A spectacular view of Buttermere in the Lake District.

It shocks more than a few people that I have never been to the UK. Believe me, it’s on the list! Even though I can’t tell you anything first-hand about traveling in the UK, I fortunately have some people who can. Guest writer Amanda Andrews shows us the more rural and adventurous side of the UK in this post. Caving? Hiking? Biking? Yes!  Enjoy, and take a few ideas from Amanda. -Wandering Justin

I didn’t really know much about the English Lake District until recently. Now, it’s near the top of my must-visit list. It’s known for being one of the most picturesque areas of the country, with the quaint little towns and the stunning scenery of the famous lakes, but it’s also a haven for the adventurous. There’s an activity for every traveler.

Walking

The Lake District is time and again listed as one of the top UK destinations for hiking, or just walking as the locals call it. There’s no end to the trails and routes that you can take on a walking holiday in the area. There are trails here for every level of walker, so you can take a leisurely stroll across green fields and around the lakes. Eager for a more substantial challenge? Try The Cumbrian Way or The Coast to Coast walk, which is 191 miles long and takes you from the Irish Sea to the North Sea through three National Parks!

Biking

On two wheels is really the way to see the Lake District. The area again caters to all experience levels. Cumbria is a quiet, rural county so it’s great for travelling around on bike - you’re unlikely to be chased off the road by speeding cars, and travelling the country lanes by bike is a great way to see the real Cumbria. If you’re looking for something a little faster moving then check out one of the local bike shops and sign up for a mountain biking course, or just grab a map if you want to give it a go solo. With a combination of bridleways and man-made tracks criss-crossing the county there is something to suit everyone. From low valley trails to high mountain passes, this is the place to test your biking mettle in the UK.

Climbing

The Lake District is considered the birth place of modern mountain climbing and has been the training ground for many with Everest aspirations. It doesn’t matter if you’re a complete novice or a fully fledged crag-rat: The adventures are endless. Don’t let their modest height fool you. Many of the climbs in the Lakes are incredibly technical. And it’s not a bad idea to head out with a guiding company at first just to get the lay of the land.

If you’d rather go down than up, try caving and canyoning. Both of these give you a completely different perspective of the landscape and allow you to explore areas of the world that most people have never seen. Just one warning: Claustrophobics need not apply.

By Water

Open water swimming, canoeing, gorge walking, kayaking, wind surfing-being that the area is famous because of its lakes it isn’t surprising that water activities abound! Lake Windermere is the venue for the Great North Swim, the UK’s biggest outdoor swimming event, and holds ½ mile, 1 mile, and 2 mile events and is currently open for entries. What an amazing way to spend part of a holiday in the UK, jumping in the water with some 10, 000 other swimmers from around the world! Don’t expect tropical water temperature here though, it’s the north of England and you won’t want to hit the water here without a wet suit.

Where to Stay

Now that your appetite has been sufficiently whet, you want to know where to stay on your trip. There is no shortage of accommodation in the Lake District and there will be something for you no matter what your budget. Camping and hostelling are probably your cheapest options, though the weather in the Lakes can be a bit unpredictable so camping might not be to everyone’s taste. A great option if you’re looking for an outdoor based trip is renting a self-catering holiday cottage in the Lake District and the cost may be less than you’d expect. Splitting the cost between a group of friends can really cut down the individual cost and if you’re looking for a really great deal then travelling in the off season can save masses. Web cottages are an online holiday cottage rental agent with independently owned cottages throughout the UK and Ireland and are a great option if you’re looking for Lake District cottages.

All of this makes the Lake District a must-see location on my next trip to the UK. The area is ideally located to stop at when you’re doing a trip around the little island of Britain, it’s just north of Liverpool and Wales and not too far from the Scottish border. If it’s as good as it sounds I think a holiday in the Lakes won’t soon be forgotten.

