After you get warmed up stretch your hamstrings for at least 20 to 30 seconds and do it every once in a while when hiking. Tight hamstrings can make your knees hurt. Trekking poles are wonderful out here in the land of verticle extremes and rocky trails.

There are a lot of good choices here. Hey Joe, look what I recently got, a Mora 2000, a lightweight inexpensive Swedish answer to the survival knife. I carry this dayhiking now. This blade takes an extremely sharp edge as you are well used to. -> Mora 2000 Here is a photo of my Custom Hankala and my...

The possibilities are endless. I was up there last May and there are way too many options. We hiked Bryce and several other places but the one that really blew us away was Coyote Gulch in the Escalante river system. A brief discription here-> Coyote Gulch This place is awesome and there are so many ...

My deepest condolences to both your wife and you.

Quite a bit of the high country in the Pinalenos has been closed for some time now due to the red squirrel. There is still some open for hiking but a large area was closed by Congress over a deal with the Observatory years ago. Another choice if you are willing to drive that far is about the same di...

Mount Lemmon is closed until later in the year. Wrightson is your best bet for a cool hike. The Old Baldy trail is tree lined and shady. It departs from Madera canyon and climbs to 9400'. It was about 75 degrees a few weeks ago when I did this hike with Lizard and my girlfriend. We saw a field of go...

You would be surprised at how many people in the eastern states think Arizona is all sand. :lol: Arkansas is a pretty wonderous outdoor state though. I like Arizona better as I have been here for 28 years but if you have never been to the Ouachita mountains or the Ozarks you are missing some very in...

I might be carrying between 20 and 30 lbs and Im thinking that might be to much.. im in shape and have no problem in that respect.. but as I look as this stuff there isnt much I want to give up.. again I dont know if Im being parinoid or not. I don't think you are being paranoid. If you go on long ...

Congratulations! There is nothing like looking at the world through the eyes of a daughter. I took mine camping when she was 5 months old and she loved it. Enjoy.

Greg it looks like you have a good line on where to get the liners. I go mine at a small local Tucson shop anyway. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have anything negative to say about synthetic bags. I just use down and really like it for it’s durability and performance. That green jacket you see in my a...

Get down, It will last you a good 20 years if you take care of it. I got my first down bag at 16 years old and used it countless times. It was still so good after all that time that I gave it to the Goodwill. Down won't wet out as easy as you may think either. If you have a tent then there should be...

Beautiful. I wish I was floating in that azure lake.

Matt, you touched on one of the major attributes of a fixed blade, strength. They are easier to keep clean and they do not fold. Any folder, no matter how good a lock it has can and will fold. Get a little sand in the wrong place and you may get some very bad news. That happened recently to one of m...

Joe, you are a man who knows his tools. I have the Granfors Mini Hatchet and the Wildlife Hatchet as well. I have never used an axe so sharp and so comfortable as a GB. I would like to add the Small Forest axe sometime. I have a wood stove that heats the place in Winter. Those hachets make life a wh...

Here is my Hankala. That is one darned fine looking knife Glenn - where can I get one. I am a big lover of finely crafted knives. It's hard to find one that is both beautiful, functional, and durable. That one looks like it fits the bill. Very impressive. Olesma, here is the site: Hankala's Tuhkuri...

Chacos are a good bet as well. They will support a lot of weight if you are backpacking and are great for dayhiking too. We did 30 miles of hiking in this canyon and 28 miles were in our Chacos. Stream crossing were constant.

Chacos in Coyote Gulch

While I don't quite agree with all you say Joe, the Frost's Mora is one of the best fixed blades available. We do agree on that. If I am going to higher altitude hikes which take me out of the lower sonoran desert I do include a light-weight Sandanavian style fixed blade. You can do a lot with one o...

In the desert I have never found a use for a knife over 3.5". If you have good skills this is all you need. I choose from one of these and rarely have to use them on a long dayhike or a backpack but when you need one it comes in very handy. -> Four Folders The one on the left is an $11 #8 Opine...

Wiz, since you are 102 years old I would say this is normal. The knees are one of the first things to go.

He was very good to me.

An Arc'Teryx Bora 40. It holds 2900 cu" and has a nice set of straps on the side for quick access to my tripod.

The ultimate dayhiking rucksack

Awesome suspension!