Hunter Trailhead.

That’s where are journey was to officially begin!

Time for the hiking boots to meet the trail!

One last chance to use what later we would consider a “modern” restroom!

It was about two o’clock when we had our gear ready and our water bottles full. Our scoutmaster had registered our trip and following a couple of group pictures it was time to put all of my expensive hiking gear to use!

My boots, backpack and poles were ready to go!

Better make sure I remember where I put the van keys!

Our first day was going to be one of our easiest, just a three and half mile hike up to our first campsite at a place called, “Soldier’s Park”. Our beginning elevation was approximately 7,800 feet (give or take a few feet) and we would climb about 1,000 feet to get to the site.

Time to hit the trail!

I had followed the packing list very closely. I didn’t want to lug anything on this trip that wasn’t absolutely necessary! My one luxury item was the paperback version of John Grisham’s “The Associate”. I am a big Grisham fan and I knew I would have some downtime in camp in the evenings, time to relax and enjoy one of his books. As far as clothing, I planned to wear my durable scout pants the entire week. The bottom half of the pants “zip” off, so they are easy to convert to shorts and vise versa. They are also made from a quick dry material, so when they get wet, they dry quickly! I also brought along a couple of quick dry t-shirts, a fleece and stocking hat for cool nights and my trusty treking poles!

Before we left Minneapolis, our crew divided up the gear we would be sharing. I would be responsible for hauling a “cook kit”, along with a lunch to be eaten on Wednesday. (After picking up the bag, I couldn’t wait for Wednesday to arrive!)

I also knew there was a pretty good chance that I would have gear added to my backpack as our trek progressed. I was pretty sure that one or more of the scouts would struggle with the weight they were carrying and in order to help out, us strong, fit, slightly greying, middle-aged adults would “volunteer” to carry the extra load!

At the trailhead.

Loaded down and ready to hike!

So off we went!

Goodbye civilization!

Goodbye internet!

Goodbye cell phone coverage!

Hello dusty, rocky, one giant “stairmaster” of a trail!

3.5 miles and 1,000 feet to Soldier’s Park!

It soon became apparent that we would indeed have a couple of people that needed to “lighten” their loads in order to make it. Within a few hundred yards of beginning our trek, there was a fair amount of heavy breathing and difficulty dealing with the grade.

It was sloooooow going! Nowhere near the pace we had kept during our practice hikes in good ‘ol flat Minnesota!

We were in the big leagues now, the Big Horn Mountains!

It took us about three hours to make it to our campsite and there were some tired hikers once we got there! Following our first experience of filtering water and cooking a meal and dealing with thousands of mosquitoes (I’ll never complain about Minnesota’s again), it was time to get a good night’s sleep.

Seven miles of uphill trail awaited us in the morning!

We had rain overnight and we awoke to a cool morning, almost “autumn-like” ( I was grateful for my hat and fleece). Following a quick and mess-free breakfast of oatmeal in a bag, granola bar and hot chocolate in a bag, it was time to hit the trail once again!

Our gear ready for the day!

It was also time to strap on my now heavier backpack!

Yes, in addition to my previous listed gear, overnight, I added a fuel container and bottle of cooking oil and spray butter to help out a young scout.

Our second day of hiking proved to be challenging one. In addition to the miles and the increase in elevation, we had our first river crossings. This is where the hiking boots come off and sandels of some sort go on in order to walk across bone chilling water in a timely fashion! We would have three such crossings on this day and of course there was a learning curve which each one! After a few crossings it was learned that in order to a cross a river efficiently one needed a system of removing one’s boots and socks quickly, putting on sandels, crossing the river, having a camp towel handy to dry off the feet and finally putting back on your liners, socks and boots in a timely fashion! I will say, we improved our skills as the week went along!

My son crossing a river!

As our hike continued, we had made our way into the “Wilderness Boundary Area”. There was a sign post to designate the point. It was a chance to remove our packs for a few moments, catch our breath and snap a few pictures.

My son & I at the Wilderness Boundary.

Time to hike on!

On a climb like this you are focused!

Focused on the person in front of you and each step that you take. You are trying to maintain a good pace and also make sure you don’t slip and twist an ankle or do something worse!

But you also need to soak in the magnificent beauty of the area!

It was simply some of the most beautiful views I have seen in my life!

I tried to snap as many pictures as I could without falling down while doing so!

We're not in Kansas anymore!

Another highlight for me on this day was running into my older son along the trail. He was with a group from our church, who by chance was following the same route that we were. While we were stopped for lunch, their group had caught up to us and I had a chance to greet and exchange a few quick stories with my son. This was his fourth time making this trip, twice with scouts and now twice with our church. He was having a great time and I was happy to see him!

