Emmy's First Deer

Emmy took her first deer this evening. She took a doe mule deer from 100 yards with a muzzleloader. We were pretty excited. She had a doe tag for our friend's land in the Uintah Mountains above our house.

Grand Canyon Backpacking 2014

For Spring Break, we took the kids on a 30 mile backpacking trip into the Grand Canyon. This was the 4th trip for the girls, and the 3rd trip for the boys. We hiked down the South Kaibab Trail 7.3 miles, with about 4,800 feet of elevation drop, from the forested South Rim of the Grand Canyon to the Colorado River. We stayed at Bright Angel Campground for two nights. The second day, we day hiked 12 miles round trip up the North Kaibab Trail to Ribbon Falls. Day 3, we hiked about 5.5 miles up the Bright Angel Trail to Indian Garden. This trail crosses the Silver Pipeline suspension bridge (one of the two footbridges we crossed over the Colorado River), skirts along the river cliffs and then climbs up the Devil's Corkscrew to Indian Garden. Stayed the 3rd night at Indian Garden. Day 4, we climbed the 4.5 miles up the Bright Angel Trail back to the South Rim. We keep the packs manageable. I've purchased lighter gear over the years, and after many, many trips through the Grand Canyon over the past 23 years covering somewhere between 700-1,000 miles, we have it down to a science. Pack weights (with water): Joe - 30 lbs, Brandi - 26 lbs, Annie - 26 lbs, Emmy 24 lbs, James - 20 lbs, Matt - 10 lbs. The kids' packs get lighter as the trip goes on since the food gets eaten along the way. We wear trail running shoes or really light low-top hikers, and the kids are able to move at a pretty good pace. 

 James and Matthew on the hike out. We have great kids. They're really great to be around and willing to be adventurous. 

 Annie is our speedhiker. With some effort, Emmy can keep up with her, but Annie is pretty aggressive on the trails, especially the climbs. I told her last year I had never climbed out from Indian Garden to the rim (4.5 miles and 3,000 feet of elevation gain) in less than 2.5 hours. So, she hiked out with Emmy in 2 hours. This year, she left with Brandi and Emmy with the goal to hike out in 1:45. Brandi said Annie wouldn't even let them stop for water - "No snack or water breaks!" Annie and Emmy topped out in 1:50, and Brandi was 16 minutes behind them. James, Matthew, and I took 2:45. I gave the boys each a Tootsie Pop the last 1.5 miles and told them to try and make it last (just to take their minds off the sun and achy legs). It mostly worked. Matthew's lasted right to the rim.  

 At the trailhead about to hike down the South Kaibab Trail. I first did this exact trip with my dad and brothers, John and Daniel, back in 1991 when I was 18 years old. I remember my dad was going to hike down in some leather house slippers before we talked him out of it. On that trip, my dad packed the food, which consisted of Beef Top Ramen, pancake mix, and lemon-lime Gatorade. 

 James and Matt.

 I was always hiking with James and Matt, so most of the trail pictures are of them. Heading down the South Kaibab. The temps were in the 50-75 range the entire trip with no rain. However, the hike down was in high winds. The upper trails are along cliff edges, and with the 40+ mph winds, it made Brandi nervous. She stayed with us to hold Matt's hand the first 5 miles, and then left us to hike with Emmy. 

 James and Matt hiking down the South Kaibab.

 On a cliff ledge looking almost straight down at the confluence of the Colorado River and Bright Angel Creek. Our camp is along Bright Angel Creek in those light green trees middle right. I love Bright Angel Campground - a true oasis.

 About to enter the tunnel leading to the Black Suspension Bridge to cross the Colorado River. 

 James reading in camp. Last year, I discovered these REI backpacking chairs that weigh 1 lb. I bought a second one this year. Makes camp so much more comfortable.

 Brandi and Annie slept in the tent (background to the right). I slept out under the stars with James, Matt, and Emmy. I did set up my Walrus Trekker Tarp the first two night in case of rain. I slept under the lunar eclipse Tuesday night, waking up as it progressed each hour.

 Matt waking up.

 I love hiking in the spring as the desert flowers are in bloom. The agave or century plants were sending up shoots all over the place. Matt and James near one on the way up to Ribbon Falls.

 Brandi reading along the Colorado River as the kids play in the water and on the beach.

 James in Bright Angel Creek with a mule deer right behind him.

 James hiking along the river on the way to Indian Garden.

 Me and the boys. 

 James and Matt hiking along the river. 

 James at Indian Garden as the sun set.

