by Paty | Apr 14, 2023 | Highline Trail, Southwest US, Trail Journals
Thursday – 4/13/2023 Start: Chase Creek End: Hilltop west of Dick Williams Creek Distance: 21 miles I definitely didn’t drink enough water during my first day on this trail, and I was paying the price. I was so dehydrated that I woke up near midnight...
by Paty | Apr 13, 2023 | Highline Trail, Southwest US, Trail Journals
Wednesday – 4/12/2023 Start: Pine Trailhead End: Chase Creek Distance: 17.6 miles + 1.6 mile walk out of Payson (19.2 miles total) I just couldn’t get comfortable in the back of the cramped Kia Soul rental car last night, and I spent the night frustrated as...
by Paty | Apr 12, 2023 | Highline Trail, Southwest US, Trail Journals
Tuesday – 4/11/2023 Start: Eugene, OR End: 260 Trailhead (near Payson, AZ) Mileage: 1,200 miles by air + 109 miles by rental car When planning my weeklong getaway to central Arizona this Spring, I knew I wanted two things. The first goal was to feel some warm...
by Paty | Apr 11, 2023 | Highline Trail, Southwest US
My initial introduction to the Highline Trail came during my spring 2022 thru-hike of the Arizona Trail. Somewhere past the AZT’s halfway point, I left the town of Pine and found myself hiking on a lovely trail heading eastbound below the Mogollon Rim. Nearby...
by Paty | Feb 2, 2023 | Camino del Norte, Spain
When you are in the midst of a hiking adventure, you can rarely see the big picture. Only with time, perspective, and a bit of diligent record-keeping does it all come together. This post is a snapshot of what I saw, ate, and did on the Camino del Norte during my 2022...
by Paty | Jan 21, 2023 | Trail Journals, Wind River Range
If you’ve read my trail journals, you know I encountered a fairly scary health issue in 2022. I was on an 8-day hiking and climbing expedition in Wyoming’s Wind River Range. A few days earlier, we’d summited the highest mountain in the state –...
by Paty | Jan 16, 2023 | Camino del Norte, Spain
When it comes to finding your way from Irún to Santiago, modern pilgrims on the Camino Del Norte have a bevy of options. In the past, many people relied solely upon their general sense of direction and the symbols marking the way. But is the simple advice of:...
by Paty | Jan 13, 2023 | Books
Welcome to my fifth annual winter reading list! Each winter, I recommend a few outdoor-related books to keep my friends motivated for the upcoming hiking season. As an avid reader, I enjoy fiction, non-fiction, memoirs, and just about everything in between. Yet...
by Paty | Dec 24, 2022 | HP blogs
Have you ever wondered how many county high points there are in each state? Delaware has the fewest, with only 3 counties to consider. Texas has a whopping 254 county high points! And Louisiana technically has zero – but only because the state doesn’t have...
by Paty | Dec 23, 2022 | HP blogs
The new year is soon to be upon us and that means one thing. It’s time to set some new highpointing goals for 2023! This past year was filled with some epic adventures around some of the bigger peaks out West, including: My first glaciated climb on Mt. Hood, thereby...
