5/8 Moon

Last Friday I took horses back into Dark Canyon to meet up with our District Archeologists and volunteers who are continuing the inventory of the Wilderness. My Dad and Carl came in with me this time and it was great to have them along. The weather was perfect warm days and cold nights. We went up several side canyons I had not been into before and visted some new ruins.

The vehicle driving the supplies to the trailhead got stuck and ended up being four hours late, which meant we did not get back to our camp (after packing thier supplies in) until about midnight. It was nice to see the canyon in the moonlight. It always amazes me how well horses do in the night, picking the trail up even when it is pitch dark.

I was glad my Dad got to see some of the places where I work. He is a pretty resiliant guy, it is hard for him to get around sometimes but he never complains and is always up for any adventure, even a midnight ride through rough country. As we rode through the night he said he was glad we had a 5/8 moon to ride under. Only my Dad who has spent his life with a tape measure would measure the moon in 1/8ths.

Dad and Carl getting ready to leave camp

Last light in Horse Pasture Canyon




Exposed ruins, watch your step when you go fetch the corn

Heading up Horse Pasture Canyon

Fall and Big Fish

For some reason Fall aways seems to be the season that appears so abruptly. One day it is over a hundred degrees and the next the aspens are golden and the elk are bugling. Fall seems to slowly meld into full fledged winter and then winter slowly gives way to Spring which gradually warms into Summer, but Fall pounces out of nowhere. It surprises me every year.

I took the boys up to Oowah tonight to revel in the Fall and fish. I ended up only catching one little brookie, but I thought I caught a monster for a minute. I had just gotten the canoe into optimum casting postion and my line started being ripped out of my reel faster than I had ever seen, it was so strong it pulled my canoe out into the middle of the lake, it actually scaird me to imagine the size of the fish that had to be on the end of my line and then the great beast surfaced and instead of the silver finned rainbow I was expecting the dark hairy body of Castor Canadenis (Beaver) rose up out of the depths all tangled up in my fly line. Luckliy he was not hooked just tangled in my line. When I lived in Montana I actually caught a bat with my fly rod, but this is the first beaver I have caught.

solo River

Trying to land some beaver

Chokecherries

The beggining of Fall always brings out the hunter/gatherer in me (more gatherer than hunter these days). So a couple of weeks ago we went up on the mountain to pick chokecherries for jelly. It takes a lot of chokecherries to make jelly, so we ended up making syrup instead. The boys love it.

Chokecherries in your face

Alina the wood elf

Canyoneering Bears

This was on the front page of the paper here today. Apparently this black bear got herself stuck in a keeper pothole over the weekend, with no way out until some hikers found her and threw some logs down in for a ladder.

Last Chance Rapid stolen from the Newtons

I had to steal a meat photo from Newtys blog. The more species the merrier.

3rd Annual Meat Fest and Dirt Burgers

The 3rd Annual Westwater Meat Fest occured this past weekend. At leat four species made it on to the grill this year including wapiti. My camera battery died about an hour into the trip so no photos of the meat made it on the blog this year. After the Westwater float we woke up early Sunday morning and drove to the Loop Road and rode the Kokopelli Trail, UPS, LPS and the Sand Flats Road. Todd was the only one to eat a dirt burger on the way down. We also made it in to the Cowboy Jacuzzi for some swimming, a couple of short hikes into Arches and the last hour of the Classical Music Concert at Old City Park. I am looking forward to going to work so I can rest for a minute.

Ty, Tiff, and Ashley floating down to Upper Cougar Camp



Creed and the interesting texture of the Precambrian schist that makes up the inner gorge of Westwater Canyon

River and the black and red canyon

Some Euro dude named Bruno, we ran into wearing womens clothing under his drytop

Todd riding the steep stuff prior to eating some dirt