July Challenger Highlights

In July, things start heating up. The trails in the Arizona Summer challenge were closed for a short time due to fire danger. The good news is that they've all reopened, and so far no trails have been closed due to wildfires.

Let's all do our part to keep the trails open by respecting closures, fire restrictions and other regional safety measures.

Some areas are getting HOT as well. El Cajon Mountain in our San Diego challenge is closed annually during the month of August, historically the hottest month of the year. Other trails require you use your good judgement. When in doubt, be safe and remember the mountain will always be there.

July Gear Giveaway Winner

Congratulations to Tess H from Los Angeles. She has won a copy of Wilderness Navigation from Wilderness Press as well as a SUUNTO A-10 compass.

Navigation is part of the Ten Essentials, and knowing how to use the tools at hand is critical. Wilderness Navigation is a great book, also available for Kindle and it covers map and compass as well as GPS navigation.

Our August giveaway will launch this week, so keep an eye on your Member Dashboard for details.

Social Hiker App Launched

It's here! You can now navigate the site, log your hikes, join discussions and connect with fellow challengers. And we have versions for both iOS and Android.

Download now on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

July By-The-Numbers

The Six-Pack of Peaks community logged 403 hikes during July, covering thousands of miles and climbing over one million vertical feet. That's enough to climb from sea level to the top of Mount Everest over 34 times!

Which peak is next up for you? Leave a comment below and let us know!

July Photo Highlights

Challengers uploaded over 2,000 photos (a whopping 6.41 GB worth) during July. I've gone through them and picked a few highlights… plus one with me in it. You can click any image to open a larger version in screen show mode.