GetTheFunOut

I recently completed the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim hike, in one day.  It was an exceptional experience:  physically demanding, mentally taxing, and aesthetically amazing.  It's certainly not a hike for the unprepared; you risk anything from blister, to death, to being stranded for lack of transportation planning.  The variable conditions make it impossible to make a one-size-fits-all guide, but here is my experience--hopefully you will learn from it.

It's hot! Well, it's that time again to get ready for our annual heat-induced existential crisis.  With temperatures already regularly over 100F, the summer seems like an insurmountable obstacle between us and a habitable ecosystem.  With a little creativity, planning, and my help, though, we will get through this together.  Because no matter how hopeless life seems when the LOW temperature is still over 90F, if Arizona has done anything well it's bending the climate to its will. Below are my 2017 suggestions for surviving the Summer in Arizona.

If you’re anything like me, each time summer rolls around to Phoenix you can’t do anything but fantasize about it not being summer in Phoenix.  Luckily for us, the 2017 Arizona Get Outdoors Expo is here to help!  

Because I’m apparently bad at prioritizing my to-hike list, the Flatiron hike in the Superstition Mountains only took 12 years of Arizona residence to complete. If you’ve ever done that hike, you know what an idiot I am for waiting so long; if you’ve never done that hike, don’t let yourself wind up like me—hike it!  Except, I’m issuing this command at a bad time of year as temperatures are already climbing into the “dangerous” range.  So, if nothing else, take this as your official notice to hike this hike in the fall when temperatures are more reasonable.  But please make it a point to hike this trail as soon as possible.  This is the best hike I've done in the Phoenix area, and top-5 in the state.

Just getting those steps... Big Guy Gear Reviews are what the sound like--gear reviews focused on the usability for big guys. If you're a proportional six-footer, congrats: you can use literally every piece of gear on the market. If you're a big guy, however, you know it's a frustrating marketplace. I'm here to help. For reference, here are my basic dimensions: 6'5", 226 pounds*, dress shirt is 17"x37".  I wear XL-tall shirts and 38x34 pants—as long as they’re not straight legged, boot cut, or whatever else skinny hipsters have pushed the market toward. I'm built with more of a weak-man's barrel chest than a fat-man's beer belly. I have what Lululemon calls "hockey butt." If you're tall and not broad, or broad and not tall, these reviews should still help you find usable gear. This time we're talking about Garmin Fitness products (including activity trackers and their smart scale), which have literally chan...

Photo copyright - Matt Bonham/http://www.mattbonham.com Big Guy Gear Reviews are what the sound like--gear reviews focused on the usability for big guys. If you're a proportional six-footer, congrats: you can use literally every piece of gear on the market. If you're a big guy, however, you know it's a frustrating marketplace. I'm here to help. For reference, here are my basic dimensions: 6'5", 235 pounds, dress shirt is 17"x37".    I wear XL-tall shirts and 38x34 pants—as long as they’re not straight legged, boot cut, or whatever else skinny hipsters have pushed the market toward. I'm built with more of a weak-man's barrel chest than a fat-man's beer belly. I have what Lululemon calls "hockey butt." If you're tall and not broad, or broad and not tall, these reviews should still help you find usable gear. Each year I return to the Blue Ridge Mountain area of Virginia to hunt white-tailed deer.    Each year I am c...

If you've lived your entire Phoenix life without knowing the fall wonderland that lies 2 hours to the north, then you've been missing one of the greatest highlights of Arizona.  The trees of Northern Arizona create some of the most beautiful fall colors I've ever seen. 

On Saturday I hiked to the top of the highest mountain in Arizona--the 12,633' Mt. Humphreys.  It's the second time I've done the hike, the first being about 6 years and multiple hiking and backpacking trips ago.  I treated it not much different from any other hike I've done and since I hiked the Inca Trail last year didn't think of it as much of a challenge. I'm going to be in trouble if my Mom reads this, but I've never had a hike where I was more genuinely terrified that I wouldn't make it off the mountain.