by Paty | Mar 1, 2022 | Arizona Trail, Southwest US, Trail Journals
February 28, 2022 Start: Eugene, OR End: Hereford, AZ Miles traveled: 1,400+ miles by air and car My alarm woke me from my warm, comfy bed in Eugene while it was still pitch black outside. I’d booked the earliest flight possible to Arizona. This meant a 6:20 am...
by Paty | Feb 21, 2022 | Arizona Trail, Gear, West Coast
It’s been a few years now since started long-distance hiking. And over that time, I’ve made a lot of changes to my gear set-up. I moved from a sleeping bag to a quilt. I started with a semi-freestanding tent, then moved to a single-walled trekking pole...
by Paty | Feb 14, 2022 | HP blogs, The Great Outdoors
It’s 2022, and I’m eagerly looking at what new adventures are calling my name. Each year I really try to do something new to force myself out of my physical and mental comfort zone. That’s how I ended up doing most the cool stuff I’ve achieved...
by Paty | Feb 6, 2022 | Arizona Trail, Hiking
I’m ashamed to admit this, but my training plans for thru-hikes always sucked! I would venture out on some overnight backpacking trips before my longer hikes. I’d try to figure out what was (and was not) not working. Overall though, these short shakedown...
by Paty | Jan 25, 2022 | Books
Welcome to my fourth annual winter reading list! Each winter, I recommend a few outdoor-related books to keep people motivated for the upcoming hiking season. As an avid reader, I enjoy fiction, non-fiction, memoirs, and just about everything in between. Yet nothing...
by Paty | Jan 22, 2022 | Arizona Trail, Southwest US
January is quickly coming to a close and it’s time for me to get serious about preparing for my upcoming hike of the Arizona Trail (AZT). My first order of business is picking a date for when I want to begin the trail. I’ve been wavering back and forth on...
by Paty | Jan 19, 2022 | Arizona Trail, Southwest US
Few things in trail news irritated me as much as learning that the southern terminus of the Arizona Trail (AZT) was closed off for no good reason. During the months running up to the 2020 election, the Trump administration decided to ramp up construction of its highly...
by Paty | Jan 4, 2022 | RV Life
If you want to sum up the year 2021 for us in one word, it would have to be: CHANGE. We sold our RV. We bought a house in Oregon. And we transitioned back to a more traditional lifestyle so Finn could attend high school. Contrary to what most people might assume, this...
by Paty | Dec 8, 2021 | The Great Outdoors
2020 was the year that changed everything. The pandemic forced so many of us to re-think our priorities, and we began to ponder the big existential things of life. One of the questions I found myself asking was: Am I giving back enough? Sure I might donate cash to...
by Paty | Nov 26, 2021 | Oregon Coast Trail, West Coast
The sights along the 400-mile long Oregon Coast Trail (OCT) might surprise the average backpacker. Instead of towering mountain peaks or wildflowers, this unique trail showcases Oregon’s rugged coastline along with the smell of briny saltwater and roar of the...
