I will be out of the office from Thursday afternoon (April 8th, 2010) until next Tuesday. I am headed down to Tucson Arizona and points South for some hiking in the beautiful Sonoran desert. This is the time of the year when many wildflowers and cactus are blooming and the temperatures are not too hot. It is sadly also the last month that many Arizona parks will be open as many of the nicest parks in Arizona will be closing due to state budget shortfalls. 

My favorite/essential trekking tools are going with me.

• GiSTEQ PhotoTrackr Mini DPL900  I use this to geotag my photos location. This is the newest unit but I have used their hardware for years and love it. It takes the GPS tracks of the unit and matches up your photos time stamp to then reverse the location coordinates and even link into Google Map. There is nothing like being able to stamp the locations of all photos exactly where they were taken as my memory is not that good.
• Garmin eTrex Vista GPS unit. I use this unit for all of my navigation based on maps and specific GPS coordinates. I would never ever rely on a phone GPS to navigate anything especially where getting lost could be a deadly mistake.
• TopoFusion to create my maps and manage my GPS tracks or routes.
• Spot Satellite Messenger unit to provide a live update on where I am or send messages by satellite as well as activate an emergency rescue if needed.
• A snake hook. I love to photograph snakes and need my trusty snake hook for both the snakes and my safety and keep them at arms length.
• Last but not least or lightest I will have my camera gear to capture the visual memories.

I will be posting photos when I can in my Flickr photostream http://www.flickr.com/photos/btl/ as well as posting from my Twitter account @mrcadman when there is a cell signal.

My main goal is to photograph as much of the blooms, snakes, scorpions, and landscapes I can as well as clear the mind and get some good outdoor exercise.

Cheers,
Shaan