The Mountains Are Calling
The days are getting long and hot, over one hundred degrees already in June! Seriously it is HOT!
We decided to go to the mountains, we have been talking about hiking Deseret Peak for 6 months, why not today? Last week we hiked about a half-mile up the trail on a little adventure, it was pretty good but we were not ready to stay that day, we were just exploring. It gave us an idea of what we would expect, we needed water for sure, and we knew if we made it by 5pm we should have enough light and it would be cool enough to get started up the mountain. Tish had never backpacked in and stayed the night anywhere, so we thought “we will just go as far as we can and hang up our hammocks in the trees”.
Packing we used our Gear Checklist, we had everything on there in addition to the dog food. We checked the list twice, and oops we needed to grab some Cliff Bars. On the way out we grabbed a gallon of water to fill up our camelbacks and we grabbed a new life straw and some chem lights. Checked our first aid kit and grabbed a fire starter as well.
The dogs are restless too so we took Caly, Jack, and Auggie. Tish had loaded water bottles for them into their dog backpacks. Side note, you should fit the backpacks BEFORE you get to the trail. Moving on, we loaded up and headed out. On the way to the trail we noticed a small fire a couple of ridges over, it was a safe distance away but nonetheless caused a massive amount of smoke and made it a bit hard to breathe. It was not enough to stop us though.
We arrived about 4 pm, it was still 95 DEGREES! Jack threw up all over our gear and the dog gear. Ewe, thanks JACK! It didn’t help either our thought that it would be cooler in the mountains, it was not even close. It was shady though, so it can only get cooler from here. We cleaned up the puke, filled the camelbacks and Tish tried to put on Jack’s backpack… Well, back to the fit prior to the hiking story, Jack was not very enthused and Tish was running low on patience due to the heat. She said just throw those 10 bottles of water in my pack I will carry them!…. Um, Babe, you hate wearing a backpack, that is ten pounds… Okay, sure no problem. HAHA, I loaded 6 of them in my pack (it has a frame and is made for carrying a load) and 4 in hers. And we headed out, without the dog backpacks.
We were off to a great start, Tish was on a mission and I was a little nervous for some reason. We hiked about a half-mile at a really fast pace. Tish stopped and was breathing really hard, the smoke made the air really thick. I was worried and asked if she wanted to go back to the car… Yeah, that was a dumb ass question. She said NO and now she was really booking it, with a backpack she never carries, full of dog food, water, and our hammocks. Probably an extra 15 pounds or maybe even 20 I would guess.
We stopped again and rested at a river we found, oops guess I didn’t need to bring an extra 10 pounds of water for the dogs. But I didn’t know so they had a drink we rested and then a couple carrying only water passed us on the trail. Tish made sure to tell me they only had water in their packs! I laughed. They were not staying the night… HA! She did not think I was funny. At all. She reminded me I wanted to empower women and all I was doing was asking her if she wanted to go back. Yep, she was right… From that moment on, I drove her crazy with you got this, and let’s go! She is so damn determined, she makes me want to be better and do better and I feel so thankful that she is in my life!
We made it in probably halfway and stopped for the night. We hung out in the hammocks and let the dogs be dogs and explore the mountainside. The river rushing by, we decided one hammock was enough and cuddled up. It was cold up there, with a patch of unmelted snow nearby it had still been hovering in the lower temps. Every time the wind blew my ass would freeze! It was so refreshing! Stars bright and dogs nearby, so peaceful.
The sunrise was beautiful and after a night under the stars, Tish looked like she stayed at the Ritz hotel!
We gathered up our stuff and headed down before the heat set back in. Caly played in the one patch of snow in the whole county and we were off. What an amazing trip!
I cannot wait to go back and hike it again. We will make the top this year, along with all the other amazing goals we have to hit. Living life doitoutside and killing it every day!
PS I can only get better at this damn blog thing… thanks for reading and bear with me as I figure out the Blogger platform.
For our survival guide click on the link below….