Amanda enjoys traveling and has traveled extensively both in the UK and abroad. Amanda writes regular travel articles for Web Cottages and its partners, including blogging about interesting travel news/stories when they crop up. Her experience traveling and excellent ability to research means her articles are both informative and enjoyable.

This post is featured by Web Cottages. 

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You'll see more than a few of these at South Mountain.

I have mixed feelings about Ahwatukee, Ariz.

On one hand, it’s a dense cluster of red-tile-roofed McMansions. It’s the sort of place where people drive to yoga classes in gas-guzzling SUV. It marinates in suburban blandness.

On the other hand, it is the main access point to the 16,000-acre South Mountain Park. And it’s by far one of the Phoenix area’s best outdoor amenities. It’s riddled with trails for hikers and mountain bikers.

My favorite is the Desert Classic and its various spurs and offshoots. It’s easy to put in a 20-mile ride that never stops being fun. Fast and flowing, with the occasional rock garden. Sometimes, you’ll even glimpse a rattlesnake trailside. Be careful out there, especially in spring and fall! They love the shade from creosote bushes. (Find out more about dealing with a rattlesnake encounter.)

There are some swooping turns where you can countersteer, dig in and lean your bike way over at high speed. There are some sandy sections, so you’ll want to be

Really, the only downside is that everyone knows it’s awesome. So the trails are often crowded, and not everyone has good trail manners. On my last ride, though, I was tickled to see a mom and dad teaching their under-10 son and daughter the mountain biking ropes. Both kids were doing a fine job on the trails.

As always, water is mandatory (I could say this about helmets, too, but that really ought to go without saying). And snacks are a smart idea, too.

What about after the ride? Get out of Awhatukee and get something tasty in your belly. Nearby Tempe has plenty of restaurants. Post-ride, though, I’d lean toward the Cornish Pasty Company.

Mtbikeaz.com has a great Desert Classic map.

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Comments

• May 5, 2011, Tom @ HeadingThere writes: Hey Justin, great post. It is remarkable how many great natural resources there can be right on the doorsteps of the cities we live in or visit. I live in the city centre of Leeds, right next to the canal. I can get on my bike from here and be on car free trails all the way to Liverpool!
• May 9, 2011, WanderingJustin writes: Thank you, Tom! That canal trail system sounds pretty slick. I love stuff like that. I wonder what sort of history surrounds those trails ...

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Right, mates ... who's up for some hell walkin'?

When Sarah and I were in Australia, we met a traveler from Ireland. She was single, in her late 20s, active.

She told us about all the trouble she was having getting other lone travelers to hike with her.

Well, she didn’t actually say “hike.” That’s not the Irish vernacular for “stomping around in the dirt in big boots.” For our Irish buddy, that’s known as “hill walkin‘.”

Wandering Justin shows us how to tramp.

So she was probably scaring everyone away with the threat of walking into Beelzebub’s own nature preserve.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to witness any such mix-ups in New Zealand. There, “hiking”/”hillwalking” is known as … wait for it … tramping! Yes, you and your best friend can spend weeks tramping around New Zealand.

You can make what you will of the phrase Australians use … bushwalking!

“Trekking” is another word that’s common for long-distance hiking. But really, it’s nowhere near as fun as these others.

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Comments

• February 10, 2011, MikeM writes: Hi Justin. Interestingly enough I stumbled on your post thanks to the mention of the word 'tramping'. It makes it nice n' easy to program a Google Blog alert for mentions of the NZ outdoors. To be honest the only strange looks I've ever had about the word 'tramping' have come from Americans. :) With a few exceptions, it's nearly always used to describe overnight or longer trips, which are common here. If I wasn't staying somewhere overnight, I'd usually call it a daywalk, or maybe just a walk depending on the details. I think the word actually has a German origin, although the exact origin seems a bit unclear. We discussed it a while back in a thread over here.
• February 10, 2011, MikeM writes: Oh, and since shifting to Australia a month ago I've found the terminology here completely new. They use 'bushwalking' as you mentioned, but anything longer than a day seems to be a 'pack carry'. Clubs also really like the term 'base camp', which seems to be setting up a camp somewhere and then going out for daywalks before returning to camp.
• February 10, 2011, WanderingJustin writes: Thanks for dropping by! I have to say there is no place better for overnight and longer trips than NZ. My wife and I want to come back with our tent and hit the Tongariro area again along with a few others. And you don't have to worry about all the poisonous/venomous/hungry creatures like in Australia or here in Arizona where we live! I'll have to check out your thread. I'm always up for hearing slang/terminology from other countries. And yeah, tramping means something entirely different to us :D! It's a bit dated, something my grandma would say, but still good for a laugh!

