We Bought a Toyota Tacoma

Well, we weren't planning on getting a new truck.  But, we saw this beautiful 4-door Tacoma and couldn't resist taking it for a test drive.  Don't do it!!  There is no going back!  This truck drives like butter with the power of a bull.  Maybe two bulls.  The Ranger was great, but this truck will give us a little more power for towing the Tab up those mountain passes and plenty of room for the dogs in the back.  Besides, it looks great!  I heard this is what happens when you get a trailer...then a truck...then a bigger truck...then a bigger trailer...etc.  Still like the Tab, so hopefully this will be the end of upsizing for now.

Waiting for Spring

It has been a really mild winter this year in Salt Lake City.  As mild as it has been, old man winter is hanging on.  I am really itching to get out camping again this year.  I was hoping to get out for the Presidents' Day Weekend, but it is still too cold.  I guess I'll just have to hold out for March...

"It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you've got it, you want - oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!" 

~Mark Twain

Colorado Again

I convinced Mary to head out to Colorado for one more training round before Kilimanjaro.  It was great.  We hiked two more 14,000' peaks.  To keep things simple, we just slept in the back of the truck at the trailheads each night...and then a quick overnight in Moab on the way home. 

This first day we hiked Quandary Peak.  This was quite a haul up the fall line of the mountain.  We started out in the trees, but the hike soon rose above the tree line and traversed the rocky scree to the top. 

The views from the top were amazing!!!

The next day we hiked Mount Democrat, which is a much shorter and easier hike.  We camped at the trailhead at Kite Lake.  It was a chilly night and a frosty morning.  I don't have any pictures of the Mount Democrat hike because my camera battery died from the cold.  A nice fellow took this picture of us at the top with his cell phone though and emailed it to us.



Uintas - Moosehorn Campground

For our last camping trip before Kilimanjaro, we got a spot at Moosehorn Campground in the Uintas.  The camping season in the Uintas was very short given all the snow in the spring.  Amazingly, we were able to score three great campsites at Moosehorn.  The entire hiking group for Kilimanjaro was able to join us.  Moosehorn is located at about 9,700 ft in elevation, so it was good training for sleeping at high altitude.
 

We took the group on the Lofty Lakes hike through beautiful terrain. It was a great training hike and nice to get to spend some time with the group we would be spending a week with on Kilimanjaro.



Patty near Scout Lake





Jill and Ray at Kamas Lake

 On the back side of the loop, coming down through the forested area, we came across a huge moose just off the trail.  It was amazing how big they look up close.  It was a perfect way to end a perfect hike.

I don't have any pictures of the campground or the Tab!  I guess we were having too much fun hiking and hanging out.  I was a great weekend.  I would definitely stay at Moosehorn again.



Prospector Campground, Colorado

We took the Tabelot on a great adventure for our first camping trip to Colorodo.  The Rocky Mountains are beautiful! We stayed at the Prospector Campground outside of Frisco.  The campground is conveniently located off of I-70 and near the highway out to Breckenridge.  The area had incurred some pine beetle damage, but the scenery was still breathtaking.


View of Prospector Campground

 Our friend Karla came along for the weekend so we could all do some training hikes for our upcoming trip to Kilimanjaro.  I think the weekend was a great success.  We managed to climb 4 peaks above 14,000' in two days.  On Saturday we got up at 0-dark-hundred to force down some breakfast and then drove about an hour to the Kite Lake Trailhead.  We arrived with droves of other excited hikers, up early to tackle the big peaks before the afternoon storms rolled in. 

Start of Mount Lincoln Trail



We were on the trail by 8:00 a.m. (which as a bit later than we wanted, but better than it could have been).  The trail starts above the treeline at 12,000' in a beautiful alpine meadow.  Kite Lake is the trailhead for four peaks in the area, inlcuding Mt. Democrat (14,148'), Mt. Cameron (14,238'), Mt. Lincoln (14,286') and Mt. Bross (14,172').  We didn't do Mt. Democrat, but we managed to do the Cam-Lin-Bro loop which hits three of the peaks with pretty easy access across broad saddles and expansive views.

Karla heading up to the first saddle



Three of us on top of Mt. Lincoln

The next day we drove further east to do Grays Peak.  The Grays Peak trailhead was just as crowded as the Kite Lake trailhead with lots of people heading out on a beautiful but crisp morning.  Grays Peak was a great hike and an amazing climb up the scree switchbacks that seemed to go on forever.  Here are some of my favorite shots from our hike up Grays.