 Annie is our pickiest eater. The rest of us eat Cream of Wheat or Oatmeal with hot chocolate or hot cider for breakfast, but she won't eat that. So, we bring her pop tarts. But she even picks off the edges of those (anything without frosting on the edge gets picked off). For lunch this year, we had packets of salmon and tuna and crackers. We also had ramen as an extra or second helping. For dinner, we use freeze dried meals - the kids had spaghetti or lasagna while Brandi and I had Backpacker's Pantry meals: Pad Thai, Pad See You, and some kind of rice and curry. We really liked the Pad See You meal. I plan out each meal and all of the trail snacks for each day of hiking. I also have a miscellaneous snack bag for camp - this year it had extra fruit snacks, bubble gum, Tootsie Pops, ginger snaps, and trail bars. By Day 4, after breakfast, we had two ramen packets, 1 packet of tuna, 2 packs of oatmeal, a few packets of hot chocolate, and the trail snacks for the hike out. Less than 2 lbs of food left over. Pretty good planning. 

 Eating lunch at Ribbon Falls. I didn't want to do the 12 mile round trip hike, but everyone else wanted to. My legs are tired from marathon training, so I just wanted to lounge around camp. But we went and had fun. We leave Bright Angel Camp and hike along the creek through the tight canyon up the North Kaibab Trail. It takes about 2.5 hours to get up and the same to get back. The trail is a very gradual climb, so it's easy walking. I carry the only daypack loaded with snacks, lunch, and water. I have a Steri Pen for treating water along the way or at the falls. With Phantom Ranch right next to Bright Angel Campground, you can go into the cantina there and buy lemonade or snacks. I bought 6 fresh apples (for .90 cents a piece), and hauled these up on our day hike to the falls to go with our salmon, crackers, jerky, and trail bars. Phantom Ranch is the only inner canyon facility. It's an old rustic camp with small cabins from 70-90 years ago. You can only get there by hiking in or riding the old Grand Canyon mules. It's this little, rustic, hidden oasis miles and miles from anything. I love this little canyon along the Colorado holding the small ranch and the campground. A true oasis.

 Emmy is always happy. Always.

 We all read a lot. I took down Buried in the Sky - a book about climbers dying on K2. Brandi takes her Kindle down. 

 Superhiker Annie.

 We took our backpacking chairs into Bright Angel Creek and soaked our aching feet in the cool waters while we read. 

 Emmy and James climbed into the cave of Ribbon Falls and popped out the portal above. 

 Cactus in bloom everywhere.

 The Devil's Corkscrew taking us up from the river to Indian Garden.

 Playing along the Colorado River.

 The kids did the Junior Ranger programs at Phantom Ranch and Indian Garden. They get patches and badges for doing the programs down "below the rim." 

 Matt at Ribbon Falls.

 Spring in the inner canyon is beautiful. Bright Angel Campground sits along the creek. I sat in the creek for hours. 

 Ribbon Falls.

Brandi hiking down the South Kaibab. We came down that ridge in the background from the top rim. Up there, the winds were pretty high and made for nervous hiking along the cliffs.

Wyoming Trip

I loaded up the kiddos the first week of June and drove up to Star Valley, Wyoming to visit Brandi's family and let the kids play with their cousins. We took the camper up this year since we were staying almost 2 weeks. The kids had a blast playing with their Hodges cousins, and I had fun hanging out with Brandi's parents, Boone and Laura, and Mark and Liz. I'm not including too many photos here (because I didn't take many while up there), but I will post a lot of photos from our backpacking trip to the Green River Lakes in the Wind Rivers while we were up there. I took a ton of photos on that hike. 

 Annie got to hang out with Grandma Hodges and learned how to bake strawberry rhubarb pie.

 The first day up there, Grandpa Hodges was cutting up a ram he had just put down, and he let me put down the ewe, which he then butchered. I used my .22 pistol to shoot the ewe in the head. I've never shot an animal from close range like that, and I thought it would bother me, but it didn't. I suppose knowing it was going to be used to feed the fam took the edge off. I held the gun right to the ewe's head, and it just dropped to the ground. Less dramatic than shooting a deer or elk from long range.

I was looking for bear, and Boone was looking for bugs on the ground or something. Boone had his bear bait up on the wooded ridge above their property, and we went up to watch it one evening. I took my rifle up on the trip just in case I could buy a tag, but they closed the hunts a couple of days before I arrived because quotas had been filled. 

First cutthroat of the year out of the Snake River while fishing with Emmy and Grandpa Hodges.

 Emmy fishing the Snake River with me and Grandpa.

James wakes up every night with a bloody nose (or so it seems), and this morning he had smeared it all over his face, his arms, and the camper wall.

 The ewe ready to be skinned. Brandi's parents, grandparents, brother, and various uncles live on what was her great-grandparent's old original 160 acre homestead.

The rascals tired and sleeping because I woke them up at 4am to drive home to Moab.

