Warren Wasescha Our Sun Lakes Hiking Club hikes officially November through April. But what do club members do for the other six months of the year? If you are lucky enough to summer in Colorado or other points north, the options are easy. If you stay in the Valley where temps often prevent rigorous hiking,…
Warren Wasescha I stopped my hike early and turned back towards the trailhead the other day. I decided I did not want to make my wife a widow. She was expecting me home for dinner with friends and jokingly said she did not want to go out with them by herself. It was the right…
Warren Wasescha Hard to believe this month is the end of our formal hiking for the season. The time has quickly flown by. The hikes have been good, the conversations on the trail great, and the relationships built priceless. But your hiking can continue through the summer. Just give a call to your club hiking…
Warren Wasescha A friend back in Minnesota asked me why I liked hiking with our Sun Lakes Hiking Club so much. I told them it’s my drug of choice. Better than a glass of red wine. They winced at the last comment. But I was serious. —Countless articles back me up on this. They talk…
Warren Wasescha With two months into the season, our Hiking Club is in full swing. While our numbers are down this year on our mellow-level hikes, the numbers on moderate- and motivated-level hikes are about the same or higher compared to prior years. COVID-19 protocols established by the club to keep us safe are in…
Warren Wasescha With new safety measures in place, Ginny Metz from the hiking club sent out a survey to all members asking them how they felt about hiking in a COVID-19 world. Many responded, and a wide range of responses were given. Some were not going to be hiking this season, but for reasons other…
Warren Wasescha With COVID-19, you might be asking if the club will be hiking this upcoming season, beginning in November. The answer is a resounding yes, but with some changes to help keep you safe. For starters, no social dinners, picnics, brunches, special hike, or endorsed lunch stops after a hike. It’s too risky being…
Warren Wasescha As a hiker during warmer months, can you ever not think about rattlesnakes on the trail? Same here, so I found a great article from Associate Professor Dale DeNardo of the Arizona State University School of Life Sciences, who studies rattlesnakes. Here in part is what he had to say about snakes and hiking: Q:…
Warren Wasescha Talk to any hiker, and they all have their favorite hikes: Mormon Loop and Hidden Valley Trails at South Mountain, Peralta Trail in the Superstitions, Quart Peak in the Estrellas, Ford Canyon in the White Tanks, Camelback Mountain. These and many more are the treasures that, when combined together, make the Valley one…
Warren Wasescha December kicked off with a 4.5-mile hike by the Mellows led by Bob and Karen MacFarlane on five trails at South Mountain, while the Motivateds, led by DeEtte Faith, hiked 11 miles via the Gateway Trail to reach Tom’s Thumb to give a “thumbs up” to this majestic peak in the McDowell Mountains.…