Aug
1999
The Sawtooths
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David and Brad grew up in Idaho, home of the Sawtooth mountain range. So in 1999 we decided to venture up north to the great land of the “pointy peaks”.
We left on our usual Monday departure for Idaho. It was a long drive of maybe 8 hours or so on I-15 up through the valley with the Wasatch off to the east. Then we headed west on I-84 towards Twin Falls, ID and then north on route 75 on to our destination near Stanley, Idaho. We would make our way to a small campground near Stanley called Iron Creek campground which would be our trail head the next day.
On Tuesday we began our hike on a cloudy and drizzly morning. The rain was not a huge problem and eventually gave way to some sun and clouds as we made our way along a winding trail towards Goat Falls. The climb was not too bad and the trail was in the shade of a nice pine forest…all in all, a very nice walk. But then we got to the falls itself. The trail became very steep and not as much of a trail. In fact, it was more of a large vertical sandbox. Two steps forward, one step back. And the falls were in the direct sun. With increasing sand in my shoes, I remember being hot and wondering when the climb would be over. After maybe 800 feet of vertical we finally got to the top of Goat Falls. We stopped for a little lunch and a nice cool washing of our feet in the 35° water. It felt good to get all that sand and sweat out of our boots.
Apr
1998
Coyote Creek to Esscalante River: Escalante National Monument
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The right time of year to visit Utah’s high desert is the Spring which is what we did in 1998. I headed out to Salt Lake on April 4th for our annual hike. But since the snow was still falling and plentiful, we stole one day on the front end to visit the Alta ski area. 12″ or more of fresh powder awaited us on a warm spring day. I think we counted 38 people total on the mountain. And the lift tickets were half price spring skiing! Never felt so much like a theif as that day at Alta.
The next day we met up with our largest group of hikers ever. We had Dave Kenison, David Hansen, Brad Clements, Gary (a friend of Brad’s), Buce Craygun, and Kim Ashcroft. And we would eventually meet up with Davy Crockett who was then living in Arizona and would drive North to meet up.
As we drove down we enjoyed the landscape as it gradually got to be red and orange…the colors of southern Utah. We went past some canyon rock that looked a lot like Bryce Canyon NP rock (hoodoos) and stopped to take some pictures of the freshly fallen snow on the rocks. Very pretty. But unbeknown to us, the snow would prove problematic for our friend Mr. Crockett.
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Aug
1997
Bechlor River Drainage Yellowstone NP
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Following our successful climb of the High Unintas in Utah, we decided to go a bit farther and venture into Yellowstone National Park for our next adventure. We planned to start near the Old Faithful geyser basin and trek through the backcountry to the Lone Star Geyser. Once beyond that we would explore the Shoshone Geyser basin and continue over the continental divide into the Bechlor River drainage and on out to the West almost exiting the park into Idaho.
We would need a shuttle for this 30+ mile one way trip as the drive back was over 3 hours each way! And without a car at the end, that would make for a long end to a long hike. So we enlisted the help of David Hansen’s father and friend who live in Rexburg, Idaho.
We set out from Salt Lake in the morning and drove to Rexburg and stayed the night with David’s father. He made us feel right at home. Amazing how much David and his dad are alike. They both have that deep “radio personality” voice. Fun to hear them talking together. Anyway, for breakfast we got some home made hash browned potatoes…not just potatoes….Idaho potatoes! That got us ready for the 3 hour drive into Yellowstone.
Brad, David and I piled into David’s father’s pick-up truck for the trip up to Yellowstone. David’s father is a geologist so we got a great 3 hour overview of the history of the land we were driving around. One of the more amazing facts is that Yellowstone National Park is sitting on top of one of the largest volcanic calderas in the world. In fact, it is a “Super Volcano“. The last time it blew some 2.1 million years ago, it deposited ash as far away as the Texas gulf coast! With this handy information in hand, we drove towards the caldera!
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Aug
1996
Kings Peak Wilderness
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Following our overland adventure the year before, we decided to embark on a trek in a more popular area…and on an established trail! Imagine that. We would throw in a couple of summits of some 13K peaks as well including the highest peak in Utah, Kings Peak.
We drove the 6+ hours to the trail head with a much bigger group than the year before. On this hike I met Dave Crockett and Dave Kenison. Dave was a strapping man who seemed to take one step for every 4-6 steps of a mere mortal (me). No problem, I would just take my time and hang out in the back of the group. Luckily I had some company….Dave Crockett! He was an older gentleman and liked taking it slow due to his knee issues. Great! I had some company. Little did I know that years later, Dave Crockett would turn into this. But I will save that for later.
The trail began on a wide gently sloping path from the parking lot. We had a light day the first day of just 6 miles or so since we were getting a late start. It was an easy hike and we all took our time. We got to a nice campsite area near the trail around 4pm or so and pitched camp. Bugs were an issue, but we had rain coats and plenty of deet to fend them off.
The next day we set out early after breakfast. I remember the group got together for a short prayer before we left camp. I am not that religous of a guy and wondered if maybe I was getting into something over my head, but I went along and thanked god just the same. I remember thinking after last year, if it can help, why not?
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Aug
1995
American Fork Canyon to Snowbird
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For me (Carl), this was my first hike in many years…especially at this level of grueling pace and difficulty. It was also my first introduction to Brad Clements. While I had known David Hansen for a year or so (his wife and my wife worked together), it was also my first real exposure to David in the backcounty….not a pretty site!
I flew out to SLC with David back in the day when $199 would get you a round trip flight on an 80% empty plane. David munched on a rotten banana in the seat next to me on the ride out.