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This is one of the coolest mountains I've ever seen.

There’s a magnificent mountain in the distance. I can see spires and steep slopes. It looks like the ruined castle of an evil wizard.

It’s mezmerizing. I want to go to it. It’s called Kristínartindar. It’s spectacular. But it’s too far away – soon, a bus will pull up in Skaftafell to haul us off to Vik. We’re a bit low on food and water. If we were fully loaded, I’d head straight there.

When we return to Iceland, this will be a major point of the trip. We’ll come back with our camp stove and enough food for a few more days hanging out in Skaftafell. And we’ll go to Kristínartindar. Oh, yes. But as it was, we just finished a loop of about six miles.

The cheery Skaftafell campground.

Before Kristinartindar came into view, we stopped at the famous Svartifoss waterfall (foss = waterfall). Its basalt columns inspired the architecture of the Hallgrimskirkja (kirkja = church, and klaustur = convent) that’s such a landmark in Reykjavik. It’s pretty and picturesque, and relatively empty for a place that’s in every guidebook.

We folded the tent, repacked and boarded the bus to Vik (which means bay).

Us at Svartifoss.

It’s a fairly quick shot to Vik, which is home to about 300 people. We have a room at the Hotel Lundi (lundi = puffin). It’s here that I accomplished another major goal of my trip: eating hákarl! This word means “shark,” and it’s pronounced “howker.” I have an entire post dedicated just to the next five minutes of my trip, and you should read about it and watch it.

The cliffs and church near Vik.

We walk the town a bit, and have a fairly greasy roadside meal. Vik is a small town, after all! The black sand beach is a site to see, along with rocky spires in the ocean a few miles away. The sun often pokes out of the clouds, but it’s very windy. And the mountains are ridiculously beautiful.

We return to the hotel. I fall asleep while reading, and Sarah slips out to poke around a bit.

She rousts me at about 9 p.m. with the sun shining brightly, promising puffins and some sort of hobbit house.

We gamely trudge up the side of a mountain. It’s steep, and it’s about to get windy. But first, the hobbit house. You could easily miss it. It looks like a mound of grass-covered dirt with a door lying on it. And a smokestack popping out. Unfortunately, it’s locked and nobody’s home. I’d love to see inside!

It's a hobbit house!

We get to the top of the mountain, which is completely flat. There are trails everywhere, including one to the other side. The wind was absolutely howling up there, effortlessly blowing us around and making it hard to even walk like a normal human.

The daylight would last, but our energy was on the wane. So we headed back down for a good stretch of sleep (my watch said it was night, but I wasn’t buying a word of it).

Tomorrow … back to Reykjavik.

10 p.m. in Vik. No, that's not a typo.

Three sisters in Vik.

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Comments

• February 2, 2011, Katielizabethawkes@gmail.com writes: i want to live in that hobbit house!!
• February 2, 2011, admin writes: I think you might have to arrange something with Sarah - she was ready to move in, too!

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This is a look I call "Blue Steele"

I was hanging around having a hot dog at the Weenie Wagon; then I heard the phrase of the day from a guy who works at Sunday Cycles in Phoenix:

“I felt like I was getting seasick!”