Camping at Buckeye Reservoir

James turned 9 on May 25, and he asked to go camping for his birthday. We had a rare weekend with no obligations, so we took advantage of all three days with Memorial Day, arriving up there on Friday and staying til Monday afternoon. Buckeye Reservoir and Pioneer Campground are just over the Utah/Colorado border in the La Sal Mountains about 90 minutes from our house. We hadn't been up there for about 4 years, and it has been closed for 2 years. It is pretty remote and requires lengthy dirt roads to get back in there, though the roads are in good shape from logging companies and the forest service. The past two years, they really cleaned up the entire area and fixed up the campground, though there is also tons of at-large camping if desired in the forests. The reservoir is small enough that it's pretty much row boats only. While it was in the 90s down in Moab, the days up there in the mountains were in the 70s and the nights in the cool 40s. We had a great weekend with the kiddos with long evenings by the campfire, card games, lots of fishing, kids on long "exploring trips" at the lake while Brandi and I relaxed in camp, and good food. We also took up the 4-wheeler I just bought, and I took the kids on long ATV rides through the forests. I let each one of them drive for a couple of hours each (on different trips) so that they were all familiar with it. The boys were better than I thought at their young ages, and the girls were pros. It was kinda nice letting the girls tour me around the mountains. I let Emmy ride up and then down a long technical ridge with lots of steps and boulders - it surprised me how well she did. I took over on two spots because I was nervous, but otherwise she did well. Here's some pics and more details...

We woke up the morning of James' birthday, and as luck would have it, he caught the first fish. A nice little pan-fryer trout.

Matthew caught a crawdad on his fishing line. I kept fishing up shore when he came up to me a little upset. He said his crawdad was gone. I asked him where he put it, and he said he put it on the stringer with the fish but he escaped.

Emmy loves to fish. We got up every morning and fished for a couple of hours. She caught more fish than I did, mainly on a Big Jake.

Our first morning "keepers." We caught probably 10-15 fish each. They were hitting spinners and the Jakes (Big and Lil'), and I caught my bigger ones on a Kamlooper spoon.

The kids loved the 4-wheeler. Like the camper, I wish I had bought one long ago. After riding my brother's ATVs for years, I figured it was time to have my own. We piled on and rode around the lake to our fishing spot each morning and afternoon.

The boys on their first ride with me. Their helmets didn't arrive in time, so we improvised by having them wear mine and Matt has a bike helmet on. We took it slow with them so no mishaps without helmets.

 My cute gal. 

 She didn't like the wind, so this was her only trip over with us to watch us fish.

I figured we'd be camping in the forest, but the campsites were pretty nice and right along the lakeshore, so we just slipped in there. There's no electrical or water - it's just simple mountain campsites with gravel/dirt roads. Because it is so remote, there was hardly anyone there even though it was Memorial Day weekend. 4-wheeler trails branch out in almost every direction, surrounded by national forest, elk, deer, bears, geese, ducks, fishing, and nice and quiet. Love it up there.

 Enjoying an evening Johnsonville Smoked brat by the fire.

These two rascals are best buds. We'd send them off down to the lake and they'd explore the creek and lakeshore for hours.

Emmy riding the ATV. She was actually a natural. Her first ride out, I explained the basics, and then she took us on a 1-hour ride up through the forest to a mesa and down on a nice ATV trail. I didn't have to tell her anything after the first instructions, and pretty soon she was riding it as well as I would.

 Matt chillin' by the fire sippin' a cold orange brew.

On a long evening ride with Annie. We climbed up to the plateau for a view of the sunset and the La Sal Mountains. Moab is on the other side of those peaks. Beautiful country up there in the pines and aspens. Tons of mule deer everywhere. I was surprised how much Annie liked riding the ATV. She's more like her mom about stuff like this usually (Brandi didn't want anything to do with it, only going on one short ride with me).

I found this broken glass in my bed in the camper under the covers. Matt found it at the lake, and the girls said he was using it as a spyglass.

On Sunday, we took all of our fish filets from our catch, battered them up, and I fried them in oil in our cast iron skillet over the fire. We baked french fries in the oven and had fish and chips with fresh lemons and tartar sauce. Awesome lunch!

James' birthday cake we picked up in town on our way out - Transformers! We used matches for candles. He got a bike helmet, Minecraft Legos, a water gun, Pokemon cards, and a ton of gum. I'm a pretty smart guy, and there's not much I can't figure out, but Pokemon is the one thing in this world I just can't wrap my mind around. I don't get it.

 Chillin' with the lady reading while the kids are down at the lake.

 Annie Jane enjoying the fire. Contrary to her look here, she had lots of fun. I sat down and played card games with the gals for the first time in forever - I don't like card games - and actually enjoyed playing "golf" with two decks of cards and 9 "rounds." It was a lot of fun and laughs. One night, all 6 of us stayed up late around the fire with Brandi telling her favorite stories about the kids and their personality traits - it was pretty funny and the kids loved it. Brandi has a great memory for those things, and I didn't even remember most of them.

Our fish and chips spread. Brandi foisted oranges into the mix because she ordered a million of them from Bountiful Basket and has us on an orange eating extravaganza this week.

 Fried fresh-caught lake trout - it was really, really good.

 James and Matt fishing.

I spent the weekend reading The Last Viking - a biography about polar explorer Roald Amundsen. I love biographies about adventurous people.