When night falls and I trip over a rock for the third time, we bust out our headlamps and keep going. We’re hiking through a wash, cradled by black canyon walls and a star-lit sky. Now and then, a wall of vegetation rises up in front of us and we climb into the thicket of … More Lowest to Highest Route Day 3 & 4: Fun, Or Something Like It
Everything is right with the world. This, of course, is not true. But staring up from my sleeping bag at a blanket of stars–of black sky smudged milky way white, flanked by friends and the gurgle of water in a nearby spring, it feels like the truest thing there ever was. We wake at dawn. … More Lowest to Highest Route Day 3: If Not For This
Shade becomes more plentiful, up here in the canyon, a few thousand feet above the sea. It’s a welcome respite, but my brain is already scrambled eggs. I set my pack down in the slanted shadows of the canyon wall and wilt onto the sand beside it. Check my map. The spring is still two miles away. Normally, that sounds … More Lowest to Highest Route Day 2 Continued: Stayin’ Alive
Somehow I manage to find 4,875,342 things to do after I wake up and don’t leave San Francisco until noon (if you’ve ever wondered how I got my trail name, this is a fine example.) No sweat, though, the girls have decided to wait until Tuesday morning to hike out, so there’s no rush. I head … More Lowest to Highest Route Day One: Errands, Road Walks, The Desert is Magic
I Could Drive Forever 