It might sound like a complaint, but it wasn’t. Having just finished the 20-mile bike course of the Third-Annual McDowell Sonoran Challenge, I knew what he meant. The course is filled with big rollers made by years of use from off-road motorcycles. They’re part of what makes the trail network running through the McDowell Sonoran Preserve and bits of State Trust Land one of the best outdoor recreational sites in Scottsdale.

Big Bumps, Lots of Challenge

Yes, this madman's ready to rock a unicycle!

But boy, there was an awful lot of these rollers. How many? So many that I often had a hard time finding a long-enough stretch of trail to drink from a water bottle or slurp down an energy gel. Each time I took a gel, I’d wind up riding for a few minutes with a half-empty package of Chocolate Outrage-flavored Gu clenched in my teeth, waiting for a chance to finish it off.

And that is better than riding flat, straight, way-too-wide trails. This was real desert mountain biking, with the occasional steep pitch and super-hard turn. There was also so much sand that I suspected David Hasselhoff and Pamela Anderson were course volunteers – not so much fun, but that’s mountain biking for ya.

Numero Uno Cinco Cinco

I also loved the really complete, thorough, clear trail markings. I was never in danger of veering off-course. Gotta love that! After the race, the expo area was not the usual explosion of commercial hoopla – just a few vendor tents and people hanging out. I also liked the swag bags. My favorite bits were the t-shirt with the event logo and the reusable shopping bag with the McDowell Sonoran Conservancy (the event was a fundraiser for the conservancy, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving open spaces as part of the McDowell Sonoran Preserve).

Nice scenery

Smart Set-up at the Starting Line

The starting area was pretty cool. There were chutes for each event. Course marshals asked everybody to do a reality check and line up accordingly – that prevent fast people from getting stuck behind the newbies. Good thing, since it’s a narrow course without a lot of room to pass! Another great idea: Riders “launched” in a fashion similar to a time trial. Two riders would leave every 10 seconds. It really prevented the angst, drama and frustration of a mass start.

Here’s what I can’t figure out: There’s a place in the plaza where organizers had the expo called Rare Earth Wine and Coffee Bar. I had an hour to kill before the race started, and I locked onto the words “Coffee Bar,” anticipating a nice americano to warm me up. But no – Rare Earth is apparently far too leisurely to be up at 8 a.m. Not until 11 a.m. most days, and 4 p.m. on Sunday. Huh?

Questionable for all the right reasons.

Other Stuff

I guess it was a show of solidarity for people doing cool things for outdoor recreation and preserving open space: Rand Hubbell, supervisor of McDowell Mountain Regional Park, was out spreading the word.

Without meaning to, I’ve put together an unprecedented-for-me streak: I’ve done three races in the past few months: The McDowell Dust Devil series race, the Four Peaks12 Hours in the Papago and the McDowell Sonoran Challenge. And I’ll be in the Kona 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo later this month. That’s a lot of racing in a short time … for me, anyway!

See results for the Third Annual McDowell Sonoran Challenge

.

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• February 2, 2011, Sarah writes: Well, you are incredibly ridiculously good looking.
• February 3, 2011, admin writes: Well, there's more to life than being really, really, ridiculously good-looking. I don't know what that is, but I'm going to find out!

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Landmannalaugar in all its unearthly glory.

Alright, so it’s nearly the end of the first month of 2011. And guess who hasn’t said jack about his Best of 2010? That’s right … this guy right here. That ends today. Here’s what I’ve got from this most awesome year of traveling, adventuring and blogging!

One of the advanced students moves through a kata (I believe this Craig)

One of these days, I'll be photogenic in a racing photo.

Best Race: The Midnaeturhlaup – This was a good year for racing, beginning with the Kona 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo. But it’s the Reykjavik Midnaeturhlaup that takes top honors. Find out how awesome it is to run a 10K and then hang out in hot tubs with your fellow racers – all long after Jay Leno would’ve signed off!

