The Neurotic Wanderer

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...

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...