Summit Hut has a very unique bag from Exped called the Dreamwalker. We love carrying it because it is a big conversation starter and most people, including myself, get a good giggle out of it the first time you see it. Before you laugh too much and write it off, think about how never having to…
Author: Summit Hut
Paradise Found
This is how much I love Paradise Forks, a climbing area at the upper reaches of Sycamore Canyon about an hour outside Flagstaff: when friends and I were driving the four hours from Tucson to get there, we didn’t even turn on the radio; we just bounced up and down on the car seats yelling,…
Hiking Report: January
As I write this, December 31, 2012; Tucson and the surrounding mountain ranges are being pelted with rain and snow. as I look from the Summit Hut door to the North, The Catalinas are being blanketed with snow to about 4000 feet. What a spectacular place we live and know that conditions can change on…
Building a Better First Aid Kit
I recently went backpacking in Aravaipa Canyon which, if you haven’t been there, it’s crazy beautiful and a requirement for southern Arizona residents, like a smaller accessible version of the Grand Canyon. My friend who came with me was pretty reactive to bee stings. She got stung once on a river trip and her ankle…
Patagonia Light Flyer Review
The Patagonia Light Flyer Jacket is a light weight breathable waterproof active shell featuring GORE-TEX Active Technology is a great option or any runner looking for some reprieve from storms. The back panel vents as well as zippered vents on the upper arm allow for extra air flow when you’re really pumping out a tough…
Milagrosa Canyon
Milagrosa Canyon was the first place I ever experienced the magic of monsoons: my brother and I hiked out there under a sky going indigo and saguaros shining electric on the ridge. The first wash crossing drenched us to our knees with warm summer rainwater. Looking at the first sunbathed red cliffs is a view…
Arc’Teryx Atom LT Jacket Review
At 1:30 in the morning in early October I woke up to nearly freezing temperatures in the back of my car parked at Castro Park, in Douglas Arizona. I crawled out of my sleeping bag, desperately pulled on thicker socks and shoes, and stumbled out under the street light to meet a tiny crowd of…
First Snow of the Season
Snow days are few and far between in Southern Arizona – and when they do come, you usually need to drive up a mountain to enjoy them. Mt. Lemmon is the highest mountain in the Santa Catalina range just north of Tucson and resides at a modest 9,157 feet. While it isn’t the tallest point…
Mount Rainier: Part Two
Finally the day came. After three months of intense training and intense worrying, I was on a plane flying over the peak that I hoped to stand on top of. And then I was on a van driving through thick pine forests scarred by avalanche. In the parking lot we divvied up group gear and…
Climbing Mount Rainier – Part One
From March through June, climbing Mount Rainier was all I could think about. Njow, a few weeks after my guided trip up the Emmons route, that amazing experience is still all I can think about. But this is the part where I’m relieved. For three months, I obsessed constantly. All my worries could be summed…