I planted Saguaros from seed this evening. It is my second try at it. Despite giving off 250,000 seeds each year, the high protein seeds rarely are given a chance to germinate.

The oft photographed out-crop on Camelback. This was in the late autumn evening.

Went up Camelback Mountain after work. It is still over 100F in the late evening and the climb is a strong vertical one. It is a popular hike even during the week.
Last year as my marriage obviously broke down I would travel out to Harpers Ferry in West Virginia and hike the mountain trails. It got me out of the house for several hours, left me to my own thoughts, and placed me in a very beautiful natural environment.

Sunrise over the McDowell Ranges

In Virginia you have to travel to a trailhead. They are not close, being generally outside of the suburbs by forty five minutes to several hours. Phoenix is the opposite. The trails are integrated into the city itself; whether Camelback, Squaw Peak or South Mountain. The northern mountain range is the McDowell's. (more)
I went up Squaw Peak as a late evening walk on Sunday night. Since summer is here now the days are getting longer and longer, so a 6.30 hike on of the city walks is not a big deal.

But even with the brighter evening the police choppers did a run across the mountain to make sure the weekend hikers were ok and no-one was stuck, or had fallen. This happens occasionally; just last weekend a hiker fell off one of the Papago Buttes and died. It was in a difficult enough spot that the body could not be recovered until the next day when the sun rose again. (more)
Phoenix has city hikes which are large out crops of rock in the city and its surrounding suburbs. They are now public land and an entwined part of the culture to hike them. Camelback and Squaw Peak are the most vertical of the city hikes. They are tough.

It has been nine months since I was separated though I am still not divorced yet. I started to refocus on the my fitness and body in August of last year; partly to take my mind off what was happening, but also the fear that I may not be competitive if I had to go on the singles market again. Since then I have dropped my body fat to below 12% and now look like I did in my early twenties.

I did Squaw Peak this morning and after nine months of gym/fitness training I have pretty much conquered it. I went up it fast without a loss in stride or over-laborious breathing. (more)
Cam Riley: South Sea Republic. Freedom, liberty, equity and an Australian Republic.