Wandering the Desert Rocks

A couple months ago, in October, my friend and I explored a canyon outside of Moab, UT. It was our first canyon, and pretty fun.

Exploring the Desert

Sometimes I catch fish and eat gummy worms

Here's a video of me on the h. fork with my man D_man Gates. I landed a pretty nice trout and ate some pretty awesome gummy bears.

H Fork

O Happy Days

This weekend was an interesting one. I went down to Manti, UT with my dad for the archery deer hunt. My family has roots in San Pete county and it has been a while since I've been down there, so I was glad to be back in the area. It has been an especially long time since I've been on the mountain and it felt really good to be up there. The interesting part is the last stop of our trip. We stopped by to see a good friend of mine who has been diagnosed with cancer, serious cancer. I don't get to see him that often, so we wanted to stop by to say hello... and goodbye.

He's 90 years old, so treatment isn't really much of an option. His only option is to "lay here and wait it out" as he put it. I found it odd how matter of fact he put it, and also how comfortable he was with it. I've never had a conversation with somebody before, knowing very well that its probably gonna be my last. It was a strange feeling. The conversation was wonderful, he was still the same old man I remembered, minus the part where he was flat on his back and had oxygen tubes draped across his face. His uncanny way with words, and his humor, were still as sharp as ever. The fact that this was the last time I would see him didn't really set in until we said our goodbyes and left his room, him unable to accompany us out. I didn't want to leave. When I shook his hand on our exit, I never wanted to let go. I wanted to wait it out with him until the end.

I say he's a good friend of mine, and I consider him as such, but in reality I don't know him all that well. I'm 23 years old, he's 90. He's one of the last people from the 'old world' that I will ever know. I've been around him maybe a dozen times, but in the limited time I've been around him, he's had an amazing impact on me. More than I thought until now.

I'm going to miss him.

Get Lost!

Get Lost!, a photo by wasatch_marx on Flickr.

Dan and I made a quick run up to the Uintas Thursday night. We dubbed it "Mosquito Camp" it was insane. Never have I seen so many of those bastards. Nevertheless it was an awesome and much needed trip. We discovered a rumored lake that had excellent Cutthroat fishing, had some close encounters with some deer, and were able to watch the meteor shower! Video footage coming soon.. hopefully.

Twilight

Twilight, a photo by wasatch_marx on Flickr.

Better late than never I guess.... the other week my friend and I made a quick hike up at Brighton. I've never done it, and so it seemed like something that should happen. The flowers were beautiful up there and it was a nice easy getawayfromthecity for a couple hours. Dan

Hooked Up

Hooked Up, a photo by wasatch_marx on Flickr.

^^ Dan getting hooked up! ^^
Went fishing for the first time in a minute the other day with Dan the man. Caught some fish but nothing spectacular. #shouldhavehitthedrakehatch

Baldy Chute Brah

I did a nice tour Saturday morning (May 21st!!!) with Dan. It started out a little late, but turned into a wonderful day. Alta Ski resort has shut its chairs down for the season, which leaves the mountain open to those willing to climb it. Dan and I are two of many. We left the truck a little after 8:30 am and began our climb. It was a beautiful day (which resulted in my face getting fried!) for a tour and the snow actually turned out to be pretty good. We decided to go all the way up to the top of Mt. Baldy. On our way we ran into a Snowbird ski patroller who we stopped and chatted with for a minute. Shortly after we heard a very loud noise, I looked across the canyon and saw the aftermath of an avalanche spewing over the Hellgate cliffs! Dan and I quickly busted out our cameras and I stretched my 55mm lens to its max trying to get a decent photo. It continued to release a few times an hour for the rest of the time we were up there. Neat! (but scary at the same time). We were almost to the top when Dan's dynafits started giving him fits on the icy top, so he decided to boot the rest of the way up. I skinned, which I'm not sure was the best idea, but I made it.
Once at the top, we looked around for a second while we transitioned and then it was time for the descent! Dan went first and laid down a nice line in the chute, straight-lined the bottom, and stopped in a clump of trees to get some photos of my ride. I put some nice turns down for about half of the chute and then pretty much straight-lined the rest... that is until things got a little hairy and I did a couple cartwheels. I'm not entirely sure what happened, but somehow my weight got shifted really far forward and a lanyard on my glove actually got caught on my binding, I pulled real hard, and actually snapped the lanyard, but it was to late. Classic.. nosedive, airborne cartwheels, and then kablammo! He's got some cool shots of the wreckage that you can check out here. Luckily the snow was soft enough that I didn't sustain any injuries, it was a hell of a crash though! Once I met up with Dan, we party-rode the rest of the run back down to the car, passing a group of snow-shoe-ers.