Little Package Blog

My Space
2018.04.04
Latergram, My VW Westfalia
The owner of that Astro approached me yesterday afternoon, two full pails of water on his shoulders. His first words weren’t hello, they were, “do you know how to find water here? It’s right across the road in that stream.” He was so proud of himself. That stream, I thought… you mean Lone Pine Creek? The water coming off the highest peak in the continental USA? OK. So he continued to tell me he’s owned 7 VW vans but none like mine and now he feels like he’s won the lottery, he has AT and 15″ wheels. “You still only have 14 inch wheels?” (Yeah but I have a 14 gallon water tank.) He then started to brag about his cellular data plan, and so I asked […]

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Colorado River: 1, Me: 0
2018.03.05
Hayduke
It was funny that just as I got back to Flagstaff after a 20-day float of the Colorado River, and was scrambling to get home after having lost my iPhone and wallet in the River, that I discovered I was chosen to write for the Listserve. The Listserve is your chance to write an email to a million people. I’ve been a member of the Listserve for several years, and while frankly I don’t read all the emails, the ones I do read are charming and provide perspective for the day. I wondered when I would be chosen, but really I wondered if I’d already been chosen and missed my “You’ve won the Listserve!” email. I almost missed the “You’ve won the Listserve!” email. With 72 hours […]

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Colorado River Trip Out
2018.02.28
Hayduke, Latergram
Sometimes when I tell people my stories I fear they think I’m lying. But I don’t need to lie, it’s just chronic bonkers over here. Feb 23 I got off the Colorado River after a 20-day float. It’s taken a couple days to get home and I still don’t have my feet under me BECAUSE (here’s where it gets good)… On the first night out (incidentally at Lower Jackass beach) I lost my tent, beloved handmade down sleeping bag, Thermarest Neoair, iPhone, wallet, all of my casual clothes, and about $500 more worth of gear to the River in a sudden wind storm. I was seconds late to my tent, only to find stakes still in the ground and the tent floating, pitched perfectly, down the middle […]

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Flowing With The River
2018.02.16
Latergram
It was a jolt to be swept around Temple Butte into the Grand Canyon. Suddenly whole ranges of mountains lay in front of us. Stratified towers, gigantic beyond comprehension, filled the sky. Ten miles away the South Rim loomed up, then zigzagged off to the west for another hundred miles. The North Rim, another world of soft forests and lakes, was a mile above us. Flowing with the river, looking out from only a few inches above the water, the very size, the immensity, of the place was astounding. But more overwhelming than its size was its beauty. Terraced mountains mirrored eath other, matching layer for layer across the chasms, sweeping bands of pastel stone piled one on the other to press flat up against a pastel […]

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MYOG quilt
2017.12.13
Hiking, Sewing
I’m an outlier along with a couple peers of mine, because I prefer my handmade quilt over any others I’ve seen or tried. IMO I have the nicest bag in the world… and definitely one of a kind (it’s even got my label sewn in it). It’s based closely on the genius Enlightened Equipment quilt design, and uses ZPacks ventum fabric, so props to those companies. It has trapezoidal baffles cut on the bias so it is “stretchy” – and loses less heat by convection. Fill involves a fun amount of math – 900 fill means one ounce fills 900 cubic inches. So, many manufacturers fill with a general idea of how big the internal volume is and then add 0-30% extra to account for loft loss. […]

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GSENM
2017.12.05
Hayduke, Latergram
I knew the “president” would reverse the National Monuments so I’m not surprised. But I still feel like I’ve been punched. I’ve spent a little time walking in both the monuments he decimated, mostly GSENM (about 2-3 weeks total, living out of a backpack). I’ve grown to see why the lands were protected and why so many locals protest. 50-mile Mountain (second picture) sits atop one of the largest remaining coal deposits in the world. As you climb around it you will find gorgeous black coal just squeezing out of the ground. You also find many long roads not on the map – built illegally by prospectors. In 1994 before Clinton signed GSENM into federal protection, a Dutch coal mining company (Andalex) was trying to figure out […]

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How to Avoid the Crypto on the Arches Slickrock Route
2017.11.29
Hayduke
Nic Barth has published some fairly loose GPS tracks for his “alternates” or shortcuts on the Hayduke. Some of them might be worth looking into. Myself having hiked the route back and forth more than twice, I frankly don’t think you’ll be missing out if you ignore Barth’s KMZ/GPS input entirely. If you want to miss out, his alts are in fact generous shortcuts. Barth’s “Arches Slickrock” route is popular. I see scenic advantages to both the Slickrock route and the official Hayduke route. Unfortunately publishing the “Slickrock” route opened the door for significant negative environmental impact. Some people have tried to tell me they have hiked it without killing cryptobiotic soil but they are 101% full of shit. There is no way to hike this route […]

