All Entries Tagged With: "Trip Reports"
Montana Wilderness Training, Part 2
With our base camp established somewhere over 8,000′ and a well earned night’s sleep behind us, it was time to get down to the business of training. The next several days were spent on alpine travel and rescue, avalanche awareness, climbing, and some good old winter hiking.
Montana Wilderness Training, Part 1
In May 2007, my squadron sent a team to Montana for cold weather and high altitude training in preparation for an Afghanistan deployment. This was truly one of the highlights of my Air Force career.
Redfield Canyon Wilderness
What a wonderful soreness a strenuous hike brings! I love it but have a sneaking suspicion that Saja doesn’t share my feeling! She’s exhausted after our weekend romp and slept most of the day today. I can’t blame her. Climbing out of the canyon was the toughest mile I’ve hiked in a long time. But [...]
A Night on Mt. Lemmon; or, Is Davis Spring Trail Just a Myth?
The worst thing about hiking in the desert is that water weighs 8.3 pound per gallon. Somehow I managed to take a 60 pound pack on a one night trip. To make matters worse, Saja and I ended up going cross country in some rugged terrain when the Davis Spring Trail vanished. It was time for the old map and compass…
Molino Canyon Day Hike
Molino Canyon is one of my favorite Tucson escapes when time is limited. The trailhead is just past the fee station on Catalina Highway, about 5 miles up the mountain. You can’t miss the parking lot. Once you arrive, you have three trails to choose from. The first is off to the west and [...]
Espiritu Canyon Trail
I’ve been looking for a dog friendly, backpacking trail into the Rincons, which is a bit of a challenge since dogs aren’t permitted in Saguaro National Monument. Tanque Verde Valley has some good camping areas but it gets too much traffic. After checking out the Rincon Mountains map I picked up from the Visitor Center [...]
Butterfly Trail
I must confess that I don’t hike Mt Lemmon very much, which is criminal when you get right down to it since I only live a couple miles away, but as the summer heat hits Tucson the cool forest heights are pretty darn appealing. So last Sunday, I threw Saja and the kids in the [...]
