Ruben had been asking for me to take him on a hike, so we decided to do that the day after Thanksgiving. Because, you know, that’s when half of the entire population of the city of Phoenix decides to hit the trail. What could possibly be better?
The hike we chose was in South Mountain Park (which was more jammed up with people than the aisles of Costco on a Saturday). Naturally, we wanted to see the natural tunnel, fat man’s pass, and hidden valley, which are the three most popular destinations in the park. No crowds here, no-sir-ee. Nonetheless, we had a lot of fun, and saw a lot of pretty. Sadly, we did not get a picture of fat man’s pass.
Also, I got to give my new compass (a Silva Expidition Neo S) a try. Sadly, I lost my trusty Brunton compass on my previous backpack misadventure. The new compass is easy to use and, I’d say a bit of an upgrade from my old Brunton. Funny thing was, I had several hiking misfits, who were using an app on their phone to see where they were, ask me if I needed directions when they saw me working with my map and compass. If only they knew…
