DYNAMIC DUO

Dynamic Duo HopE and Juta take to the hills.

FABULOUS FOOTHILLS

We're back in the groove!

Hikers: Kim, Amy, Juta and HopE

Time: 8:40 am- 9:30 am

Trail: Bald Mountain Foothills

Weather: overcast, 30˚ f

Notes: About 4 inches of new snow covered lots of thick slush to make hiking quite a workout. The snow-covered landscape was beautiful and so was the misty view of the valley. A great day to get back into the hiking groove.

EAGLE POINT SKI DAY

Left: Inga, our ancestor, Norway 1890's

Skiers:  Kim, Amy & Virgil
Notes:  Happy free ski day at Eagle Point in Beaver, UT.  Beautiful weather, smooth runs, and good laughs.  2.5 hour drive one way.

BUCKSKIN GULCH

Notes:  Wire Pass trailhead towards the Paria River confluence.  Got a late start around 11 am.  About 3.5 hours in with lunch.  On the way out I turned on the iphone app Gaia GPS.  New favorite app.  It charted 6.33 miles on the return trip at 2 hours 52 minutes.  For next time, shuttle at Buckskin trailhead or Middle trailhead, or bring a tent and camp on the Paria.  Mostly dry except for a few puddles even after a winter storm the day before.

BACKBONE BOONIES

HIKERS: Kim, Amy, Jen, Uta, Hope

WEATHER: sunny, with a little chill in the air at the start.

KIM'S NOTES: I was the lagger today, but it was still a good hike. It was fun to have Jen there for the first time. I'm happy to report- no bugs. As we reach our summit on this hike, there is a 'camp' there (that is pretty permanent) with a tombstone that read: 'Here lies the last person to call us white trash.' Words to live by.

NEW CANYON SUNSHINE

HIKERS: Kim, Amy, Jamie, Hope, Uta

WEATHER: 60˚ & sunny!

NOTES: Felt really good today. Amy remembered the bug spray, so we were in good shape. We just hiked our little hearts out and enjoyed the sunshine.

BACKBONE BUGS

HIKERS: Jamie, Kristi, Amy, Kim

WEATHER: nice and sunny, warm

NOTES: This is the first time we've done the Backbone this year. It was in great shape and we had a good hike. The sun was wonderful on our faces. We have missed it. One thing about a great water year, however, is all the bugs. We came home with quite a few new bites.

MUDDY CREEK

RAFTERS: Kim & Cory, Amy & Brook, Sandra & Danny, Brook & Jason, Tim & Ashley
WEATHER: warm, sunny, clear, 85˚ F
PUT IN: Tomsich BUTTE
TAKE OUT: Hidden Splendor Mine
TIME: 5.5 hours with a few stops
HWY GAGE: 2.3 (this run), 1.6 (last run)
DIRECTIONS: Exit 131. There are 2 major signs at forks in the road - head towards the seep and mckay flats. Red Canyon road is to be avoided due to length and condition.
DISTANCE: 15 miles (according to other sites)
AMY'S NOTES: The great and mighty Muddy Creek, a formidable torrent of switches and boils and drops deep enough to write home about! Well, OK, maybe not so mighty. But certainly a fantastic ride and worthy of blogging about. A very narrow slot called the Chute - 8 or so feet wide at it's skinniest with log jams 20 feet above crammed in the rock. It starts as a banal looking canal and slowly narrows into the chute with red rock walls towering up either side 200 feet into the blue sky above. I did this run last week with V. and friends and it was a VERY boney run. However the levels this weekend were perfect and the water swift. Note to self: Always bring a patch kit.

OLD HIKE, NEW SIGN

HIKERS: Kim, Amy, Jamie, Hope & Juta

WEATHER: warm, sunny, clear, 60˚ F

KIM'S NOTES: I didn't feel great today until I got to the top (of course;). Allergy season is truly upon us. Jamie kicked butt and so did Amy. With all the injuries she's had lately, she did terrific. We are so glad to all be back together!!

'Thumbs down' on the new billboard at the base of Bald Mountain.

This is Jamie as she left us in the dust. Energizer Bunny Award winner- again. (Amy and I have yet to receive this esteemed award).

We set up the self-timer to take a photo and Hope had to come sniff the camera. So you get a close-up of her hind leg and us laughing in the background.

BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN

NOTES: It's been so long I can't even remember how to blog. Finally WALKING AGAIN!!! Kim and I hiked up New Canyon to the concrete head gate. Hope and Juta came along and loved it, or maybe I'm just projecting... Sunny, but still cool end of May day.

TO THE SCREEN

HIKERS: Jamie and Kim

WEATHER: 60˚ƒ, sunny and beautiful!!

NOTES: This is the back of the screen (our destination) and view of our pretty little valley. There are three consecutive hills on this trail we have dubbed the Three Sisters. At the second sister Jamie consistently pulls away from me. I guess I just can't keep up the pace. I was huffing today!! I've learned that running and hiking aren't the same muscles. Cross-training is good... Cross-training is good... Cross-training is good...

