Saturday, June 28, 2008

Lots of Hiking

Well I know it's been a while since I wrote anything. Honestly it's become rather difficult to get anything done around here. The internet is so slow and this site needs more work than I'm able to give it. I put up some new pictures, but left them in a stock album format until I get the time to add the geo-tags. I really don't want this site to become a burden so I'm trying not to spend too much time on it. I figure about an hour of internet in the laundromat every week is all I can really handle.

So the mountain trek was fun. We had a hard itinerary and so we spent a lot of our time hiking rather than relaxing or doing program. It was fun, but I don't know that I would want to push those kind of miles on kids who may or may not have much hiking experience. One of the guys had done the exact same trek before, so it was a little difficult to please him, but some of the others had done hardly any backpacking before.

Sunset during campfire at Crater Lake

My last crew was another one from Texas. This one didn't fit the normal stereotypes though. They were actually probably one of my best crews. We went from Lovers Leap to Crater Lake and got to see the campfire there. It was really good like it always is. I had a few days off for my hike in, so I decided to hike some trails I had never done before. I wandered around Bonita Canyon for a while and spent some time down at Black Mountain Camp. Those guys are about to loose it, being one of the only camps without road access. Or maybe its all the lead balls they shoot on the range which eventually drains into their drinking water. Hmm... Maybe they should think that one through a little more.

Anyway, after visiting Black I went up to Mt. Phillips to see the sunset. It was beautiful, but as was expected, there were a lot of crews up there. I probably counted seven or eight people talking on cell phones, which was a real disappointment. I didn't bother trying to talk to them; I just went and found a spot by myself a little way down. I spent the night up there and did most of Super Black Death the next day. I say most, because I didn't go all the way down to Clear Creek. Since I knew it wasn't going to be official anyway and I was cutting it close for dinner, I took the Stockade trail off of the Tooth and caught a ride back into base along the Lovers Road. It was steep, but honestly it wasn't nearly as bad as I remember it being.

Me on the Tooth of Time

Going by the Stockade also let me see a little of the fire damage they had a few days ago. Lightning struck near the Stockade while I was at Lovers Leap with my crew. We heard helicopters which apparently were putting water on the fire. It was contained before it spread too far. From what I could tell it only affected a few acres if that. Nothing too serious but we're all on the lookout for fires. There's supposed to be thunderstorms all this week and without any rain, that poses a serious fire threat.

Today I pick up a crew for LDS week. I haven't been too involved with it in the past, but from what I can tell, it should be fun. A lot of work, but at least I'll be out in the backcountry. Everything seems easier out there. None of these real world troubles to worry about. Just yourself, the mountains, and whatever you decided to carry on your back. That's really all you need. Well that's going to have to be all for now. If this LDS thing turns out to be as much work as they say, it could be a few weeks before I get a chance to write again. Sorry in advance for the lack of updates. Oh well.


- Drew