Boulder Mountain, Dixie National Forest, Utah- 5.30-6.01.2020

Solo backpacking trip on Boulder Mountain in the Dixie National Forest here in Utah over the weekend. This is the first time I have solo'ed this range. I made an early departure and made the drive into Torrey in three hours on the minute. I gassed up and then headed up Hwy 12 to the trailhead. Its really green this year! I got my spot at the trailhead and then put on the pack and headed in. The hike in was just beautiful! No people at all! Once you got about a mile into the trail the wind was howling. But the views were beautiful. I did good time into the GWT Junction. Still no people. Just loving it! I moved through the final section expecting there to be people camped at the lake. 2 miles later, and a big smile on my face I arrived at Deer Creek Lake.

Saturday I pretty much set up camp and lounged around. Filtered water, collected firewood, and got things squared for the weekend. I did get about a 10 minute rain shower Satruday evening. Nothing big, just enough to jump in the tent and throw on the evening layers. I had dinner and then settled in for the evening in camp. I had a great night Saturday even though the clouds mucked up what would have been an amazing Star Trail. I still think this one looks cool but not what I was going for. I settled in for some good quiet sleep.

Sunday morning was clear and cool. I decided after breakfast I would do some off trail hiking up to Mooseman Lake for some fishing. After trying a few flies and getting nothing, I put on a parachute adams and it was game on! After a couple of hours of great fishing I could see the thunderstorms were on their way in so I made my way back to camp. I literally had enough time to batten down camp and in it came! Thunder, really strong winds and it rained really hard! This lasted about an hour and a half before letting up. After the storm I had a snack then headed up to Greens Lake. The fishing was really good here too but these guys like to wiggle off the line. I hooked into some nice fish, but everytime I would get them stripped in they would wiggle off. If you are a catch and release guy like me you don't care. Still fun to be fishing! Sunday night was a great one, but unfortunately a bust for the astrophotography because the clouds never stopped coming.

Monday was just beautiful when I woke up. I got up early and made my tea and then packed it up. I wanted to make some time early so I could get home at a reasonable hour since I had a three hour drive ahead of me. I had a very nice hike out. Light was beautiful and the temperatures were pleasant. After three miles I was at the Jeep. Amazing weekend solo backpacking! Enjoy the pics and time lapse. Much needed medicine for my mind, body, and soul. More adventures to come!

Shingle Creek, Uinta Mountains- May 2020

After a 70 day lock down, Utah moved to a low risk or "Yellow" status as far as COVID-19 mitigation. I decided since I had done my lockdown with due diligence, that an overnighter trip was in order to shake out the cobwebs and to get this party started! This year I am carrying a rescueMe PLB1 personal locator beacon. It was good to get some practice on trail with it. I decieded since the high terrain was still snowed in, and this was going to be the earliest I have ever gone backpacking in the Uintas, that Shingle Creek would be my destination. It was a fairly traffic free ride into the Mirror Lake Highway. I arrived to a pretty full lot and got a spot. I put on the boots and pack and headed on in.

The hike in was very nice and things are starting the green up. Shingle Creek is running high from the snow melt. I made it across the bridge and headed up the trail. It was really nice to be out walking in the mountains. There were some really soppy spots, and a couple of piles of snow, but other than that the trail was snow free. I did not know where I was going to stay, and had been looking at Google Earth for a few spots, just in case the place I was shooting for was occupied. The higher in the drainage you went the cooler the temps were. After crossing the one water obstacle on the trail, I was standing over where I was planning on camping and sure enough, it was unoccupied!

I wandred into camp and went into work mode. Got my shelter and sleeping arangments settled. I was using my new Klymit, V Insulated Ultralight SL sleeping pad. 15 oz and packs a hair bigger than a beer can. I set a bear hang, then collected my fire wood. Once I had my acomodations set I decided to head up to the bridge and spend some time up there meditating and get my water for the trip. I literally think I took a sitting nap meditating. The peace and quiet with the only the sound of the rushing water was a place of calm and tranquility. After a nice visist I headed back to camp to put the finishing touches on camp. This was such a good moment of realization that I am alive, well, and in a beautiful place! Grateful would have been an understatement.

I got some dinner going and oh was that good! Tomato Garlic Basil with some Volanti Pasta and a Pepperoni Stick cut up to boot! Sunset turned the sky some amazing colors and I had to take a few shots before lighting my fire. A quick change into the night layers as the temps were dropping as fast as the daylight was and it was time to enjoy the night! There were some clouds in early at dark, so I spent some time working on my fire and enjoying the warm heat it provided. After an hour or so stars started to shine through the tree tops and I knew it was on! I went out to the meadow to shoot the Milky Way, but unfortunately, either I was behind a ridge where it was visible or just too early in the evening. No matter, I took some images of the aspens and the stars and got this one that turned out way better than I thought it would. I set up the camera for a star trail and then settled in as it ran its images. My fire was so warm and I had some mellow tunes playing on the phone. Eventually I gathered up my camera and packed it in for the night. I was so quiet minus the river which was such good white noise to fall asleep to!

