Tales from the Trail Blog
‘Groupies’ limited on Phoenix hiking tours
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Laurel Darren, Wild Bunch Desert Guides • August, 08, 2022
Movies such as “Almost Famous” and “The Banger Sisters” put Rock N’ Roll groupies in the spotlight. However, this Blog addresses “groupies” of a different kind – with corporate outings, both large and small, trickier propositions than one might think for Phoenix hiking tours and Scottsdale mountain bike tours. That is especially true for a small mom-and-pop specialty shop with limited resources such as the Wild Bunch Desert Guides. Group outings for Camelback Mountain hikes are also impossible for any Phoenix adventure tours operator of any size because of safety concerns.
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Phoenix hiking tours vow: ‘Every step I take’
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Laurel Darren, Wild Bunch Desert Guides • July, 31, 2022
Ever get the incredibly calming feeling of having a Guardian Angel peering over your shoulder? The founding owner of Phoenix hiking tours operator Wild Bunch Desert Guides can relate to having a watchdog keeping her safe with every move she makes. Now, she honors the memory of her little angel with every step she takes guiding Phoenix adventure tours – and by showing off the natural beauty they experienced together on so many hikes in Phoenix and beyond.
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Posted in:
Hiking, Adventure Tours |
Views: 58
Phoenix hiking tours: Here comes the Boom!
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Laurel Darren, Wild Bunch Desert Guides • July, 02, 2022
Fireworks are the major attraction on the Fourth of July. However, an Arizona adventure company owner offering Phoenix hiking tours and Scottsdale mountain bike tours loves Independence Day for so many other reasons. Here are some thoughts as beautiful as all the colorful explosions across the sky this holiday.
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New heights for Phoenix hiking tours
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Laurel Darren, Wild Bunch Desert Guides • June, 17, 2022
The Wild Bunch Desert Guides open a new chapter this week in their history of providing five-star rated Phoenix adventure tours. Founding owner Laurel Darren is turning her annual summer retreat into a working vacation by adding Colorado hiking tours in the remote tourist destination of Lake City CO. Here is a detailed look at the natural beauty to be discovered on the five trails offered in our new service.
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Posted in:
Hiking |
Views: 111
Summer fun for Phoenix hiking guides
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Laurel Darren, Wild Bunch Desert Guides • June, 05, 2022
So where do Phoenix hiking guides escape when they go on summer vacation? For the founding owner of the Wild Bunch Desert Guides, the remote wilderness wonderland of Colorado’s San Juan Mountains is the answer. The breathtaking beauty in the area surrounding Lake City serves as a superb summer home for those interested in the outdoors – whether fishing or hunting, or if hiking, mountain biking or climbing is your jam. Laurel Darren’s personal piece of paradise also is allowing her to make this summer a working vacation – and offer amazing, guided Colorado hiking tours this summer.
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Posted in:
Hiking |
Views: 199
Summer Phoenix hiking tours: Why so early?
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Laurel Darren, Wild Bunch Desert Guides • May, 25, 2022
Sweltering heat dominates summertime activities in Arizona. Phoenix hiking tours and Scottsdale mountain bike tours are limited to early morning hours to avoid the worst of the triple-digit temperatures. Adventure tours guides also take advantage of this downtime to take much-deserved vacations during this June 1-Oct. 1 offseason.
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The Importance of A Certified Guide For Your Hiking Or Mountain Bike Adventure
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The BANG! Team • May, 16, 2022
When you're planning your hiking vacation in the Scottsdale area, you need to find a certified team to take you on your guided adventure. If you're looking to book a tour and find a deal that sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Keep in mind that your safety and any friends or family with you are most important when on a hiking adventure. More than saving a few dollars.
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Posted in:
Hiking |
Views: 146
Advantages of a Hiking Guide in Phoenix
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The BANG! Team • May, 09, 2022
When hiking the beautiful trails of Arizona, a hiking guide makes the experience safer and sweeter. Seeing the Sonoran Desert on foot is truly an intimate experience when led by professional guides who know every inch of the trails.
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Posted in:
Hiking |
Views: 107
Phoenix hiking tours: Sun still shining
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Laurel Darren, Wild Bunch Desert Guides • April, 10, 2022
I am a huge fan of the Rocky Balboa film franchise and its fictional philosopher in the boxing trunks. Among the many gems I was reminded of so far this year? “The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows,” the Rock has said. During the busiest of busy seasons for Phoenix hiking tours and Phoenix mountain bike tours, I also got to successfully test his theory that life is “about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.”
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Group mentality of Phoenix hiking tours
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Laurel Darren, Wild Bunch Desert Guides • March, 23, 2022
With new COVID cases recently dropping down to zero, Arizona tourism thankfully is what’s spiking in the Valley of the Sun. Phoenix/Scottsdale adventure tours are experiencing the busiest busy season many can remember. But the glut of guests has created a large problem for large group and corporate outings seeking Phoenix hiking tours and Phoenix mountain bike tours. Here is the fix for the Wild Bunch Desert Guides.
