What I’m doing now

Last updated: 5 May 2026

1. Heading back to Europe in May

   Following three winters working from Mexico (primarily Merida, Playa del Carmen, and Queretaro) during the winters, this year was time for a change. We spent January in Cuenca, Ecuador; February in Quito in February; then Arequipa in March and April before returning to San Diego for a few weeks.

2. Photography

   I mean, I’m always doing that but I’m experimenting with a few things (including a relatively new Fujifilm X-T50) and also working on remigrating from Lightroom to Darktable since I’ve also largely remigrated from Windows to Linux. Darktable has become really powerful since I was using it on a 10″ netbook lugged around New Zealand nearly 20 years ago.

3. Building new websites

   It’s been a while since I was doing this more or less full time.

   I’m mainly working again with Paul Cline at UPLO. He’s a great project manager with top-notch performance tuning and WordPress security skills. He’s also a close mate and we make a good team.

4. Learning Spanish

   I’ve been sort of learning Spanish on and off for nearly 20 years. Aside from a couple of weeks conjugating irregular verbs in La Paz, Mexico in 2008, there’s been no formal learning. This winter I’m taking it more seriously and want to get rise beyond a decade-long plateau.

5. Back on the PCT and planning hikes for the year ahead

   April saw me back on the PCT desert section for a week with my old mate Glenn. We spent 6 days walking between Kitchen Creek Falls (where the PCT crosses the I-8) and the gorgeous oak grasslands at Warner Springs.
   I’ll have a couple of windows through the summer while in Europe that need planning. Currently weighing up Kungsleden, a crossing of Lofoten, and Peaks of the Balkans, amongst others.

6. Building the Trail Almanac

   This will be an all-singing, all-dancing directory of long-distance hiking trails, combining my passion for the outdoors and promoting dirtbag inclusivity with my data architecture and web skills. I’m really excited to make this come to fruition.