Heading up the Valley



Mary near the final ascent

Three of us on top of Grays Peak

Uintas - Lower Provo Dispersed

We finally made it up to the mountains this weekend, after waiting for spring to give way to summer this year.  Many of the lower campgrounds were closed due to flood warnings, but we found a great spot in the "dispersed" campsites above the Lower Provo Campground.  These "dispersed" campsites are great!!  They are improved sites with a flat area for the trailer and a fire pit, but no water or restrooms.  Best part is that they are free! 

North Fork of the Provo River

We had to keep our hiking to the lower trails as the snow levels above 9,000' were prohibitive.  On Friday evening, we hiked a couple miles in on the North Fork Trail.  Usually this trail can be done as a loop, but you can see from the picture above that a river crossing was impossible.  I have never seen this river so high.  It was incredible. 

On Saturday we did the Yellow Pine Creek Trail.  This was a pretty nice hike up a drainage following the creek.  The dogs loved all the water.  We didn't make it all the way to the Yellow Pine Lakes due to snow at the top and some difficult route finding, but it was a great day in the mountains.

The turn-around point, somewhere below Castle Peak

For the final wrap up on Sunday we did another new hike to Sunset Ponds.  We had three different maps of the area (as I like to be well prepared and do comparison research).  Sunset was only shown on one of the three maps, and it was NOT on the official map of the Kamas Ranger District.  Needless to say, it was a bit "primitive" from years of disuse.  But it was great for us, as NO ONE was on the trail.  We also got to practice our climbing and ducking abilities with the packs to get over all the tree falls across the trail.  We thought with the name "Sunset" that we would get to an overlook that was nice to see the sunset.  Instead, we were pleasantly surprised to get to the top and have a little lake.  So, now we call this one "Sunset Ponds." 

This is the start of the Sunset Trail (a little wet this year)

Mary taking a break with the dogs

Nice views before the top

Sunset Ponds

Zion National Park, Utah

We went camping this weekend in Springdale, Utah, just outside of Zion National Park.  It was a gorgeous weekend with consistently sunny weather.  We stayed at the Zion Campground RV Park located just half a mile from the entrance to the National Park.  The campground spots were tightly packed, but everyone in the park was extremely nice and we had a great time chatting with others about their adventures.  Some people park their big rigs here for the whole summer.  You can't beat the location.  We were lucky enough to get a spot right by the river - which happened to be raging this time of year at over 800 cfs.

We used to visit Zion on our family road trips from California to Utah, but I guess I had never really explored the hiking opportunities in the park like we did on this trip.  We logged in 38 miles over five days.  It was amazing.  The variety of the terrain and scenery was surprising and the vistas were just spectacular.  I can't wait to get back and do some more exploring and hiking in the backcountry.

On one of our hikes, we managed to make it to the top of Angels Landing, a ridiculous hike up a fin of red sandstone with 2,000' drop offs on either side.  It actually took me two tries to make it to the top.  The day before, I chickened out.  My pride got the best of me though, and I had to come back the next day to conquer the beast.  Some people scramble up this precipice like it is candy, while others of us slink up it like primordial monkeys, keeping our limbs and gravity as low as possible to the ground.  I'm just glad I lived to tell about it. 

Near the top of Angels Landing, where the views of the cliff walls and Virgin River Canyon below was just spectacular, we overheard a woman talking to her friends.  I just loved her comment.  She said, "I'm not an environmentalist, but I'm glad someone is."  Classic.

My favorite hike of the weekend was the out and back on the West Rim trail.  This is one of those epic hikes through red rock cliffs, white sandstone rims, and 1,000' waterfalls glittering the canyon walls.  Amazing scenery.  Parts of this trail are paved and even chiseled out of the cliff wall as leftover remnants of the work done by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) back in the 1930's. 

Mary heading up the West Rim Trail

View of the West Rim from Telephone Canyon

View from West Rim Spring

I couldn't pass up this shot.

Pause for Peace.

For our final hike, we did Observation Point.  This is an 8 mile hike with about 2,100' of elevation gain through Echo Canyon and then out onto a windy ridge.  The trail seemed interminable.  The winds up on top were so strong we though we might get blown right over the edge.  Needless to say, we did not spend much time at the top!

Lisa at the top of Observation Point

What an amazing place. 

Lisa and Mary - Self Portrait