Hiking – Page 3 – Travelcraft Journal

December 23, 2015December 24, 2015

Last-Minute Traveler Gift Guide

If you’re still looking for gift inspiration, here are some ideas.

All of these items are things I actually own, use, and love:

1. Designhype Metro San Francisco Cuff – Yes, there’s an actual metro map on the bracelet! Mine is for San Francisco, but Designhype also makes these for Paris, NYC, and other cities.

2. Moleskine Journal – For travel journaling, lately I’ve been starting with a blank Moleskine, writing about the day, and using washi tape to attach ticket stubs (like the transit pass from our Re:Make trip) or folded programs or whatever I happen to collect. The cahiers 3.5″ x 5.5″ size comes in a 3-pack and is really convenient for carrying with you. I throw one in a quart-size ziploc with my ultra fine tip Sharpies and washi tape and take it along, in case I want to journal on the plane or while we sit at a cafe. Some brick-and-mortar options: I’ve seen these at Changing Hands Bookstore and Target, but you can find various sizes of Moleskine journals lots of places.

3. Sakura 18-Piece Koi Assorted Water Colors Field Sketch Set with Brush – Super portable watercolor set with a brush that holds water inside of it (so you don’t have to fiddle with a separate cup) and folds up. Since Jennifer Mack introduced this to me at Craft Camp, the link above is her Amazon affiliate link.

4. Bodum Travel Press Coffee Maker – Basically, it’s a shatterproof French press you can drink out of. This is especially great for camping, but you could also use it to upgrade from the hotel coffeemaker. I’ve had mine for awhile, so I didn’t see this exact design – I linked to one that’s similar. I just saw these at Cost Plus World Market.

5. GoToob Travel Bottle – Humangear travel bottles are made to keep from leaking, and mine has been fine when altitude changes have made a mess out of cheaper bottles. They have this neat little ring you can twist to designate the contents (sunscreen, soap, etc.), but they’re also food safe, in case you want to fill a small one with sri racha or a bigger one with pancake batter. I’ve spotted these at my local REI and Target. I think they may have been a little cheaper at Target, but REI had a much bigger selection.

6. REI Flash 18 Pack – Very comfortable day pack with a streamlined silhouette. It’s great to throw stuff in for a day at a convention or on a hike. In the photo, Phillip is wearing it while admiring the view from Mt. Lemmon. Since this is REI brand, they’re most likely only available in REI’s stores and site.

What travel gifts do you love to use or have on your wishlist?

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P.S. This DIY spice mix is also easy to make, and there are more ideas in our last-minute Christmas guide.

Not a sponsored post.

June 11, 2015August 13, 2025

Morning Hikes and Breakfast Bites

As midday temperatures rise, outdoor activities tend to get pushed out to the cooler edges of the day, when the sun is lower in the sky and less punishing.

So it was great to come across a list of shaded and/or shorter summer morning Phoenix hikes paired with local breakfast spots! The list came from a 2011 article* on the no-longer-existent Phoenix Metromix site. However, you can still read it on the Internet Archive.

The first few recommendations from Metromix (MM) are below, along with my notes.

MM reco #1: Echo Canyon (Camelback Mountain) Ramada Loop Trail + La Grande Orange

The Ramada Loop Trail is not on the Park map. Maybe it’s closed. Maybe they just forgot about it. Other sites also mention it, so I assume it actually exists.
Echo Canyon Bobbie’s Rock Trail is another short hike, which begins at the Summit/Echo Canyon Trailhead.
Dogs aren’t allowed in the Echo Canyon area.
I’m totally in favor of breakfast at La Grande Orange. Keep in mind, though, like the trailhead, it can get really busy on the weekends and parking gets tricky. (There is a valet in front of the restaurant.)

MM reco #2: South Mountain Park Kiwanis Trail + Local Breeze (closed)**

You can hike at South Mountain with four-legged friends.
Phoenix Public Market Cafe has great breakfast and a dog-friendly patio.
September through May, we also like the nearby Farm at South Mountain.

MM reco #3: White Tanks Mountain Regional Park Mesquite Canyon and Willow Canyon Trails (loop) + Bobbie’s Café

The White Tank Mountain Regional Park’s website describes this 7-mile loop as “very difficult and not recommended for novice hikers, small children and pets.” Which does not sound like something I’m going to be attempting before breakfast.
There other hikes in the Park that are rated as less strenuous.
I haven’t been to Bobbie’s cafe. I do like hanging out at Ground Control when I’m on that side of town.

Bonus reco (from me): Lo Piano Bosque Habitat Canal Trail + Ncounter

The Canal Path is partially shaded, about .7 miles long, and is in this little stretch of nature that’s oddly close to the freeway.
From Curry, head south on Lake View Drive. You can either turn right immediately to park or keep going south and park in the shade under the freeway.
Ncounter has omelets – as well as other hearty breakfast options – and good coffee.