Morning came and I got up and made tea and had breakfast. I then packed it up and was on trail by 9 AM. I took my time on the way out because the first wildflowers of the year were just starting to bloom. I really wasn't in a hurry and took my time to soak it all in. A great weekend to kick things off for the season. Enjoy the pics and videos! More adventures to come!

Quarantine- SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic- Camp At Home- Bells Canyon Loop- Utah April 2020

I really don't know where to begin. Our world has been turned upside down by a microscopic protein that is deadly. There is the anxiety in the back of my mind every time I get allergies or start to feel worn down thinking "Is this it?" I had a terrible respiratory illness pretty much most of January. I did not feel 100% again until early February. Fevers, cough that hurt, hard to breathe, and I'll spare you what was coming out of my lungs. Lucky for everyone I was home for 71 days isolated because of my Jeep repair. On hindsight I think I have had the virus. I am currently trying to seek out a serology test to see if that was it. Scientists are now thinking this virus may have been here in the US earlier than they thought by how this has spread. It would be nice to know if I have the antibodies and do they protect me. I have never felt so sick and so beat down by an illness in my life. But that seems so long ago now. Now as with other pandemics in history you just have to wait it out.

So we have settled into a life of family and work at home. Both my kids are home, no daycare or school, so as my wife does her duties for her job, I have to pick up the slack and watch our youngest. We all passed our 14 day quarantine period and have no symptoms. Our only trips out of our home are for essential supplies. We do our groceries via pick up and only go in a store if we need items they do not allow for pick up like toilet paper and cleaning supplies. We have to disinfect our groceries and wash our produce every time we bring it home. We have eaten at home more than we ever have. Been doing some cooking and baking with great results! I started my garden for they year including a new 20x4 bed increasing our grow capacity by 2x. My starts are coming along. 9 varieties of heirloom tomatoes, summer squash, corn, tuscan cantaloupes, green onions, jalapeño and habanero peppers, yellow, orange, and red bell peppers, cinderella pumpkins, and I'll have lettuce, basil, and cilantro in my new shady bed on the south side I dug. Rhubarb is up and will be ready in a couple of weeks. Garlic is growing in nicely and the chives are going off right now.

I've been itching to go camping but wanted to be responsible so I camped at home on Friday night last week. I set up my tent with bag and pad, and pulled out my camp chair and had a nice fire. It was good to be outside and the night was crystal clear. I actually stayed out there pretty late turning in around 2 AM. I slept pretty good and I missed my sleeping bag! Morning came with threatening clouds so I packed it all up and headed in for a scrub. I've had fires in the fall out in my yard, but never camped out there so I guess I get to click that off the bucket list. Who knows how long all of this goes on, but we have been staying home to try to flatten the curve for our overworked and under supplied healthcare workers trying to save lives nation wide everyday. If you know someone who is on the front lines of this send them a message and just let them know you are thinking about them. They deserve to know we care.

Another week of at home got me itching to get out and do some hiking. It is allowed by Salt Lake County order that we can hike the trails in the mountains. Friday evening I made my way up Bells Canyon. The hike in was pretty nice, cool temps and some great strato coouds giving some beautiful light. I made pretty good time up to the lake. I noticed I was a bit out of shape at the start, but seemed to get more stamina the longer I was on my feet. By the time I got to the lake, I felt loose and strong again. I made my way up to the Wasatch fault, then started to head up to where I connect with my secret trail. A deer walked right up to me. Probably a little more than the social distance we are supposed to be keeping. We had a nice conversation, I took a picture as I was leaving, and we went our seperate ways. I continued to climb just enjoying the mountain air and the wide open spaces. Our homes are special, but spend too much time anywhere and you begin to get cabin fever. I made it to the Waterhouse, then moved into the forest to head up to the bridge. The last time in February I was on this trail it was all snow, it certainly has melted out now! Things are greening up and it was such a nice hike through this area. As I got closer to the bridge there were a few people up there, so I waited till they moved on before making my way up to my spot above the bridge.

After some time just enjoying where I was at I decided to finish off the loop. I actually had the whole trail to myself all the way out back down to the lake. Which was pretty nice because I love hiking solo. The light in the evening was getting really good and the sun and the strato clouds was painting some wonderful colors in the sky. But as all good things do I eventually descended to the Jeep for my ride back to my home. A really nice night on trail, and after more than three weeks at home, it was nice to get out in nature for a minute. Very therapeutic. Who knows what this year will bring with a pandemic raging in our country. I know when its time, I will be solo backpacking this summer and not to the busy spots. We are still allowed to recreate in the National Forest here so I will get out when I can and when the crowds are not inundating them. People think this is a vacation. It really isn't The reality of all of this once the dust settles will tell a different tale. I wish I had some sage advice for this moment, I just don't. So please follow your local directive, the CDC guidelines, and stay safe!