Best Skiing: Breckenridge – I’ve fallen hard for Breckenridge. It’s big, pretty and filled with absolutely sweet runs. But it’s also got more for it. Find out all the cool things about skiing at Breckenridge – especially the crepes!

Hawaiian Airlines - Doing social media right.

Best Twitter Accounts: There’s more to succeeding with social media than just setting up a Twitter account and tweeting about your sales. ExOfficio, Hawaiian Airlines and First Ascent are three companies that get it. They interact with followers and make their companies seem fun and committed to what they do. I’ll give the best government twitter to Maricopa County Parks – talk about getting people fired up about local outdoor recreation!

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Comments

• January 31, 2011, Erica at ExOfficio writes: Thank you so much for the kudos!
• January 31, 2011, admin writes: You are welcome, Erica. A good social media presence really makes it a lot easier for me to support a company. Great source of info, of course, and a great way to build a relationship. ExOfficio is doing it right!

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Sarah and Dokna in the pseudocrater field near Kirkjubaejarklaustur.

Dokna could easily allow herself to be the world’s saddest dog. She loves sticks – but some cruel twist of fate has put her in Kirkjubae – jarklaustur, Iceland.

Klaustur, as it’s often called, has as many sticks as Arizona has native species of whales. Trees? The people at the Hotel Laki Efri-Vik where Dokna lives have planted some, but that’s about it. They rarely shed branches. Those that fall to the ground are limp and perhaps a bit unsatisfying. When she does find a stick, she bounces side-to-side on her front paws until you throw it for her. This happens often enough to keep her happy.

Dokna – whose name I am probably misspelling and is the Icelandic word for “Spot” – also amuses herself by latching onto hotel guests and walking around with them.

Sarah finds the remains of an old hut and ducks out of the wind.

She saw us and probably thought, “yes, a nice trot around them lake!” Six miles of exploring the pseudocrater landscape later, she curled up on her territory for a well-earned rest. She will long carry the memory of the two people who marched with her through the landscape – and even found some sheep-rib bones to throw for her to fetch. This made Dokna one happy dog, even though she concluded that the two people looking for the hollowed-out mound in the crater field were certifiably crazy.

Well, we had calories to burn from the usual huge Icelandic breakfast spread: rye bread, herring, cheese spread, jam, cheese. Good fuel for marching around this bizarre landscape of spires, bubbles, dips and spongy grass. We never found the elusive hollow crater, but we found what might’ve been the remains of an ancient shepherd’s hideout.

It's a weird landscape ... and Dokna is getting tired.

We were headed to the area near Skaftafell National Park. So we gave Dokna a final scratch between the ears, got a lift to Klaustur and headed to the Guesthouse Frost and Fire in Hof. There’s not much to Hof – a small village, a sod-roofed church straight out of a fantasy novel, some guest houses. The Frost and Fire is clean and comfortable. It also serves up a tasty dinner of lamb for people just a few days into their trip with already a generous number of miles on their legs.

Tomorrow is yet another one of those days that Sarah and I have anticipated like kids before Christmas: It’s glacier day.

Because of Franz Josef Glacier in New Zealand, glaciers are now a focal point of our travel. We pore through guide books and websites looking for chances to set foot on a glacier.

And tomorrow, we find out what an Icelandic glacier is like.

Vatnajokull in the background, pseudocraters in the foreground.

Sheep on the loose! Yes, Dokna will attempt to herd them.

The mountains near Hof.

The road to Hof ... check out that landscape.

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A valley on our way to Kirkjubaejarklaustur.

Wandering Justin’s Note: I’m woefully behind in my Iceland travel diary. No time like the present to start getting caught up!

I’m on a bus. It’s sliding backwards down a steep, muddy slope. Toward a drop-off, naturally.

I rarely think about my mortality. This is one of those times.

We slide to a stop before the precipice.

The driver drops into the lowest gear and guns the engine. And our backward slide resumes after we gain just a few feet.

