Dan Davis Joins Our Blog

A soft spoken man with a wonderfully understated sense of humor stopped by the Summit Hut in 1999, asking if there were any positions open. Dan Davis had just retired from a distinguished career with the National Park Service, where he had spent time in such magnificent locations as Rocky Mountain and Grand Canyon National…

Grand Canyon Reservation System Change?

Grand Canyon National Park is proposing a change to the procedure for reserving backcountry permits for overnight wilderness camping in the Canyon. Under the current system users who are able to show up in person at the Backcountry Information Center on the South Rim when permits first become available get first shot at reservations, ahead…

Support High Creek Access in the Galiuro Mountains

Since 2003, public access to High Creek, one of the nicest trail heads in the Galiuro Mountains northeast of Tucson, has been blocked by private land owners. The Forest Service is seeking public comment on a proposed plan to restore public access to the High Creek area. Public access to High Creek will provide a…

Community Maps for Garmin

Owners of Garmin GPS units will be interested to know about two web sites offering free map and trail software created by “community mappers”. GPS File Depot is a rich resource worth checking out. Dozens of free topo maps and some street maps are available for download; with maps for Arizona, California, New Mexico, to…

An Arizona Trail Horse Expedition

One of the quiet success stories in the history of the Arizona Trail is the way that three distinct groups of outdoor enthusiasts came together and pooled their efforts to make the Trail the wonderful reality it is today. Those three main groups are hikers and backpackers, trail bikers and equestrians. Dave Hicks, Executive Director…

National Parks Free Weekend

This weekend, August 15 – 16 is the final of three entry-fee-free weekends offered by the government in all national parks and monuments this summer. Though entrance fees will be waived, other fees such as campground fees remain in place. Hit the road and enjoy. Here is a sampling of a some parks and monuments…

Southern Arizona Hiking Groups

Looking for people to hike and backpack with in Southern Arizona? Check these groups out: Southern Arizona Hiking Club Green Valley Hiking Club The Ramblers (University of Arizona's Hiking Club) Tucson Hikers The Tucson Hiking Meetup Group Tucson Backpackers The X Hiking Club Tucson Alt Hikers What is your favorite hiking group?

Stop the Rosemont Copper Project

Arizona congressional representatives Gabrielle Giffords and Raul Grijalva have turned up the heat on the Forest Service in an effort to stop the disastrous Rosemont Copper mining project south of Tucson in the Santa Rita Mountains. Read about their recent efforts in an article in The Green Valley News. View the approximate location of the…

100 Days of Service

We are so fortunate to be able to live and play in the magnificent Southwest! Our love and passion for our precious wild lands runs deep, so early this year the Summit Hut launched its “100 Days of Service” program to benefit non-profit outdoor, conservation, and environmental advocacy organizations in southern Arizona. It’s a simple…

Welcome to Trail Talk

Welcome to the inaugural post in Summit Hut’s new blog, Trail Talk. I’m Dave Baker, owner and founder of Summit Hut, an independent outdoor gear company based in Tucson, Arizona since 1969. To a large extent, I have been inspired to start this blog by the response to an Arizona Trail blog at summithut.com which…