Roger’s Trough

Dear Phoenix,

Spring break was a few weeks ago, and while you provided the perfect weather, I wanted to do things outside the city limits.

Two of my close friends, an acquaintance of theirs and I drove out to the southeast side of the Superstition Mountains with the intentions of backpacking into Roger’s Canyon and hiking up to the ruins. It’s a four mile hike to the ruins with a 1,000 foot elevation change and a lot of overgrown plants.

Jon, taking a photo of the Superstition Wilderness sign. We hiked in as the sun was setting.

We ran into more than enough wildlife, including a tarantula (pictured), ants, a beetle (in my sleeping bag, even) and bees.

Jon moves his head as I play with shutter speed to make a light painting.

Ben and Jon prepare to cook dinner.

The ruins are believed to have been occupied by Salado Indians approximately 400 years ago, according to a sign posted nearby.

The doorway is approximately four feet tall.

Some parts of the ruins are so well preserved, hikers can see the hand prints in the hardened mud.

Family photo.

Ben Peck, 20, found and suggested Roger’s Canyon as our backpacking destination. He enjoys backpacking because “I feel like 75% of the crap in my life gets filtered out, and I can just look at it in third person as a spectator.”

Jon Navarro, 21, has day hiked the Grand Canyon with me (and Ben) before. He said his favorite part of backpacking is “being away from society and trying to lose sense of time. To just be in the moment where you’re simply an observer of the beautiful existence of nature.”

I usually backpack with Ben, but this time, backpacking with Jon gave me another way to look at how the outdoors affects people. Regardless of who I asked, both men said that backpacking gives them the opportunity to be an observer, a spectator, to watch the world around them.

I agree completely.

Keep your eyes peeled, Phoenix. Be an observer for a while.

Love,

Amanda

Gear Tips: What you need to go backpacking.

Dear Phoenix,

If you  haven’t already gathered, I really enjoy backpacking. So I created a quick vlog explaining the items you will absolutely need if you plan on going backpacking. Give it a quick watch to get a feel for the kind of equipment you will need for a night in the wilderness with your feet as the only form of transportation.

Keep those feet in good shape!

Amanda

How to Plan a Roadtrip

Dear Phoenix,

If you’re at all like me, you like to push your textbooks aside and start planning summer vacation when the temperature breaches 80 degrees Fahrenheit for three days in a row.

I’ve just begun planning a road trip, and I want to walk you through the steps I’ve gone through (and will go through) to plan the most perfect road trip possible.

The first part of the planning process is to pick out where you will be stopping! I want to go up the coast this summer with my friend Natalie. She hasn’t traveled much on the west coast. We plan to stop in San Diego, Los Angeles, Berkeley/San Francisco, Portland, Seattle and Vancouver, British Columbia. On the way back, we’ll be stopping in various places in Idaho, Nevada and Arizona as well.

The second part of planning a road trip is budgeting. Figure out how much money you’re willing to spend on gas, food and lodging. We’re both on a budget, so we’re taking a fuel efficient car, splitting gas money and sleeping on the floors of friends. If you  have more money, you can splurge for a hotel or hostel.

The third part of planning a road trip is to select the time span of the trip. Our trip is likely going to be two weeks or longer, because I can do that without a foreseeable summer job. It will give us ample time to visit with friends in each city and to explore on my own. Pick a time constraint that fits your life.

Those are the three main steps. As the trip approaches, we’ll start planning what clothing to pack based on the weather, and what local activities we can participate in.

Hope to see you on that open road!

Amanda