summer so far...

I kept thinking to myself that I still have plenty of summer to still write, but I realized that today is already the beginning of August.

Where did it go???

I suppose that I should keep up on my writing because this is the closest thing I have to a journal at the moment. Needless to say it's been a busy summer. Right after school ended I packed up and headed to CA to fulfill my lifelong desire to sell pest control door-to-door. . . . . . . . . . . .

Just kidding.

That lasted a few weeks (enough to see a few friends from my mission and visit Lake Tahoe with a great friend) and I realized that I left my heart in Moab and that's where I needed to be. So I woke up one morning, called and quit, threw my stuff in the back of my truck and dead-headed it back to the homeland. I was lucky enough to get my riverguiding job back that I had before my mission, and I've been working nights at Sunset Grill as a server.

So between whitewater trips and serving delish steak and seafood I've been climbing and camping when I can. It's been so good to be with my family (especially my brother Joseph who leaves on his mission to Brazil at the end of this month), hang out with old friends, and find new ones.

Anyways, the summer's not over yet, but here are a few of the highlights so far. One of the best trips this summer was a Desolation Canyon trip I did with Dani and Kayla (can you tell that Deso is my favorite?).

Lasal Mountains

Camp at Jack Creek, Desolation

Kerri on Nervous in Suburbia, Wall St.

Rocky Rapid, Fisher Towers section of the Colorado

Training

We've been busy at World Wide these past two weeks; we did a Cataract Canyon trip in one and a half days, ran Westwater five times, and did a three-day Desolation Canyon trip.

Cat went by fast with an S-rig and one row boat. About 20,000 cfs.

I had never done Westwater before, and I was amazed at the incredible rock formations and intense rapids. Desolation Canyon is the best multi-day trip, but Westwater is a new favorite.

About 15-20,000 cfs

The black canyon walls are metamorphic rock called "Vishnu Schist." Westwater Canyon is the only place on the Colorado besides the Grand Canyon where Precambrian rock is exposed. It's eroded by water pushing around smaller rocks creating little tunnels called "fluting."

Meet Kirk, Ghia's husband as of January. He came along and helped train, as well as motor and cut down rowing time. He's a fly guy, and his boat is sweet!

This was my fourth time down Deso (about 22-24,000 cfs). I love that canyon; the history is full of ranchers and outlaws, indian lore, fun rapids, and incredible beauty.

Celebrating Joe and Jordan's birthdays with dutch oven carrot cake and lots of burning things.

 

Joe and I had a minor sinus issue... allergies.

A few of the crew this year: Will, Dallin, me, Ivy, Cameron, Joe, Libby, Ghia, Matt, Jane, Kim, Jordan, and Lexy.

Atop a towering cliff about Rattlesnake rapid. I love this place!

Deso #3

Last week Karen, Kerri, Ammon and I did a three day Desolation Canyon trip. We actually did the whole thing in about 50 hours (Karen had to be back for a Cat trip), without a motor. Cooking on the boat, naps on the boat, grooving on the... no, just kidding! We rowed into the dark every night, and even floated Range Creek Rapid in the dark. Camp was always late, but we enjoyed it and the weather was beautiful. No rain, hardly any wind, and it was pretty warm. We stopped at the iron-prowed skiff, Rock Creek Ranch, the Three Canyons Bridge, Last Chance Rapid (in the dark!), and climbed up the cliff at Rattlesnake. Most of these places we don't stop when we're on commercial trips. And the wildlife was amazing! There were bald eagles, two herds of bighorn sheep, and lots of beavers. It's the best in the fall - I love guide trips.

Company Cat

This year we got to do a company Cataract Canyon trip! It was just a bunch of guides, friends, and one of Nicki's friends with her family. It was so much fun, and the rapids were awesome.

The crew: John, Mark, Mike, Stephen, Joe, Ivy, Karen, Chris, Jordan, Lexy, Erica, Scott, Jane, Dale, Suzy, Clinton, Morgan, and Sheena.

Like always, Suzy just can't seem to keep her hands off me, and of course Clinton has to help her out. Some passengers on other trips have even asked if Suzy and I are dating because she horses around a lot more than Ivy does :P

Holly wanted to "go on the boats" instead of driving back with Steve.

 We left the put-in at about 9:30, so it was dark as we motored to our first campsite. It was cool, I've never rafted in the dark! People read, slept, and ate leftover cheesecake from some wedding reception.

The fun boat with Mark, Joe, Suzy, Me, Ivy, Morgan, Steven, and Scott.

For dress-up night all three of us unintentionally wore Hawaiian-themed clothing.

I love Cataract Canyon

Hot Date

A while ago Ivy and I went on a sunset hummer tour with Mike, who was a bus driver and guide for World Wide and now works at High Point Hummer. He is an awesome guide at anything he does and he's very entertaining. We went up Sand Flats road and crawled around the slickrock there.

River Life

This summer I got a job as a riverguide! I'm working for World Wide River Expeditions, the Hazlett's rafting company. Right now I'm mostly doing one-day and three-day trips down the Fisher Towers section of the Colorado River. There are a lot of youth conferences and scout groups that come for river trips.

Guides at Moab Diner during training.

Jed, Mike and I got the same Chacos!

Sheena and I on the Desolation Canyon training trip.

Firewater Canyon in Deso.

Rowing the daily

Most of the times I'm guiding a boat like this, a paddleboat with 8-12 passengers.

Moab Action Shots takes pictures of all the boating companies and posts them online. Check them out!