trail details below) have been completed with my mother. Most of the time, I am the type of hiker that is obsessed with metrics, meticulously keeping track of my miles, choosing hikes that are only 4 miles or more, how fast I complete those miles and what my elevation gain is. I am a "eye on the prize" type of person, racing my way through trail to achieve the best times. That being said, I really do appreciate hiking with my mom. She hikes at a much slower pace than I do and takes many more breaks. Hiking with her means I readjust my technique and really get to appreciate my surroundings. Even if it is a hike I regularly do, it is nice to just slow down and be in awe. She is also a real trooper in that she is willing to try new hikes that are out of her comfort zone. It's also nice to be able to spend that quality time with my mom. We see each other every day, but we don't often get to have longer, in-depth talks. When we are out on...

Was a huge success!     This was hike #25 of my 52 Hike Challenge  and I'm so glad that it was. I first attempted Mt. Humphrey's about two months ago and it was a bit of a disaster (more on that experience later). I hadn't done a hike that week and I could feel my moodiness returning to me, so I decided last minute to try this hike again. I did some research to better understand the hike and how best to prepare (last time I relied on the information of the other people in my group, which was a big mistake). My first attempt of the hike gave me some insight as to how the first, and easiest, leg of the hike was going to be, so I knew I just needed a bigger picture. View from "the saddle"     In my research I found that there were several "false peaks", meaning that you would look at a peak and think it was THE peak, only to get there and see more peaks beyond that. I would say that there were 4 to 5 of them in the last mile of the hike. That for...

    So, after the fiasco of my last hike, I knew that I had to get right back out there and work it out. Mend the relationship after an argument, so to speak. I've still been in a pretty bad head space and I can honestly say that I cried for like a solid mile out there, but the hike itself did what it needed to do. I felt better afterward and felt like I had created a plan to get me through my problems. It felt good to find a trail that was fairly challenging and required me to just focus the task at hand. Before I knew, my shoulders were no longer up near my ears, my face became less of a scowl and more at rest and my mind felt less restless. It felt good to be doing something where I had to push my body.     This was a hike that was 75% unfamiliar to me. I had hiked part of this trail before with my dog, so I knew the basics of the terrain. However, I went on a day where the day prior we had had some monumental monsoon storms, so I wasn't exactly sure what I ...

Queue 90's era Salt 'n' Peppa beats. I can't speak enough about what a good pair of boots will do for you. I had a friend/coworker who believed that you only needed some simple athletic shoes for hiking, and I generally felt inclined to believe him since I'd never really had problems with that. However, I started to doubt that reasoning on one of my camping trips in 2016, when I stepped on a rock and it flipped up and hit of the ball of my ankle. As I started hiking more, the brutal realization of just how clumsy I am, hit me hard... pun intended. So for Christmas I asked for a nice, high qualify (i.e. expensive) pair of hiking boots. Like a true VIP, my mom delivered. She bought me a pair of  Columbia Newton Ridge Plus  boots. Every time I wear these boots, I fall more and more in love. They are water proof with some serious tread. As someone who does mostly desert hiking, I though that maybe the water proof component was going to be excessive. However, in each...

So fast forward to hike 22 and I've had some really great adventures. I solo hiked the Grand Canyon, explored more of what my area has to offer and hiked with some new friends. I'm so awkward that I didn't even think I was capable of making new friends, let alone go hiking and camping with them, but I have surprised even myself. I have learned a lot along the way and made some pretty drastic changes. I feel more confident in my physical abilities, despite being at a heavier weight that I had hoped for at this point in the year. I recently went on a 15 mile hike and while everyone else struggled up the mountain, my legs felt eager to keep moving. It really gave me the burst of confidence that I needed and I really feel like for once I appreciate the size of my legs. I've also done some really deep self reflection. I graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Ecology seven years ago. I have done NOTHING with that, to my utter shame. I was laid off from my corporate job ...

The Summit Trail This was a pretty local hike, maybe about one mile away from where I live. The hike itself was created out of the ruin of a dormant volcano. This time, I went with my dog, boy friend and his daughter. It was a pretty wet weekend, but we trudged the four miles up the side of the mountain anyway. It was really great! We probably got an extra work out due to the caked on mud, but the views at the top were worth it. The trail itself was mostly switch backs. We didn't see very many other people, just a few brave souls who also decided to venture through all of the mud. I have to say, the Columbia boots that I got for Christmas were perfect. At one point, my dog got excited and took me on a crash course through a large mud puddle and my book took it like champs. My feet stayed dry the whole time! We didn't take much in regards to supplies since it was just a quick trail, 2 miles up and 2 miles back. In hindsight, we should have packed a few snacks as a reward o...