yurt stoke

Yurt: a Turkish or Mongolian tent-like structure, the traditional dwellings of nomads in central Asia.

Pretty much, the coolest cabin you've ever seen.

This March a group of friends and I rented and stayed in the yurt up Green Canyon here in Logan, UT. It was incredible! The weather couldn't have been better and the hike in was beautiful. We left Logan late afternoon on a Friday, and the hike was pretty moderate. Total of 4 miles from the trailhead, and we hit snow about a mile in. During the summer this campsite is accessible by 4WD, but the road is blocked and the yurt is set up in the winter months for backcountry snowshoers and skiers.

We stayed overnight in luxury with four bunk beds, a wood burning stove, propane for cooking, and even an outhouse (in case your butt wasn't already cold enough from the walk over)! All we had to bring was our sleeping bags, personal gear, and food - everything else was provided. After bear creek soups for dinner that night we roasted s'mores and played campfire games.

The next morning we cooked pancakes and bacon for breakfast and melted snow for drinking/washing water. We left about 11 o'clock, and it was a little cloudy but we didn't have any snow or rain.

Katrina, Kelli, Kori, Braden, Jacob
Clarissa, Jame
me and Todd

Stoke level: through the roof!

Braden keeping it classy in sandals.

I'm happy to check this off the bucket list, but this will probably become a winter tradition. I think next year we'll rent it for a couple days and spend it snowshoeing and skiing some of the trails up there. This was an incredible experience and well worth doing again.

This yurt and two others up Logan Canyon are owned and rented by Powder Ridge Ski Tours. They keep their yurts well maintained and stocked. I would recommend them to anyone, check them out!

corona arch rope swingin'

"So I just go???"
- the last few words out of my mouth before yelling at the top of my lungs as I took the 100 foot drop below Corona Arch.

This was possibly the craziest thing I've done in a long time, second to skydiving when I was 18. My roommate and I hiked to the top of Corona Arch while a group of people were swinging, inspected the gear and riggings, and jumped. If Clint hadn't jumped first I probably wouldn't have tried it. He jumped without hesitation! I barely had time to start recording with my camera. After watching a couple people swing from the arch it seemed pretty safe, but somehow that hike back down to the canyon floor didn't seem so bad! But I just had to try it and I'm glad I did. Try everything at least once, right?

You'll love my facial expressions mid-flight.



Spring break has come and gone too fast! Braden and I originally went to Moab to volunteer for and run the Canyonlands Half Marathon and Clint came down to have fun and see some family. Saturday after the race we all decided to hike Corona Arch and ended up jumping off of it. I don't think I woke up race morning and said to myself, "I want to jump off a cliff today," but it was definitely one of the highlights of the trip.

Would I do it again? YES. 100%. It would be a lot easier the second time anyways. Sometimes I wonder if it ever gets old for some people, but I guess not, otherwise why are they still doing it? Whatever, call me an adrenaline junkie.

betagraph

The weather has been BALMY lately (50s compared to temperatures in the teens), so my roommate Clint and I cancelled our memberships to the local climbing gym and started rock climbing up the canyon again. This week we climbed The Fairy, Babe-a-lishes, and Prelude to an Illness at the Betagraph crag. While Clint was leading Prelude to an Illness (which was wet from the snow melt), he took a pretty good whipper and the footage is priceless. You'll definitely want to click that fullscreen button in the corner. Enjoy.

amasa back

A couple weekends ago I went down to Moab with a roommate who was running the Moab Red Hot trail run. It was awesome to spend time with family and friends and the outdoor temperatures couldn't have been better! The morning before I headed back north for Logan my brother Joseph and friend Kerri and I rode the Amasa Back trail. The last time I attempted that one was about four years ago when I got sick! I was ascending the long uphill at the beginning when I was coughing and spitting out bloody mucus, and then my derailleur broke. So.... I figured it was a good idea to turn around and coast back to the trailhead. Little did I know at the time that a broken bike part was the least of my worries, but alls well that ends well right?

I've been experimenting with different angles and techniques with this little camera. This is a fun two minute video that I put together from the ride, and ends with a wreck and a broken GoPro mount.

49hr Deso

Last weekend we had a 48hr Deso reunion! Three years ago Karen, Ammon, Kerri and I did a 50 (not quite 48) hour Deso trip on the Green. Since then, Ammon and Karen got married (that trip started it all), I served a mission, and life went on.

So, we planned a reunion trip! The government opened up just in time to check our permits and let us on the water. Former guides Joe and Caity to joined us and we rowed all day, into the night, ate on the boat, slept on the boat.... and broke our record by an hour, making this the forty-nine hour Deso trip. It was a amazing to see the fall colors and different autumn sun on this river.

Illusions

I've wanted a GoPro camera for years, but just couldn't justify dumping a wad of cash to get one. But, my sense of frugality finally broke down to my carnal desires and...





...I got one.






I love it!


I took it out the other day when me and my buddy Clay climbed in Logan Canyon. I bought the helmet strap, so I just slapped it on my brain bucket and tried it out. I'd say it did pretty darn good. I made this video (first video edit with this software, not the greatest in the world but still stinkin' sweet). Check it out:

                          

This is Illusions 5.10b, Fucoidal Quartzite. You can see a couple times where I forget the camera's on my head and bump it on the rock. Good thing it's indestructible.

There will be many more to come!