2009 Hiking Goals

azhiker96 · Joined: 05 Jan 2003 Posts: 1419

Well, my hiking goals are pretty simple for 2009.

1. Hike Paria with my brother.
2. Take Deanda backpacking into Grand Canyon.
3. Check out some new (to me) canyons in the Supes.
4. Hike some of the North Rim trails in Grand Canyon.

I share a personal goal of losing a few pounds and also want to visit my new grandson shortly after he arrives in Nebraska the end of February. Very Happy

_________________
It is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring. -- Carl Sagan

sbkelley · Joined: 20 Feb 2007 Posts: 284 Location: Tempe, AZ

These goals are always so fluid...

1) Humphreys-Agassiz in winter
2) Newman-Picacho double-header
3) Harcuvar and Smith Peaks
4) Backpack off the North Rim
5) Hike in the Kofa (Signal Peak, maybe?)
6) Head back to Reavis Ranch for an overnighter
7) Blue Range backpack
Cool

Miller Peak
9) Gannett Peak, WY

and we'll see what else shakes out
_________________
Mountains complement desert as desert complements city, as wilderness complements and completes civilization. - Ed Abbey

Desert-Boonie · Joined: 23 Nov 2004 Posts: 219 Location: Glendale, AZ

All the hikes that are 10 miles or less and no more than 1 1/2 hour drive from Phoenix. So if anyone knows some great hikes to do that fits these requirements please let me know. Laughing

Ken
_________________
~Never Satisfied~

"If I can't be my own, I'd feel better dead"

moodrets · Joined: 20 Oct 2008 Posts: 18 Location: Phoenix

Nothing too concrete yet, but this year I hope to do a:

1)Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim as a day hike
2)Superstition Ridgeline yoyo (with friends -- I can never get any of my peers to go hiking with me :/)
3)John Muir Trail (possibly a yoyo, depends on how I end up getting out there and if I have to leave my car at one end of the trail)
4)Maybe a section of the PCT
5)Humphreys Peak
6)I'll be road-tripping this summer and will probably visit a number of national parks, so I'll do some solid hiking there
7)I will have a late start this semester and so intend to do a hike every single morning of the year. School's near camelback, so I think I'll climb it twice each morning and steadily increase my backpack load until I'm comfortable jogging up laden with ~40 lbs.

As a general goal I want to get myself into peak condition for ultramarathons and long-distance trail runs. Ideally I'd like to reach the point where I can jog ~60 miles a day consistently and with decent elevation change, though that's still probably a couple of years off ;D

I also need to start rock climbing a bit more.

MikeInFHAZ · Joined: 15 Feb 2004 Posts: 1401 Location: location location

Trishness · Posted: 12/28/2008, 11:23 pm Post subject:

Daddee · Posted: 12/29/2008, 12:10 am Post subject:

I have a simple one:

To actually go on a hike at some point.

My back has been causing me problems, so it's been nearly a year since my last time on the trail.

I'm a simple man with simple needs.
_________________
"Only small minds want always to be right."
- Louis XIV

"...haven't you lived long enough to know that two men may honestly differ about a question and both be right?"
- Abraham Lincoln

DesertRoux · Joined: 10 Jul 2004 Posts: 397 Location: Scottsdale

Hnak · Joined: 06 Jan 2003 Posts: 1766 Location: Prescott, AZ

One current goal I have is to climb the Battleship again, with no problems this time...
_________________
The world is older and bigger than we are. This is a hard truth for some folks to swallow. —EDWARD ABBEY

MikeInFHAZ · Joined: 15 Feb 2004 Posts: 1401 Location: location location

well I only listed stuff that i have spied on other trips. like the Clover Creek thing. A totally different way to reach Maxwell and the confluence.

im always up for new territory too but I wanna get some of this good stuff off my list before I go out to new "trails". Im doing much more off trail hiking and that is a good, good thing.

