Backpacking in the Uintas

On the 4th of July, Tyler and I,

along with Kiersten, Jason,


Natalie, and Kurtis set out on a backpacking trip.


The original plan was to hike to Red Castle, but due to a cool, wet spring, there was still quite a bit of snow in that area. So our last minute change of plans had us hiking a shorter hike.

In hindsight that was a good thing.

With 30 pounds on my back, traversing over logs and rocks and taking "short cuts" (link to article about cutoffs) that might have been quicker but much harder, took a toll on my legs that first day.

Five miles was the limit of what I was willing to do. The next day was a restful day hanging out at camp, reading my book, watching Jason carefully negotiate a log to rescue Tyler's hook,

and experimenting with fish "tacos."

The fishing was great. I can't say I've ever gotten into fishing despite growing up with a dad who loved the sport.

Once we started going to Lake Powell to fish for striped bass, trout fishing just didn't hold any appeal.

Kiersten caught her first fish 


and the scenery was surreal.

We hiked through burnt out forest that I imagined a war zone might feel like.

And our camp was perched on a cliff with a waterfall not more than a 100 yards away.

The only downside to this trip was all the downed timber on the trail we had to negotiate around. Tyler is repeatedly telling the kids on every hiking expedition we go on, "Don't step on what you can step over. Don't step over what you can step around." I didn't pay too much attention to that and on our way out I didn't want to "step around" and I face planted as my foot didn't quite make it over the log. I came home with a nasty bruise on my leg and forehead. I also came home with a numb toe that I think will fix itself eventually.

I haven't been backpacking in a quite a few years and that was just what I needed this summer. I loved getting away, getting some exercise, getting no reception, and hanging with some fun people.

Looking forward to next summer's trip.

Weekend adventures

Ty and Nate accompanied Erik on his 11-year-old scout overnight camp out.

This was a backpacking trip where they hiked to base camp and then spent a good part of the next day hiking to these:

TV towers which are viewable from our backyard. Unfortunately, they didn't quite make it before turning back. They were so close, in the area of the snow, but some of the boys were just not prepared for such a strenuous hike.

Nate might have been one of them? Doesn't he just look miserable. Both he and Erik accomplished something hard that day and I am proud of them for attempting. Some of the scouts continued on and made it to the top. I guess there are people who live up there and man the station one week on, two weeks off. Our scout group was given a tour. Someday I'd like to hike it and get that tour.

I like that Erik had to take a picture of the flowers they saw (which I believe is a columbine). It tells me he's paying attention to the beauty in the world around him.

While the boys were wending their way up the mountain, I got to spend a good part of my weekend trying out the new mower on the weeds in the backyard (I managed to completely bust off a sprinkler head with that new toy. Oops! Guess I get to figure out how to put a new head on.) and getting these babies in the ground while learning some about our drip irrigation.

Oh, I had one of the best Saturdays. I am always happy when I get to tinker in my yard. And I'm so happy to have my boys home safe and rested.

Tyler's birthday trees

(The kids all got candy bar grams for school, so we decided Tyler needed in on the action for his birthday.)

It's not hard to please a guy on his birthday when we live on one acre of dirt and no domestic vegetation. The landscaping is slowly coming, but for a couple of weeks we've had our eyes on a Japanese maple at the nursery but couldn't justify buying yet . . . and then a birthday came along. We actually ended buying two Japanese maples and getting a really good deal.

Ty planted our first tree for his birthday and I was a little giddy. I couldn't believe how much it changed our yard. One little tree has made a huge difference and I can hardly wait to get more.

Later we took a drive to the foothills to harvest some scrub oak to put in the native areas of our yard.

Dear little trees:

I know it was hot when we viciously uprooted you from your home on the hill, but I hope you decide you like your new digs where the deer won't gnaw on you and where there will be plenty of water. I promise it won't be that hard.

With love, your devoted gardeners

And to continue with the birthday festivities, our neighbor invited Ty to hike Deseret Peak, a 9 mile hike with an elevation gain of about 3500 feet. I don't think Tyler knew what he was in for, but I'm so proud of him for doing something so hard. This hike took 5 hours round trip and he went with two guys who practically ran up the mountain (or so says Tyler). Once he was committed there was no turning back, but man, what some views from the top.

He may not want to ever do it again, but I'm game. I'll give him a year or two to recover and then see if he'll take me.

I'm grateful for . . .

mountains so close to where I live.

the beauty of the earth.
the wondrous smells of nature.

It whispers to me that there is a God, a master designer behind it all. It's awe-inspiring to look at the flowers and trees that just grow and produce on their own, for mother nature who keeps it all watered. I simply cannot believe that a cosmic crash in space could produce something as beautiful as this earth. It takes more faith to believe in the Big Bang than to believe that this world is Someone's handicraft.

I just returned home yesterday from my first backpacking trip ever. Our little entourage included my brother-in-law Jason and three of his boys, Scott, Jeremy, and Porter along with our crew of Ty, me, Kiersten, Erik, and Nate. Since we had little hikers with us, the men decided on a relatively simple hike of about a mile to base camp. The lake we hiked to was Wall Lake. It was breathtakingly beautiful!

After arriving home, we set up the tents and put everything outside to air out and get the smokey smell out. Sometime around 2 am I awoke to hear something banging against our fence. Our backpacking tents (that are known to weigh hardly anything) had decided to take flight with relatively little wind. The 4-man tent was in the neighbor's backyard and the 2-man was hitting the fence even though Ty used rocks in place of the stakes. So at 2 am we were sneaking into the neighbor's yard (hoping their dogs were in the house) and gathering up our gear. Now we know why they advise using the stakes :)