Sierra Nevada Archives - PopUpBackpacker

Over 50 years ago, on a hot summer day, I helped one of my brothers move to the Mojave Desert where he was starting college. The heat was like a blast furnance. His car overheated several times, resulting in a blown head gasket. After unloading his belongings and a fitful night of sleep, I left, hitch-hiking back to LA.

I vowed to never enter a desert again.

Six years later, I moved to the desert. A different desert. A hotter desert. Why would I do such a crazy thing?

In the time, between my vow to never visit a desert again and my relocation to the desert, I read three of my now favorite books. They piqued my interest, and I began to visit, hike, and backpack in desert environs. The first book I read was, The Thousand Mile Summer, by Colin Fletcher.

Continue reading Book Review: The Thousand Mile Summer, by Colin Fletcher →

Over the past few months I have hiked in Illinois, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and of course California among other places.

Other than California I found most trails to be in dense forests and most travel confined to trails, as cross country travel is difficult at best. These places are often confining, the sky is often hidden by a canopy of trees, and views are only possible by climbing up to a peak. Instead of forest duff, one deals with rocks and roots.

In spite of these obstacles, those places I traveled are beautiful in their own right and highly recommended.

But I prefer open spaces. Spaces where I can at almost any time position myself to see for miles and miles. The open spaces I am referring to are deserts.

Continue reading I Need My Space →