Fat raindrops splatter against the bus. Droplets of mud have kicked up everywhere and obscured the view on the windows.

The driver halts are backwards descent again. If not for his nonchalance, I’d probably fetch my backpack and start walking. He produces a shovel from nowhere, Bugs Bunny-style, and gets out of the bus. I hear the shovel working against the ground.

View from the cliffs near our "rest area"

I weigh the options. I have little idea where we are – just that we’re somewhere in Iceland’s highland interior. It’s devoid of life and unforgiving. I only see the occasional incomprehensible sign. I have my GPS receiver, but that can only tell me where I am and where I’ve been – not where I’m going.

I decide to trust this bus-driving madman.

He climbs back into the bus wordlessly. He starts the engine. Guns the throttle. We move. We come to the trouble spot. We slip ever so slightly. The air pressure in the bus seems to drop. Finally, the wheels take hold of the slimy, sodden ground. I finally exhale as we crest the hill. We have a brief stop near a river, and everyone gets out for a brief hike (with the Europeans grabbing a chance to smoke). The rest of the trip to Kirkjubaejarklaustur is uneventful.
Our day started early, I think. It’s tough to tell in Iceland’s late June – especially when the overcast has yet to break. We woke inside a tent, unable to tell the time of day. We broke camp before the rain could return. And we retraced our path from the previous day – about eight miles encompassing endless fields of obsidian, rhyolite mountains, banks of snow dusted with ashfall from the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull, fumaroles venting volcanic gas into the air. The word “surreal” is the best description. It’s the vista of an unformed planet.

We see absolutely no people until the last mile before returning to the Landmannalaugar trailhead. There, we eat

The Hotel Laki Efri-Vik

some MRE rations and wait for the bus that would take us southeast. The day gets colder and rainier. If you visit Iceland, bring your rain gear. It’s a must.

I’ve really lost track of time throughout the bus ride.

The sun emerges just after we arrive in Kirkjubaejarklaustur. Sarah and I finally get a hold of the Hotel Laki Efri-Vik. The manager comes to pick us up to drive us the three miles from the bus stop. She’s pleasant, but perfunctory. There’s a certain stoicism to many Icelanders 40

The hotel's friendly dog-at-large - with bits of Vatnajokull ice cap in the background.

and up, it seems. It’s rare to get much more than a já (pronounced “yow”) followed by a short sentence from her.
The drive gives us time to assess the terrain. The entire local landmass formed when a massive sheet of lava flowed into water, creating a seemingly never-ending slab of steam explosion craters and peaked bubbles. Only hardy scrub grass seems to thrive. There are few trees.

We arrive at a very Scandinavian-looking structure and check into our room. Then, there’s the shower to scrub the mud away. Dinner comes next, followed by a walk to and around a nearby pond. As we head toward the pond, a cheerful dog trots up to us. She’s not much interested in petting, but she gamely poses for photos with the Vatnajökull ice cap in the background.

We finish our walk. And then it’s time for the kind of sleep that comes from hiking more than 16 miles in 24 hours, sleeping on obsidian-covered ground and eating backpacking rations.

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• January 7, 2011, Katie Hawkes writes: i'm about 90% sure you made up the name of that city/place by pounding on your keyboard...
• January 7, 2011, admin writes: Ha, ha! You're close ... the cat jumped on the keyboard!

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This summit took several days to reach and is still the most beautiful view I have ever seen.

I’ve got a friend with a chip on his shoulder against the outdoors. He just wants to crab about sleeping on the ground, not having his TV and possibly being slightly less comfortable than usual.

“If the outdoors are so great,” he always says, “why did we invent the indoors?”

I figured nobody could answer this question better than my friend Addy from DressedInDirt.com. And it turns out, she’s had the same question from a reader!

Over to you, Addy, for your first-ever WanderingJustin.com guest blog! (Oh, yeah … Addy also supplied the photos. And go visit her at DressedInDirt.com!)

