Although Dave, Spencer and Tyler had gone on a couple of 42-50 mile backpacking trips with their Boy Scout troop from church, they really wanted to do one on their own. Spencer spearheaded the expedition and spent months studying Google Earth and mapping out their route. He wanted to go completely off trail and climb an unnamed peak. However, after talking to our next-door neighbor, who frequently goes up into these mountains for fishing and camping, he decided it was best to stick to the trails as much as possible.
Dallin is just barely 13 years old, and this was his first backpacking trip. He was a little doubtful about the whole thing, but he did great and I think he almost enjoyed it!
Dave did most of the gathering of equipment and planning of meals. It's amazing how long it takes to get ready for these things. They can't take much with them, but somehow that little bit of stuff takes months to gather and prepare!
They made sure to hike and camp along water the whole time so they could pump water.
They had tons of river crossings!
On their second day of hiking, they accidentally got off the trail and had to navigate their way through rough terrain for a couple of hours. They weren't totally lost, since they were right next to a river and knew they would meet up with the trail again at some point, but it was slow going; the experience really helped them appreciate the trail! It made them extremely grateful for our neighbor's advice to stick to the trail! There's a gospel message in there. They were thrilled when they finally saw this little pile of rocks, because it meant they were back on the trail!
They stopped for lunch by a little cabin in the middle of no where. It might have been a weather station, who knows. Dallin was an excellent photographer and set up several shots like this one with a timer. I was super appreciative of all the pictures!!
After going on a couple of these trips, they have started to learn what foods they like and which ones are not so great. They pretty much avoid all MRE-type dehydrated meals because they don't taste good.
This picture is crazy because it's hard to tell if it's Spencer or Tyler. They both make this face. I'm pretty sure it's Spencer.
The mornings were chilly, but it warmed up quick. They had excellent weather.
I love this panoramic!
First glimpse of the mountain they climbed!
Here it is, zoomed in.
The terrain changes drastically above the tree line! And there was still lots of snow!
Look at all that snow! It must not have been too cold, though, because they're not wearing all their layers.
As soon as they got to Cathedral Lake, they put down their backpacks and headed up the unnamed mountain.
Amazing views all around!
When they got to the top of the Le Conte Divide, they could see forever on both sides! There were tons of lakes no one ever goes to.
It was steep and snowy and basically made up of huge boulders. They walked along the ridge for a little while but got to the point where they couldn't go any further without climbing equipment. So although they got to the top of the ridge, they didn't get to the highest point in the mountain.
They ate lunch at the top, but the altitude made it so they weren't all that hungry.
After they got back down from the mountain, they set up camp by Cathedral Lake. It is now their favorite place in the world to camp! It is beautiful, peaceful and remote - 20 miles from the nearest road!
The fishing at Cathedral was incredible. These fish don't see a lot of fishermen; they were large and easy to catch!
They fried them up with spices I'd packed for them, just in case.
They loved seeing where all the streams and rivers originate. They saw snow melting before their eyes and forming little streams, which combined to form lakes, waterfalls and rivers.
Since they didn't quite make it to the very top of the mountain, Spencer is determined to go back at some point and try again. He'll try to go when there's less snow so he can go up a different way.
Heading back down, below the tree line.
They had a campfire one night - their last night on the trail. They ran into other hikers at this point, since they were only a day away from Courtright. Other than that, they had the lakes and mountains all to themselves!
I'm proud of Dallin for going and doing so great. I wonder if he'll want to go again...
They came home incredibly happy and excited to tell us all about their week. They learned a ton and can't wait for their next backpacking trip!
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