When
Monday, 2015-04-20
Where
TwoBit Peak, from the 40th St Trailhead
Duration
1 hour
Notable
Second consecutive day I saw a man operating an RC car on the trail
Today, I present a video of people jumping into cacti. Enjoy!
Thursday, April 23, 2015
Monday, April 20, 2015
Hike #29: Birds
When
Sunday, 2015-04-19
Where
TwoBit Peak, from the 40th St Trailhead
Duration
1 hour
Notable
Saw a cyclist coast in to the Trailhead with no chain on his bike
Today I marveled at a cactus wren, which rasped from atop a saguaro, then, perhaps just to show off, flew to and alighted on an ocotillo.
If you follow that first link, be sure to watch till the end.
Hike #28: Bees
When
Monday, 2015-04-13
Where
Flat trails, from the 40st Trailhead
Duration
1 hour
Notable
Lots of bees and flies
Are other springs in the Sonoran as populated with flying insects as this year's? I don't remember the bees being as numerous in years past, but I never hiked as much as this year, so it might be only my new perspective. Looking down from the hills, I see countless palo verdes, each one having spawned a galaxy of yellow flowers, each tree visited by dozens-if-not-hundreds of bees at any given time in the afternoon. I doubt I can convey to readers how loud and ubiquitous the buzzing is.
Today I noticed for the first time mesquite blooms, called catkins, but they may as well be called “pollen sticks” for their appearance. The mesquites growing in the washes seemed the only plant to attract more bees than the palo verdes.
Fun trivia: Mesquites are legumes—hence the bean pods they produce. As such, mesquites fix nitrogen into the soil. And the beans are edible.
Sunday, April 19, 2015
Hike #27: 5th annual LMI
When
Sunday, 2015-04-13
Where
South Mountain, from 43rd Ave to the “Big Ramada”
Duration
1 hour
Notable
5th annual Laura Matera Invitational
Trivia question: Who coined the name “Laura Matera Invitational?“
Hint: It was the one person who still reads Just Enough Craig.
Hike #26: Tax computation
When
Saturday, 2015-04-11
Where
Piestewa Peak, via the Summit Trail
Duration
1½ hours
Notable
First sighting of saguaro blooms this year
Tax laws are complicated, but IRS forms and worksheets are not. Each line comprises a single, simple step. E.g., add two numbers together and write down the sum; or, compare two numbers and write down the smaller; or, check whether a number is less than zero, and, if so, skip to line such-and-such. And so on.
Such single-step simplicity is strikingly similar to how computer software works at its lowest level, in assembly languages, where the software meets the hardware. And all software, no matter how abstract and fuzzy, is built on top of assembly code.
It turns out IRS forms and worksheets use the same three basic building blocks as software.
- Sequence. After completing a step, go to the next step.
- Condition. Do X if such-and-such is true, otherwise do Y.
- Branch. Go to such-and-such step instead of the next step.
As far as I can tell, IRS forms and worksheets are limited in only one fundamental way that software is not. An IRS form or worksheet never branches to a previous line, whereas software often branches to a previous instruction. Backwards branching is what makes looping possible, such as repeating the same sequence of instructions a thousand times, or to continue doing the same sequence until a calculated value becomes zero.
There's no technical reason stopping the IRS from using backwards branching in their forms or worksheets—only lack of need. Good thing, too. Who wants to get stuck in an infinite loop calculating their taxes?
Hike #25: LMI prep run
When
Wednesday, 2015-04-08
Where
TwoBit Peak, from the 40th St Trailhead
Duration
1 hour
Notable
Saw the Aravaipa running group
For today's hike, I ran more than I walked, and, no, bees weren't involved. Instead, I was preparing for the upcoming Laura Matera Invitational this Sunday.
After volunteering for the event three of its four years, my wife informed me that this year it's my turn to run. Once again I'll run the LMI in my Five Fingers shoes, which last time proved bloody tough. Literally. My feet bled through my shoes.
This year I expect better results.
Sunday, April 5, 2015
Hike #24: Hot and sunny
When
Sunday, 2015-04-05
Where
Shadow Mountain, from the 28th St Trailhead
Duration
½ hour
Notable
First four-hike week since the
first week of the year
Third day in a row testing the new shoes—this time a road run past Alice Cooper's Thrift Store, to the 28th St Trailhead. I taped the backs of my heels to protect against chafing.
Shadow Mountain is a proving ground for shoe grippiness. The trail isn't a real trail and so lacks adequate engineering; the trail goes straight up the mountain at a steep grade instead of switchbacking, and it's covered in loose rocks that thwart hikers in a hurry with mini avalanches at each step. The Five Fingers passed the test, and proved better than sneakers, maybe a little less grippy than regular hiking shoes.
Hike #23: Shaw Butte
When
Saturday, 2015-04-04
Where
Shaw Butte, from the Central Ave parking lot
Duration
1 hour
Notable
First time up Shaw Butte this year
I'm still breaking in my feet for the new Five Fingers trail runners. Other than the chafing at the backs of my heels—which is temporary—these shoes are awesome. My previous experiences hiking and running trails in Five Fingers haven't gone well—we're talking blood and bruises here—but these new shoes have thicker soles that seem to give just enough projection when traversing the sharp, jagged rocks common to the Sonoran Desert. And the rubber is almost as grippy as a regular hiking shoe.
Hike #22: New shoes
When
Friday, 2015-04-03
Where
Trail #8, from the 40th St Trailhead
Duration
1 hour
Notable
First bee sting this year
Today's hike was an out-and-back along Trail #8, to its highest point, which is a small mountain pass with a big chunk of quartz just below. My mission was to test out my new Five Fingers trail runners. Mission accomplished.
The new shoes work well, though I'm glad I chose a shorter and easier hike than usual. The shoes chafed the backs of my heels, but they hadn't caused any lasting damage to the skin by the time I returned to the parking lot. Can't say the same about the bee sting. The sting was a savage attack, and my forehead is still smarting, two days later. Next time I won't stand so close to the beehive.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)