Weekend of Hike

I got out 3 times in a row this weekend. Sunday I did a 12 mile hike to Black Top Mesa. This destination has become one of my favorite places after seeing it a second time. The top is very green and grassy this time of year. Very dramatic views from the top as well. Yesterday I did a quick hike with Dan on the Boulder Canyon trail in the Superstition mountains. And then today I mostly just piddled around the area south of the Gila River and east of Florence, AZ. I did a small part of the South Butte trail. Afterwards, I lazed by the river reading a book.

Where's the Ending?

So I just finished the book "The Name of the Wind". From all accounts online, its a hugely successful fantasy book by a new author. Without a doubt, the story told amazed me and pulled me in. However the book had no end, not even a faked one. At best it ends as book 1 of 3. Written in 2007, the author still hasn't finished the next one in the series. In checking his blog its clear that he has lost his mind, much as George R R Martin has. This seems to be a huge trend with 'successful' books from what I can tell. Look at the Wheel of Time series. At least Robert Jordan kept turning them out, but he dragged in on for over twice as many books as originally planned and then died before finishing. The Sword of Truth series by Robert Goodkind follows a similar path of unending books. His story stopped advancing after the first book in the series, though, and he just kept repeating the same story over and over in each book. Stephen King and The Dark Tower had similar issues, not finished and then later he crapped out an ending series of books for it.

To me a book should tell a story, and a story should have an ending of some sort. I see some fans get mad at the authors for doing this sort of thing, but I can't blame authors for being money grubbing leeches, urged on by nothing resembling an artistic drive. What I would appreciate is a warning label of sorts on the book. This warning should be something like "Warning: this story does not end in this book or in the next 10+ books. The author went cracked/died/gave up after the first few, so really it will never end properly."

Hike around the Pass

I went up to Usery Mountain Park, AZ on Monday to do the Pass Mountain loop hike. It was about 7.5 miles total, without much elevation change. I listened to a sweet audio book, "The Name of the Wind" during the hike. I've never taken an audio book along with me before on a hike and found it to be quite enjoyable. Originally I had planned on doing something a bit longer, but didn't plan ahead enough and left too later for much more than I did. I'd like to get in another 12+ mile hike soon, though.

A Long Hike

Its been quite awhile since I've done a hike of any significant distance. I went out and did the 12 mile loop around Weaver's Needle yesterday. I got started a bit too late to really enjoy the hike, though. I had to push the entire time to make sure I got back before sunset (which I did arrive back at my car right at sunset). On the plus side, I didn't have any problem doing 12 miles and am not very sore the next day from it. I need to get out and do some more long hikes, but with some actual time to sit down and look at the landscape next time.

New Years BBQ

Had a bit of a game day and BBQ on New Years again this year. It was a bit smaller group, so a little easier to prepare for. I also only did the meat, sauce, and buns this year and had other people bring add ons. Things went smoothly and I enjoyed the day. In other news I started playing Warhammer Fantasy a month or so ago. I have my Vampire Counts army mostly painted now, just the heroes are left. I am now interested in a new game called Malifaux, which looks to be a fun skirmish level game. I am going to try and get out on a hike today as the weather is nice and its been awhile since I've had the chance to go.

Fall Hiking

Well I missed the entire summer hiking season for some reason. I just couldn't seem to get motivated to drive out anywhere to go hiking. I've been spending a ton of time on Warhammer 40k and a bit on Lord of the Rings. On Monday I drove up to Mormon Lake, AZ. This is located about 11 miles east of Mund's Park, which is on I-17 on the way up to Flagstaff. The area is quite pretty, with fairly dense forests. The lake itself was mostly dry. Weather felt quite nice, it was in the 60's with a good wind going. Really felt like fall. Hike itself was about 6 miles round trip with a 1500 foot elevation gain. At the start I felt a little sluggish, but made it up without stopping or really feeling tired. 6 miles is a pretty short hike compared to what I was knocking out earlier this year, though. I need to get out hiking more.

Back in the U.S.A.

I got back into the States last night after over 24 hours straight of traveling. I also caught a cold while in Denmark, which added to the joy of the return trip. I am pretty much over traveling overseas at this point. The last few days felt like a complete waste of time and overall a miserable experience. I am still interested in seeing Australia and New Zealand at some point in the future. Germany also looked like it could be an interesting place to visit, but especially after getting sick, I had no interest in going there while I was in Denmark.