NEW CANYON MUD

HIKERS: Kim and Jamie

WEATHER: Partly sunny, 48 f

NOTES: Second hike of the season and it went well... except for the mud. It was dry ground until the hill after the EZ PZ rock, then it turned into slushy, muddy snow. Bummer. We didn't get the full hike in. I guess the weather is going to need to improve a bit more. Other than that, it was great.

BALD MOUNTAIN BIRTHDAY

HIKERS: Kim and Jamie

WEATHER: Sunny, windy, 65 f

NOTES: It was a great way to start my birthday. I forgot to time us, but I know it was slow. I am VERY out of shape. Jamie made it to the screen about 2 or 3 minutes before me. It was a bit muddy, snowy, slushy but only in one spot. Definitely a great day to hike. Too bad its supposed to snow tomorrow! :(

BASE OF BALD

PHOTO DISCLAIMER: I am lame at talking self-portraits. I concentrate so much on taking the thing that I look ridiculous in them! Your turn next time, Amy!

HIKERS: Kim, Amy, Hopie, Juta

WEATHER: about 35 f, partly cloudy

KIM'S NOTES: Yes! We are back! So fun to get out and hike again. It was pretty casual, but wonderful to be outside enjoying the brisk winter air. We need to go again soon!

AMY'S NOTES: Yes it was good to be out. And Kim it's just the camera phone...

MAPLE CAYON WITH THE KIDS

HIKERS: Cory, Kim, Drew, Kayle, Christian, Marshall, Phoebe

WEATHER: 75 f, a beautiful, sunny fall day

NOTES: We hiked up to the Pipe Dream rock climbing area and set up a zip line for the kids. It was such a perfect temp. to be there and we had a great time enjoying the outdoors.

BAPTIST DRAW/LOWER CHUTE CANYON AGAIN

HIKERS: Kim, Jamie, and miscellaneous friends and Young Women

WEATHER: up to 90 f, clear and sunny

KIM'S NOTES: I went back to Baptist Draw and took some Young Women from my church and some of their leaders (14 of us all together). We had postponed this hike 3 times before because of bad weather (rain and slot canyons are NOT a good mix). We were so happy we were finally able to do it.

Here I am with Jamie and a friend (Juli) waiting our turn to do the first rappel (15 ft).

Here is Jamie doing the second rappel (80 ft).

This is the 'hall of horrors' we literally had to swim through, it was so deep. It goes clear back under the rock and way around the corner. However, I did keep my pack over my head, thus keeping my camera dry. I know, I am truly talented.

Jamie, Kristi and I trying to clean off our feet after swimming the big hole. It was silly to do, because just around the corner there was more mud and water, and just around that corner, and just around that corner... you get the picture...

This is such a beautiful place! Despite the muck, smell and chill, I can't help but want to go back. You just don't see places like this every day.

THE PLAYFUL PAYETTES

Yay! Amy is back in action- at least for some river running! We had a blast up on the Payette rivers in Idaho.

We did the Old Swirly run (class 2-3)...

... and the Carbarton run (class 3-4) in our inflatable kayaks!

We sat in some amazing hot pots!

Here is Amy trying out the slack line. We need to look for a cabin up there! We LOVED it!

RAMBLING AROUND E-TOWN

WALKERS: Jamie, Kristi, Linsy, Kim

WEATHER: warm, clear morning

KIM'S NOTES: We have been doing some jaunts around town since our big summit. We are also going on hiatus for a week or two while we do some summer vacationing. See you later...

BALD MOUNTAIN ROUND TRIP

HIKERS: Jamie & Kim

WEATHER: 60's- 70's, overcast

SUMMIT TIME: 2 hours

RT TIME: 4 1/2 hours

View of Manti

KIM'S NOTES: Jamie and I have not had the driving force of Amy behind us this summer. She is out with an injury and we really miss her pushing us to do some serious hikes. We finally got the gumption to summit Bald Mountain. It was WAY longer than I remembered, but we finally made it.

This time, however, we hiked down the back side and ended up going down the Backbone to the main canyon. We hadn't set up a shuttle car, so that walk added 45 minutes to the ordeal. Our feet were burning, but we accomplished our goal! Yay us!

SEVIER WITH THE GIRLS

RIVER RUNNERS: Amy, Kristi & Kim

WEATHER: 80, partly cloudy

BIKING TIME: 55 min.

RIVER TIME: 1 hour, 10 min.

KIM'S NOTES: I had such a great time on Saturday I wanted to do it again, so Amy and I packed up Kristi and off we went. We had a nice ride up the canyon (the temps were still in the 70's for the ride) and then we all had a clean run down the river (no one swam). The water was a bit lower than Saturday. I think they are shutting it down while all the farmers cut their hay.

Lunch at the Big Rock Cafe at the BIG ROCK CANDY MOUNTAIN was a great way to end our trip. (What is it about water sports that make you starving?) All, in all, a perfect girls day out!