Dear Addy,

You write a lot about your time in nature. What I want to know is, if the outdoors are so great, how come we invented the indoors?

- Michael from Tellico Plains, TN

Dear Michael,

That is a great question with a simple answer. Why did we invent the indoors?

We needed somewhere to put our TVs. It’s true. It’s very hard to find an outlet in the woods and the reception is terrible. Plus all of the bugs flock to the screen at night, making it very difficult to watch a Star Trek marathon (Captain Janeway represent).

Prepare to be hunted by mosquitos!

There are other reasons we created the indoors, namely: We wanted to avoid getting eaten. If at all possible. As it turns out, man flesh is rather tasty, and there were a number of sharp-teethed carnivores hoping for a bite. With the invention of the indoors, we were able to create locks that are very difficult for tigers and to pick.

There are some fringe benefits to the creation of the indoors. Without the indoors, how would our parents say, “As long as you are under my roof, you’ll wear a dress on Sunday, young lady.” There would be no roof to be under and parents would lose a serious bargaining chip. Children might start eating desert before dinner.

With all of the benefits of the indoors, it might seem like the outdoors don’t have a lot to offer. Not true. The outdoors are wonderful because we need to take a break from Captain Picard sometimes. I know. Scary but true. Being in the woods burns away distractions. All of the noise that has cluttered up our brain, all of the mental flotsam, fades away.

Here’s how it happens. The first night outside you are only mildly annoyed that you can’t find the show you were looking for. The second night you start breaking out in a cold sweat and talking to yourself. By the third night you have fashioned a remote out of mud and tree branches, and you anxiously press the power button as you rock yourself to sleep. And then your TV withdrawal is over. You wake up the next morning not missing it and never look back.

Reader: I can only get outside for weekends. I don’t have time to make it through the withdrawal process.

Addy: I’m a bit of a Trekkie, so the withdrawal may take a little longer for me. I believe other people go through it a little faster.

Back to the topic at hand. Being in the woods also gives us certain freedoms. Have you peed outside? It’s pretty amazing. We get to make our own rules. How long should I hike today? As far as I want to. Can we eat pudding before breakfast? Yes, we can.

Oh yeah, there is also that thing about being somewhere beautiful, and how this opens up your heart and your chest and allows you to breathe more deeply. This is incredibly meaningful to me, but I don’t want to overstate it. Don’t be fooled by people who only talk about being in the woods in a positive way. After I went on a 2 month backpacking trip, I had a friend say to me, “Was it just wonderful spending all of that time communing with nature?”

Communing with nature? I wanted to tell her that being outside is sometimes like a no holds barred wrestling match, cause nature doesn’t play fair. You end up with blood on your shins, poison ivy on your ass, and a stomach full of viruses. Call me Captain Ahab, but sometimes that mountain is out to get you.

Which brings me to the final benefit of being outside: you get to enjoy a challenge. You can drive to a lookout and see a great view, but watching the sunset from the top of a mountain you’ve climbed is something you will remember for the rest of your life. When it’s cost you something, when you’ve really had to earn it, seeing something beautiful makes you feel like a part of nature and not someone looking in from the outside. This is both awe-inspiring and empowering.

So get outside and enjoy all of the beauty and challenges nature has to offer. You may find that you don’t even miss your TV. If you do, there is another invention of the indoors, tivo, that will let you have the best of both worlds.

So there you have it! And I, Wandering Justin, would also add that The Great Outdoors inspired the filming of a hysterical John Candy movie. All “The Great Indoors” ever gave us is a mega-chain store full of houseware. Who wins? Obviously anything affiliated with John Candy!

