RedRoxx44 wrote: ↑Jan 10 2026 7:25 am News outlets announcing that California as a whole is out of their drought status for the first time in 25 years. Not so most of the rest of the southwest.

Meanwhile, much of NJ is now in "severe drought", parts of it for the third year in row.

@chumley
It's too bad that "wintry mix" isn't a salty snack. I'm getting tired of shoveling and breaking up the ice.

In the case of Crestone, I think it was understood among serious peak baggers that the peaks don't differ much in height. However, there are doubtless plenty of pedantic gatekeepers who would disallow claims of previous Crestone ascents based on this information. (That wouldn't affect me - I've been...

@RedRoxx44
Congratulations!

I would enjoy an FJ in good condition. What year is it?

Have fun!

Meanwhile in the hills NW NJ, we've had snow on the ground since 10 days after Halloween, with another six inches last night. It's been cold, too, so the local ski hill had a record early opening. Fortunately, we missed a lot of it during our AZ road trip, although we still got nailed in Iowa's post...

I was in Yellowstone two weeks ago, watching people run after a grizzly that was trying to escape up a mountain.. Maybe they should euthanize humans who have lost their fear of bears.

It looks like a great day on the water.

Not that it makes any difference regarding the topic, but I have met Ed Keable several times and talked to him. He goes on a river trip every year, and I was always involved in transporting his group. He is very likeable. Appointed as an outsider, for a reason, during the previous Trump Administrat...

What exactly were people buying at Summit Hut that was hard to find elsewhere? Was it climbing gear? I've had a very narrow focus of hiking for a long time, and that requires little more than a pack and shoes you like, unless you're a barefoot guy. I'm not. Some of the "outdoor" stuff req...

Such disappointing news. I go to Summit Hut almost every time I go to Tucson, which averages a little over once per year. They usually have gear that you can't find at other brick-and-mortar vendors.

Wow, I have to start publicizing my own silly names for geographic locations!

OK, against my better judgment, I read it. The metric seems captures two risk factors without helping distinguish between them. It would have been more interesting if they followed up on those who died and tried to separate out the causes. How many died of belly-too-big vs. calves-too-small? Frailty...

If you can locate AZ nat Geo TOPO program on ebay you can get the set for the state usually pretty reasonably. Its been long discontinued and may not work on Win 11 if you are on that platform. However it works just fine on my WIn 10 desktop and I have a solid state tough book that is off line with...

hikeaz wrote: ↑Jul 28 2025 3:19 pm ADOT’s plan is to fold down the white portion of the sign, but leave it in place in the event it is needed in the future if the road experienced future deterioration.

I think future deterioration is practically inevitable. In any case, I look forward to visiting again this year with HC 4WD.

azbackpackr wrote: ↑Jul 26 2025 8:23 am Several acquaintances of mine have had their fall backpacking permits canceled. N Bass, Kanab-Deer Creek, Indian Hollow.

That's what I was afraid of.

Would NPS lands at the north rim be accessible to the public if the north rim is closed officially for the rest of the season, or for a year or two during any reconstruction? In theory they would, but maybe the NPS wouldn't allow access to prevent theft or vandalism at the village, and just keep th...

Oh no! I'm glad I finally got to see the North Rim Lodge on a backpacking trip last October. I was hoping to go back again this fall, too.

There was quite a bit of video on NBC News this evening. Besides the big smoke clouds rising, it showed what looked like heavy smoke sitting down in a huge swath of the Canyon.