Family Backpacking

We took our very first family backpacking trip this last monday. I have been crazy about backpacking solo over the last 5 or 6 year's. It's not easy for me to describe the feeling I get being alone in the wilderness but it stirs something deep inside me that I wouldn't know is their if I hadn't taken these trip's. Gives me a connection with this world , with life, with myself that I rarely if ever get. This last trip was all that times ten. Being isolated in the wood's with my my beautiful wife and 3 entergetic , crazy cute little kid's was freaking great! The hike in was a little tuff but went farely smooth. Sloan wore our Kelty child toting pack with her sleeping bag and a couple other small items but little Josie isn't exactly that little anymore. Plus Josie wasn't a very willing passanger, that combined with the sandy as hell trail up Short Creek forced us to change the game plan. We drug , pulled and pushed her along to camp. Johnny Bo and Chubb's were good and wore out but did a great job and made it to camp no problem. It was early afternoon when we arrived so we dropped our pack's and jumped right into the running water and dark cool grass. The kid's stripped down and took to their surrounding's like they had been livin natural all along. They climbed little waterfall's, caught tadpoles and toad's and swam in the shallow water. Jett told me 3 times in the first couple hour's that this was the best day ever. I couldn't argue.... it was pretty damn good. Sloan and I set up camp while the kid's continued playing and afterwords we cooked up a tasty little dinner over the fire. It was a beautiful clear night with no wind and almost a full moon. The iceing on the cake was that we had the canyon all to ourselves. Everybody had smiles on the there face's as we climbed into the 2 small tent's. Their was no getting around it. I was in HEAVEN. Getting a 2 , 5 and 7 year old up a couple miles of sandy trail wasn't exactly easy but way more than worth it.

( it wont let me flip that pic of Josie dangit )

Cali Vacation

Rattle Snake Creek - Ashdown Gorge

I did this trip last month with my demented friend Hubba. This is the 2nd or 3rd time he has joined me and I think I got him hooked. We were looking for something in the mountains to try and get the hell out of the heat for a couple day's. I had read about Rattle Snake Creek before but have never talked to anybody that has been and had not seen any pictures. It starts at the North Entrance of Cedar Breaks two miles from Brian Head and comes out in the bottom of Cedar Canyon three miles from town. About 11 miles. Seemed like a plan to us so we headed out early on a Saturday morning and found the trail head. I had a half assed topo of the area with me but rather than that didn't know much about what lay ahead. It turned out we weren't the first explorers to the area, their was a well beaten path but despite that we did not pass another person until the last mile of the hike.A very big bonus because nothing ruins a cool place like contact with strangers. The cool weather to start the hike was perfect sitting at about 45 degrees. The first few miles we spent hiking through green meadows packed with wild flowers and views of the red rock of Cedar Breaks. Very pretty walk. After that the trail drops you into Rattlesnake Creek. A beautiful little stream with lots of waterfalls surrounded by a thick pine forest. We hiked along this stream for about three miles before turning south where we climbed a ridge that drops into Ashdown Gorge. This is where I was pleasantly surprised. I was not expecting to drop into a kickass mountain slot canyon. Technically not a slot but surprisingly narrow in places. Incredible place made even more beautiful and interesting just by the simple fact that I had no idea it was coming. We explored a couple side canyons with very pretty waterfalls and camped at Flanagain Arch. The next morning we hiked out to the highway where you are suppost to have a car waiting. Just for some extra adventure though I voted for taking just my truck. So we started hiking up the narrow Cedar Canyon road trying to thumb a ride. Not much room to walk with out getting ran over. Getting a ride turned out to be more difficult than I expected. Freaking untrusting people these day's have seen to many movies. We hiked another 5 miles up canyon before a cool kid from back east who was working for the forest service and coincidentally had just completed the same hike the day before picked us up and drove us all the way back to my truck even though he was heading the other way. Some strangers are alright after all. Our total hiking miles ended at 16.5. Nice little walk and a hell of a good time.

Good times....no time for anything less