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• December 27, 2010, Hey, I wrote that | Dressed in Dirt writes: [...] I wanted to write a guest post for his blog. I felt so honored. Here’s what I came up with: If the outdoors are so great, why did we invent the indoors? If you check it out, you should page through Justin’s blog, there is some great stuff there. [...]
• January 3, 2011, Preston writes: Great post. I agree completely that great memories are earned. You will always remember the view from the places you worked hardest to get to. Even the hardships turn into good memories, or at the very least, good stories.
• January 26, 2011, Best of Travel, Adventure and Blogging 2010 – Wandering Justin.com writes: [...] good advice and even better humor. Go read Dressed In Dirt before your first/next backpacking trip! She also did a rockin’ guest post on Wandering Justin.com about why humans invented the indoors if the outdoors are so [...]
• February 7, 2011, Ｄａｎ writes: I'm pretty sure John Candy did some films that were largely set indoors... ;) Cool blog.

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A look up the Rusty Angel Trail at Deem Hills.

There’s not much in the way of hiking and biking trails west of I-17 in Phoenix. That’s bad news for hikers and mountain bikers living in that area.

That makes the opening of Deem Hills Recreation Area, a great piece of news for people wandering around Phoenix, right? Right?

Um, maybe.

First, a small group of litigious homeowners halted trail construction for a few months, as reported in The Arizona Republic. Fortunately, a Superior Court judge didn’t buy their argument (“The suit claimed the building of trails violates Environmentally Sensitive Development Areas Policies Design Guidelines and the city’s own Trail Management practices and procedures,” wrote Republic reporter Betty Reid.).

Conversations with some hikers on the trail convinced me those arguments are a smokescreen: What really had the plaintiffs POd was:

1. They could see the trails from their backyard, a sad reminder that they’re not in an exclusive enclave but rather in a sea of tile roofs.

A Google Earth Views of Deem Hills and my routes.

2. They’re worried that trail users might be able to see into their yards.

Hmm. I drove about 30 minutes from central Phoenix to ride the Deem Hills trails for the first time. At no point did I peer into the yards of homes flanking the south side of the park.

You see, I was a little busy TRYING TO STAY ON THE TRAIL AND NOT WRAP MYSELF AROUND A CACTUS OR THREE!

Seriously, I’d love to know what these lawsuit-happy nabobs are doing in their backyard that has them so worried? Perhaps they’ve mistaken themselves for celebrities – they’ve forgotten that they are Joe and Ethel Suburb, and thus of little interest to the outdoor lovers enjoying the park.

Everyone I encountered on the trails was friendly, hikers and bikers alike. Many said it was their first time on the trails. But one of my talks with the hikers disturbed me: I mentioned that I saw some room for improvement on the trails.

A look at the trails in the hillside at Deem Hills.

“We don’t want it too nice,” she said. “We just live over in the neighborhood.”

In other words, “let’s prevent this amenity from rising above mediocrity so that I won’t experience any inconvenience.” And make no mistake about it: the trails at Deem Hills are merely OK. You can find out more in my review at Examiner.com. They’re not the best nor the worst – and they’re a huge score for West Valley mountain bikers, who will get some great training on the many climbs in the park.

The area is a bit unusual because it seems to be one of the few spots in the Valley of obvious volcanic origin. The park is littered with large black volcanic bombs. I’d definitely be curious to know more about its geology from those in the know. I’d have to guess the hills are heavily eroded cinder cones. I also spotted some agate-like minerals strewn here and there.

As for the controversy, let’s hope this is also the end of the legal drama and that the “don’t look in my backyard” NIMBY crowd gets over itself in all due haste.

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• August 14, 2011, Anonymous writes: It's a nice hike. We need more hiking areas to escape the rat in a cage feeling, being surrounded by so many match box 'UGLY' homes. If more people were encouraged to hike there would be less vilance, less super fat kids, less lazy people (Ones that drive to their mail box). If I happen to look in someone's back yard, it's only to marvel how such amazing landscape is trashed by these ugly tiny houses. What a crime! Every gorgeous area with mountains is ruined by houses with owners that protest about people enjoying the great outdoors. How can we nature lovers let that happen so easily!

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