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Phoenix adventure tours: Cheers to ‘frequent flyers’
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Laurel Darren, Wild Bunch Desert Guides • March, 12, 2022
The song from “Cheers” is absolutely right. People do love “to go where everybody knows their name” – because everybody enjoys being made to feel important and special with superb service and tremendous treatment. That is why repeat patrons are a sure sign of success in any service industry. “Regulars” become the core of any great business by showing great loyalty to their favorite people, places, and products. However, for Phoenix adventure tours, “comebacks” become extended members of the Wild Bunch Desert Guides family – just like these folks featured in our latest Blog.
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Posted in:
Mountain Biking, Adventure Tours |
Views: 222
'Elite Eight' of adventure tours Phoenix/Scottsdale
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Laurel Darren, Wild Bunch Desert Guides • February, 25, 2022
With Spring Breaks fast approaching, there is no need to wait until “Selection Sunday” to choose the must-do adventure tours Phoenix/Scottsdale. If planning a “March Madness” dance to Arizona, these are the “Elite Eight” stops to make during your visit to the “Valley of the Sun.”
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Posted in:
Adventure Tours |
Views: 275
Phoenix hiking tours share ‘Super’ message
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Laurel Darren, Wild Bunch Desert Guides • February, 10, 2022
A pair of Florida teens have added new meaning to the old saying, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” The duo are dedicated to ocean conservation, with their clean-up efforts turned into artwork sold to benefit environmental causes. After delivering their latest sculpture to Super Bowl LVI, the boys and their moms shared their “super message” during a Phoenix hiking tours pit stop on the way home.
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Posted in:
Hiking |
Views: 355
Adventure tours Phoenix/Scottsdale: It’s a wonderful life
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Laurel Darren, Wild Bunch Desert Guides • January, 31, 2022
Despite mounting troubles, George Bailey concluded in the classic Christmas movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Wild Bunch Desert Guides owner Laurel Darren discovered the same truths during some recent personal challenges away from adventure tours Phoenix/Scottsdale – and she has several Angels to thank for that.
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New year, same great Phoenix hiking tours
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Laurel Darren, Wild Bunch Desert Guides • January, 17, 2022
Wild Bunch Desert Guides owner Laurel Darren resolved long ago to avoid making New Year’s resolutions. However, she does have a 2022 promise for guests – the Wild Bunch will continue to offer the same great Phoenix hiking tours, Scottsdale mountain bike tours & superb customer service.
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Posted in:
Hiking |
Views: 278
'Tis the Season for hiking tours in Phoenix
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Laurel Darren, Wild Bunch Desert Guides • December, 21, 2021
'Tis the Season for holiday hours, and Phoenix hiking tours and Phoenix mountain bike tours are no exception. Wild Bunch Desert Guides do offer hiking and biking help on the holidays, though, to make your Christmas merry and New Year's celebrations happy..
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Posted in:
Hiking |
Views: 335
A Thanksgiving feast from Phoenix hiking tours
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Laurel Darren, Wild Bunch Desert Guides • November, 26, 2021
What makes a Phoenix adventure tours owner thankful this Thanksgiving? Turns out, an awful lot since last year's holiday and, before that, the worst days of the COVID pandemic. Feast on these many blessings realized during Phoenix hiking tours and Scottsdale mountain bike tours.
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Posted in:
Hiking |
Views: 392
Phoenix adventure tours? Priceless
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Laurel Darren, Wild Bunch Desert Guides • November, 16, 2021
To borrow the set up from a famous and much imitated advertising campaign:
Plane tickets for a family of five to Arizona? $1,460.
A week’s stay at one of those posh all-inclusive resorts? $5,200.
A guided Phoenix hiking tour with the Wild Bunch Desert Guides? $575.
The looks on the faces of your loved ones while hugging a cactus and witnessing the incredible otherworld landscape during one of these memorable Phoenix adventure tours? PRICELESS.
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Posted in:
Adventure Tours |
Views: 348
Veterans Day every day on Phoenix hiking tours
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Laurel Darren, Wild Bunch Desert Guides • November, 08, 2021
A group of West Point classmates recently reunited in the Phoenix area on one of the Phoenix hiking tours from the Wild Bunch Desert Guides. Witnessing the event reminded company owner Laurel Darren that every day should be Veterans Day, with our collective thanks to the military for their selfless service protecting our freedoms not limited to one day each November.
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Posted in:
Hiking |
Views: 629
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My sister and I had the opportunity to hike with Laurel and members of her amazing team. We were first timers to the Scottsdale area and Wild Bunch Desert Guides were recommended to us. We did two wonderful hikes, Gateway Ridge and Spur Cross in Cave Creek. Laurel could not have made this any easier--hotel pick up, narration about the trails, the area, plant life, and she was fully stocked with water and snacks. For me though, what makes WBDG so exceptional is the work on the front end. Laurel was rigorous during booking--what did we want, what was most important, our assessment of our own skill level and then her follow-up questions. Everything was geared to us and for us. Laurel, Ellen and Tommy didn't just guide us, they hiked with us, and after four hours we felt as if we had made new and wonderful friends. They were also attentive to others on the trail, checking in with hikers who looked like they might need assistance and offering guidance to a mountain biker who had gone astray. These hikes were the highlight of our trip and truly I can't say enough about the experience. Pricing is more than reasonable and frankly the opportunity to spend time with these experienced guides -- Priceless!
- Katherine C.
I had such a wonderful time during my hike with my guide Don. He was very kind, funny, polite and highly knowledgeable about the surrounding area. I will do it all over again anytime :)
- Noemie C.