id like to get on SNP and JMT too. Im sure i could do the JMT in 8 days. Maybe 7, with good fortune.
_________________
http://www.arizonahikers.com/board/albums/albwb18/BRIDGE.sized.jpg
bridge hammock, quilts and tarp (all DIY)

what i do

moodrets · Joined: 20 Oct 2008 Posts: 18 Location: Phoenix

MikeInFHAZ · Joined: 15 Feb 2004 Posts: 1401 Location: location location

12lbs is not ultralight, although its "very light". Smile

yes, lighter would be easier as far as work is concerned.
most people that finish a thru hike are UL hikers. It seems a no-brainer equation in that respect.
There is good reason why SMD, TarpTent, Gossamer Gear, ULA and other UL cottage companies have popular booths at the AZDPCTKO shindig.
Nobody has to hike long trails with UL gear, but it is a sensible option. But hey, HYOH and I'll hike mine Cool

I can do it w/ sub 10#, so can you.

BTW, what hammock?
_________________
http://www.arizonahikers.com/board/albums/albwb18/BRIDGE.sized.jpg
bridge hammock, quilts and tarp (all DIY)

what i do

fairweather8588 · Joined: 30 Dec 2003 Posts: 716

1 White Rim Road
2 Mojave Road
3 El Camino del Diablo... Oh wait, hiking goals? Let's see

More backpacking to fly fishing locations
Long, flat, scenic high mile days
More Utah stuff
_________________
But let the mind beware, that though the flesh be bugged, the circumstances of existence are pretty glorious

Kerouac

moodrets · Joined: 20 Oct 2008 Posts: 18 Location: Phoenix

Oh my, my tilde was in the wrong place ;o

And while I had intended to do the jmt in a week or two, in reality I'll have plenty of time to spare if I should so happen to find it difficult, so no worries there, I guess.

Hmmm, and I'm hiking on a rather... limited budget, and from what I can tell the lighter a given piece of equipment is the greater its demand and thus the greater its price. I figure I can make the easy gear myself (and possibly save on cost and weight) but for the more difficult items I'm stuck using dicount ware. Hell, my backpack alone makes a sub 10 lb base rather unfeasible Laughing

And no clue what hammock, haven't yet bought one. Might try to craft one of my own but if that (and it probably will) fails I'll just buy whatever's cheap and well reviewed.

MikeInFHAZ · Joined: 15 Feb 2004 Posts: 1401 Location: location location

skeeter beeter by Travel Hammock
Claytor Jungle or Mosquito by Tom Claytor
those 2 have netting and are both affordable

Warbonnet Blackbird
JrB BMBH
those 2 are more technical and are real camping hammocks.

You can make most of your gear to save $$
check out Jeff's hammock pages for complete knowledge or visit www.hammockforums.net to get the scoop.

UL gear is actually cheaper than its heavier counterparts (excluding Cuben)
most of my UL gear is made in USA and cost was lower than Chinese made flashy big box stuff. Although my favorite pack was made in Vietnam, it was still $80 and I have been using it for 5 years. (golite jam)
my other favorite Question

pack was made in NY by Joe Valesko out of Cuben Fiber and it cost $60 and weighs 3.9 ounces. It carries a 15lb load nicely.
I could get you rigged for less than $500 and <10lbs

check out the pic below which is all homemade. It is made of 1.9 ripstop with a 1.1 ripstop pad sleeve for temps above 40° and I also have various homemade underquilts. My 25° 3/4 length underquilt in combination with a 1/4" foam pad in the sleeve will take me to the mide teens. Betcha didnt think that could be done in a hammock! (and still under 10# pack, actually closer to 7 Wink

)
the tarp is 11x10' and is the heaviest (but optional) segment of the shelter, @ 19oz including the tensioners guyline and stakes. The hammock itself weighs 12.7 oz and I use trekking poles as spreader bars. You could say Im fairly proud of it. I made one like it for my son, just down-sized a bit. Cool

long story short, a goal of mine in '09 is to make more great gear
_________________
http://www.arizonahikers.com/board/albums/albwb18/BRIDGE.sized.jpg
bridge hammock, quilts and tarp (all DIY)

what i do