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Hayduke Trail Sections 8-14
2017.11.28
Hayduke, Hiking
(updated fall 2019, fall 2020, winter 20/21, spring 2022, spring 2023, summer 2024, winter 2025) These are organized section by section, east to west. Looking for sections 1-7? Looking for Hayduke Trail Tips? Hayduke Section 8 Round Valley Draw is super cool but it is MUCH more difficult to hike north than it is south. I recommend having cord or rope for this, especially if you are alone. I managed with 1/8″ 800lb dyneema cord, which I always carry 50 feet of. If solo, chimneying DOWN after lowering your pack shouldn’t be too bad. Then you’re mostly set except one or more further smaller drops. If your ankles and knees are strong, you’ll be fine. This route can change yearly due to flooding, so my advice about […]

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Hayduke Trail Sections 1-7
Hayduke, Hiking
(updated fall 2019, fall 2020, winter 20/21, spring 2022, spring 2023, summer 2024, winter 2025) These are organized section by section, east to west. You can also read my Hayduke Trail Tips, and read about Hayduke Trail Sections 8-14. Ok, ready? Section 1 Get ready for shoes full of sand, and then wet shoes. I recommend the main Hayduke trail out the gate, because the alternates involve significant erosion, especially as more and more people hike the Hayduke. The places they visit are really better done like the tourists do them, from the car, because for the pretty parts you’ll be thronged with tourists anyway. The Hayduke heading East from the Park gate is a road walk, but it’s got a good view, is a good build […]

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Hayduke Trail Tips
Hayduke, Hiking
(updated fall 2019, fall 2020, winter 20/21, spring 2022, spring 2023, summer 2024, winter 2025) Hayduke Trail Section Information Read my section-by-section tips for Hayduke sections 1-7 and Hayduke sections 8-14. Maps & Route-finding I recommend getting the Hayduke Trail book. Read it. Carry it. Read it again whenever you’re puzzled or bored. I photographed every page and stored it on my phone. I’ve read every sentence in this book at least five times. There’s a lot of helpful and interesting bits buried in there, yet it’s pretty cursory at the same time. I admire the person who hikes the Hayduke using only this book, map and compass. Really that’s all that’s needed, and what an immersive experience! If you do that, please reach out cuz I […]

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Heart-shaped
2017.11.17
Hayduke, Hiking, Latergram
I found this heart-shaped “pothole” in Courthouse Wash in Arches NP yesterday morning just after I found out a ride home to the Eastern Sierra had been arranged for me (thanks to Donna Saufley and @kellybelly_jellybean). My heart almost exploded with gratitude. Especially now, a day later when my body has realized the hike is over and it can let go. My stomach is inside out again with the gastritis thing and the cracks in my feet started to freakin’ bleed. Walking is not on the table today, even tho it’s “national take a hike day.” Oh, the irony. Things held together long enough for me to complete my hiking goals. It’s uncanny. And I’m thankful! So thankful. I wrote up a list of thank yous and […]

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Scarecrow
2017.11.16
Hayduke, Hiking, Latergram
I was given a Haypuke trail name last month and it is “Scarecrow.” At first I had no idea why a stranger would greet me, “Good morning, Scarecrow!” I thought it was some sort of slang I’d never heard before, and thought of calling her a name. But really, looking at myself and my hiking getup, I now find it hilarious. Later on trail I found an antique Old Crow liquor bottle with its cap intact near what appeared to be an old boys’ shooting range. It had a crow cast in the glass. I carried it for about 40 miles until I met Gary and Jeanine from Teasdale who admitted they were in the process of getting rid of things but knew someone who would love […]

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Jasper Arrowhead
2017.11.12
Hayduke, Latergram
Curtis, a sparkly blue-eyed babe I met in the middle of nowhere in the other day, kindly taught me how to find arrowheads. He gave really practical tips that made so much sense! Last night I thought I’d give it a try. Right away I found something that looked like it might be an arrowhead, maybe, but I really wanted to see a real one. So this morning I set my intentions high, making sure to be specific on what I was asking for. I stopped after walking an hour or so to take off my thermals (is this like a stupid cold, short ass day time of year to be thru hiking or what?) and filter some water. I looked around for an arrowhead. All done, […]

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