Finally, be safe out there and take lots of water with you! In fact, if you’re not used to very hot, dry climates, you might want to skip the Phoenix-area trails until about October. In the meantime, just head straight to breakfast.

Do you have a favorite hike/breakfast combo?

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*I wish the 2011 article had been called “7 Hikes for 7 Breakfasts.” But it was an article, not a 1950s musical.

**The former Local Breeze location is now The Vig, which serves brunch and opens daily at 10 or 11am.

Photos by me. Map via Google Maps.

April 15, 2014April 15, 2014

Enjoying spring anywhere: 3 simple ways

I know there are some places where people are still waiting for spring. Here in Phoenix, our spring is drawing to a close as temperatures keep creeping up, and we are savoring it while it lasts.

I made this list of simple ways we enjoy the season that you can adapt to wherever you are, whenever it arrives.

1. Take a hike and look for signs of spring. We like exploring trails at South Mountain – there are tons of them! As the wildflowers fade, the cactus starts to bloom, so there should be plenty of color in the Sonoran desert throughout the month of April.

2. Go on a Picnic. Lots of parks have tables just waiting for you. We noticed a large picnic area at Estrella Mountain Regional Park. There’s also a great day-use area at Dead Horse Ranch State Park (I know! Terrible name but great camping and huge day-use area.) in Cottonwood, if you’re up for a drive – which brings us to #3…

3. Take a drive (or bike ride) and see what you discover. We’re big fans of taking the side streets just to see where we end up.

What do you do to enjoy spring weather?

March 26, 2014March 26, 2014

Why Arizona? Because of March. Basically.

March is the reason people live in Arizona. Not the only reason. But it represents a pretty big one, because it tends to come with the kind of gorgeous weather we dream of during the inevitably scorching Phoenix summers.

Of course, I would write that sentence on the day we get a fluke spring dust storm. (We don’t really expect those until July or August.) But still. It was an hour or so blip in the middle of some really nice days.

March also brings wildflowers. Some years more than others, but if we’ve had any rain at all, the desert gets more colorful.

Because the weather is so good, things get busy. People come to visit. Events get scheduled. (Lots and lots of events. They were basically stacked on top of each other this past weekend.) Before you know it, you’re in some convention hall or shopping center or crowded restaurant wondering what you’re doing there and if you’ve missed all the nice weather. Or (in my case), you’re sitting outside writing a post about wildflowers and wondering if they’ve already finished their brief annual appearance.

So Monday I texted Phillip that I wanted to see if there were still wildflowers on South Mountain and should I pick him up after work to go check it out. He was up for it, so we slipped into the park just before they closed the entrance gate and hiked until we ran out of light for photos.

I’m happy to report that it’s not too late to spot some wildflowers in the desert.

Also, the creosote bushes are yellow and fragrant, and hedgehog cactus is starting to bloom.

If you’re here in Phoenix and you possibly can, get out this week – even for an hour – and soak it all in. And if you live somewhere else, you might consider visiting next March.

It’s a beautiful time to find a reason to be here or to remember the reasons you already are.

For Your (Wildflower-Hunting) Information: I took all of these photos (except the top one of clouds after the dust storm) on 3/24/14 at South Mountain Park.

January 3, 2014June 29, 2022

South Mountain Hiking

Living in Phoenix can inspire this ongoing dialogue with yourself.

Me In September: It’s still hot. Why do I live here again?

Me 2 Months Later: Oh. Right. Now I remember.

The weather has been so beautiful the last couple weeks. It just makes Phillip and I (and probably the rest of the Valley of the Sun) want to go out and soak it all in!

One of our favorite places for a spur-of-the-moment hike is South Mountain. It’s not far from us, there are tons of not-too-strenous trails, and we almost always see some kind of interesting wildlife.

The 16,000-acre preserve is actually the largest city park in the country with miles of trails crossing the natural landscape.

And that’s where we went for a little impromptu hiking Christmas afternoon. We definitely weren’t the only ones with that idea. There were actually a lot of people out on the trails.

At one point, we heard coyotes yelping in the distance. I looked around and realized all the other hikers within eyesight had also stopped to listen. We took a side trail to the top of a little hill and counted at least three coyotes racing up the ridge across from us.

hiking South Mountain — Ridge where we saw coyotes. There’s probably a teeny one somewhere in the photo.

We continued up the dirt road that’s now closed to vehicles, past the wide space that used to serve as a parking lot and up a hill. You could see all the way across the park, across the rest of the Valley, to the Superstition Mountains, sitting east of the metro area and glowing pink from the sunset.

We took it all in for a few minutes before heading back.

By the time we got back to the trailhead, there was already one bright star shining down on us. For Christmas night in the desert, that somehow seemed fitting.