@chumley
I spent the last two weeks in Finland with all the days in the 50s and 60s to come back Sunday to 113. This has been a rough week working outside, any relief will be a good thing.

@chumley
I did camp at Dick Creek on Rainer many years ago.The solitude was fantastic.

Salt River was running at 30 K CFS yesterday by the airport on my commute home. Holy moly, most water I have seen moving there since the lake blew out many years ago.

@kyleGChiker
Ok, now my memory is working a bit. There was a second crossing about a half mile or so from the Colorado River. I tend to bet it was not too far from that cliff you mentioned.

I hiked both sides of this a few years back on an out and back day just hiking from upper tapeats to the river and back. I took the west route from upper tapeats and it is definitely more exposed and has some very thin trail at points. I recall a few steep down slopes with scree to contend with. I d...

Any more precipitation is a good thing at this point.

One thing to keep in mind is that human intervention can reverse some of the damage. Diversity will be reduced, no doubt about that, but a thriving native plant trade will keep many of the iconic species alive. Saguaros are well represented, as with many trees and shrubs. If we can pull our collecti...

@Pivo
Boy, that is a fast food/junk food royal sampler.

I stayed in Grass Shack a few years back during a pretty solid couple hours of monsoon. If you have rain gear you should be ok. Juniper basin is also well situated, and the peak is a good 1000' above you there. You would just have to monitor exposure if you were planning Helen's dome.

@friendofThundergod There are two different species that will grow here, and are actually from different genera. The Mexican poppies are the spring bloomers and tend to occur mostly sub 3000', the Arizona poppies bloom late spring or into summer depending on moisture and tend to be in the middle de...

@chumley
Well I guess this makes me a silent lurker. I do find myself on NWS probably more than is necessary, but hey I work and play outside. Nice set of data, especially all the gage info. Some of those usually always dry areas get tempting for a well timed kayak.

I have had a SPOT gen 3 for about 5 years now. I use it to send a preprogrammed message to my wife to let her know I am still kicking it out in the wild for backpack trips and such. I have had about 95 percent success on sending messages, tree canopy or tight canyons can make the send out take longe...

You should be fine with one of the 4 or 5 sites around horse camp. I was just there last week with two friends and enjoyed one of the larger sites, but there are numerous. If the horse camp sites don't suit your needs, there are a few smaller stealth camp type spots just a little past horse camp too.

Howdy all! I was planning a backpack trip next week around Bluff Springs mountain with a plan to camp in the vicinity of Charlebois. My friend and I had hopes of going the hammock route, but I was not sure if there would be sufficient trees post-fire. Anyone who has been there recently and has some ...

The Nat Geo map for the Superstition Wilderness is pretty solid. I have it and it shows all of the pertinent info.

Almost an inch in the west valley by Luke AFB today. Best storm since March. Jim, I think you will probably have to wait at least a week or two on the Bursera to leaf out, they are not as quick as Ocotillos.

There are numerous colonies and individuals in South Mountain Park, that is the farthest North i have seen them. They tend to inhabit the south facing slopes in rocky outcroppings, most notably along the Alta trail and the Gila range portion of the National trail. There are also a couple of big indi...

@ALMAL
Sorry, been a bit behind posting, work has been busy. I will hopefully get a photo set up in the next couple of days.

@ALMAL
We ended up with a spot right before bear canyon. Plenty of nice hammock spots for me to choose from, and a good bit of flat ground for my friends with a tent.

@jscan Blue Ridge is magnificent for kayak camping, I was just up there a few weekends ago. It was as packed as ever I have seen it and took a while to find a camp spot. Don't be surprised if you have to paddle at least 3-4 miles to get a spot but all are wonderful. The east/south branch from the d...