big man tips

WOODS CANYON TRAIL #93 Sedona The sandstone "beach" Hiking during springtime snow melt season is one of Arizona�s most remarkable experiences. During this brief period, water rushes through desert washes and normally dry creek beds with an urgency tantamount to the panic hikers feel when trying to hit all the best water-themed trails before the cascades die out.   In Sedona, the well-known trails that wind around Oak Creek, Dry Creek and their watersheds are easy-access crowd favorites. But few venture into the isolated domain of Woods Canyon where the ordinarily parched groove of Dry Beaver Creek runs wild for several months each year. One of the best ways to enjoy the transient water works is to take a hike on the Wood Canyon Trail #93. Dry Beaver Creek This trek starts with a short walk through a lush, riparian exclosure with an easy creek crossing before emerging in an airy, savannah-like high desert. Yucca-embellished grasslands dominate the first two miles of the hike. ...

[Episode 109] Today�s episode of the Social Work Podcast is about Death and Grief in the Digital Age. I spoke with Dr. Carla Sofka, professor of Social Work at Siena College. Dr. Sofka has been studying and writing about the intersection of technology and death and grief since the earliest days of the world wide web. Her edited 2012 text, Dying, Death and Grief in an Online Universe , looks at how changes in communication technology have revolutionized the field of thanatology. In today�s episode we talk about the role of social media in how, why, where and when, who we grieve. She shares stories of people whose loved ones have died, only to find out that because of social media they are the last to know. Carla provides some digital literacy around death and grief in the digital age. She talks about social media posts as death notifications, about establishing digital advance directives and thinking about our digital dust. She talks about STUG reactions which are Sudden Temporary Upsu...

BRIDLE CREEK HABITAT ENHANCEMENT AREA Town of Bagdad Bridle Creek flows below Sanders Mesa On a desert highway halfway between Phoenix and Las Vegas , motorists are treated to a botanical spectacle that unfolds in springtime. From late February through April, the Joshua trees along US 93 sprout gigantic, lime-white blooms with surreal spikes and a not-so-sweet aroma. The annual event is reason enough take a drive along this scenic route through a landscape of sprawling flatlands tossed with rugged canyons and mountains. Cottonwoods and willows in the riparian corridor Despite the bloom fest, only a handful of the travelers rumbling by ever stop to marvel at the hairy-barked yuccas that can live up to 300 years. Although it's impossible to know their reasons for zooming past or their ultimate destinations, one thing's for certain though : M ost motorists are not going to Bagdad. And, that's a shame---especially for vehicles with hikers on board . That's because those w...

WOLF CREEK FALLS  Prescott Wolf Creek Falls Wolf Creek is dry most of the year, but when winter snow on the Bradshaw Mountain peaks begins to melt, this waterway comes alive for a few weeks each year. Just before the creek dumps into the Hassayampa River, it tumbles through a narrow granite gorge spilling icy water over slick rock into drop pools 90 feet below the cliffs. A quarter-mile �waterfall alley� features two major falls as well as water chutes, natural dams and cascades.   HIKE DIRECTIONS: from the Groom Creek trailhead, hike across Senator Highway to the Horse Camp entrance. The hike begins at the �383� sign at the south side of the camp gate. From here, follow trail #383 (some of the signs say: 383/384) one mile to the junction for trail 384. Tricky spot: a fallen tree near the third 383/384 sign hides the path---the arrow on this sign points straight up and the bottom of the sign has been cut into a point. The correct trail is indeed straight ahead not off to the...

GLASSFORD HILL SUMMIT TRAIL Town of Prescott Valley Inside the volcano There�s a little volcano in Prescott Valley that despite its lack of climate-altering fireworks a la Krakatoa or a festering apocalypse like the one under Yellowstone National Park, still managed to create a big enough impression on the landscape to warrant a hiking trail to its summit.   With its out-of-nowhere character, the new route walks out of the suburbs into the spent inferno of an extinct volcano culminating on a scenic highpoint in Arizona�s Central Highlands.   Dedicated in May 2016, the Glassford Hill Summit Trail makes a moderately difficult climb among the crumbling lava flows and eroding slopes of a Miocene-epoch volcano situated at the edge of State Route 69. Prescott Valley with San Francisco Peaks on horizon When viewed from the highway, the rounded form of Glassford Hill doesn�t look that special. With a smattering of subdivisions and shopping centers lapping at its base, the grassy mound...

PALO VERDE TRAIL Tonto National Forest, Bartlett Reservoir Granite boulders above Bartlett Lake From the drive in to the trailhead to its turnaround point, this hike is packed with stunning scenery. Hedged among rough cut cliffs and desert highlands of the Verde River watershed, Bartlett Reservoir fills 12 miles of the canyon bound channel with crystalline waters teeming with bass, catfish and bluegills. Although the year-round recreation site which is located roughly 50 miles north of Phoenix is famous mostly for its boating, fishing, shaded picnic areas and camping opportunities, the Palo Verde Trail offers hikers a surprisingly challenging route with terrific mountain and water views. The trail meanders among the foothills and washes on the lake�s western banks. This is not a hike to try during or immediately after storms because rain rumbling off the foothills turns washes and gullies into raging rivers of debris. Chollas frame Tonto National Forest mountain vistas Don�t be fooled ...

HOTSHOTS and JOURNEY TRAILS Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial State Park, Yarnell Journey Trail I�m not a fan of writing trail descriptions in the first person. Hiking trails are not about me. The staring characters of Arizona trails are the terrain, waterways, scenery, wildlife and plants. That I happened to hike a particular trail is incidental and not part of its theme or the influence it will have on other trekkers. When approaching a trail, I plan for the worst and hope for the best while in anticipation of foul ups, the mantra �suck it up, buttercup� bounces around in my skull. Normally, I subdue my voice so my personal biases won�t dilute a trail�s character or unwittingly seed expectations.   Why rob hikers of the joy of discovery? But occasionally, there�s a trail that�s so steeped in emotion that all I can muster is a stammering, first person account. The Hotshots and Journey Trails at the Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial State Park near Yarnell embody that spirit. Hot...