A chance meeting with my older son!

Following another river crossing, we made it to our second campsite. It was called, “Medicine Cabin Park” and once again we had some tired hikers! An evening thunderstorm arrived just in time for dinner! A planned dessert was cancelled as everyone scrambled for their tents.

It was only 6:30, but it felt more like 9:00!

A chance for a little “Grisham” and then lights out!

More trail ahead tomorrow!

I returned Sunday evening from a week of backpacking with my son’s Boy Scout Troop in the Big Horn Mountains near Buffalo, Wyoming.

It was my second “high adventure” trip of the summer. This time, the word, “high” was very appropriate!

Myself, two other adults and seven eager scouts left Minneapolis in two minivans on Sunday, July 25th shortly after 6:00 AM headed for Sundance, Wyoming. That would be where we would camp for the night before continuing onto Buffalo, Wyoming. Outside of Buffalo is where we would begin our week of backpacking in the mountains.

The drive through southwest Minnesota and the first part of South Dakota was, well…

Boring!

It took us over two hours to get to Interstate 90 in southern Minnesota.

Once on Interstate 90, in order to pass the time, we decided to count the number of Wall Drug signs along the highway.

You know, Wall Drug, the almost required stop if you are traveling through South Dakota in the summer! The place that made buying useless souvenirs an art form! Tha place that offers “free” water to anyone that is willing to pull off the highway for a few minutes!

So we started to count the billboards!

At first it went pretty slow, a sign to see a giant rabbit here, one to get a cheeseburger there, ice for your cooler over there, we’ve got your flags, anything you could imagine…

All at “Wall Drug”!

There would be big signs and little signs!

Sometimes more than one billboard in the same area! We had to be extra careful not to miss those!

As the miles passed, the count steadily increased.

But as we got closer and closer to Wall, South Dakota, the pace of the signs picked up.

It was like the grand finale of a fireworks display!

WALL DRUG THIS…WALL DRUG THAT…DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT NOT STOPPING!!!

BOOM…BOOM…BOOM!!!!

So we stopped!

We spent about 45 minutes wandering around the massive structure that looked like it had been added onto several times since 1931. We took a group picture of the boys with the giant rabbit, I had my picture taken with a buffalo (the stuffed kind) and yes, I got my free water!

Anything goes at Wall Drug!

We also used the restrooms, which we learned later on the trip, is certainly something we would miss!

Little did we know, how much we'd miss these!

By the way, in case you were wondering, we counted 92 billboards for Wall Drug from Worthington, Minnesota to Wall, South Dakota! Also, it should be noted, that I believe that stretch of highway is the “Billboard Capitol of the World”! It’s not just Wall Drug signs, but signs for every possible tourist “attraction” you could imagine.

You begin to feel very much like Clark Griswold, from the movie, “Vacation”!

“Hey guys, let’s stop and see the house of mud or maybe the second largest ball of twine on earth!”

But we resisted and continued our journey west!

We made it to Sundance, Wyoming around 4:00 PM MDT. Sundance is about an hour and a half from Rapid City, South Dakota and is 15 miles into the great state of Wyoming. We camped at a place called, Mountainview Campground, which was very nice and very clean! It had probably the nicest, cleanest restrooms and showers you’ll see at a campground. (Once again, note the emphasis on restrooms).

We grilled burgers for dinner and the boys got a chance to swim in the pool. It was then time for “lights out” since we still had another couple of hours to drive the next day, which included a stop and hike around “Devils Tower”, which was within minutes of Sundance.

The following morning, we woke-up early, got our gear packed, had a quick breakfast and headed for Devils Tower. It was only about 30 miles out of our way and well worth the detour! We arrived about 10:00 and hiked the 1.5 mile trail around the tower, which certainly sticks out in the area!

My son and I at Devils Tower in Wyoming.

Following the shortest hike we would have all week, we piled everyone back into the vans and continued on for Buffalo. Since we had made the detour for Devils Tower, we took backroads for awhile on our way to Buffalo.

Nowhere, Wyoming (Pop. 0)

Needless to say, the drive was a little dull at times.

We needed some billboards to count!

We arrived in Buffalo around noon.

Buffalo, Wyoming

We had time for a quick lunch and a chance to get some last minute supplies and fishing licenses at a local outfitter.

Then it was time to head out for the 10 mile drive to the TRAILHEAD!

Ahhh, the trailhead, where the hiking boots meet the gravel, mud, dirt or rocks!

Check back on Monday for details of our adventure in the Big Horn Mountains!

Happy Weekend!

I am back from a week long backpacking trip to the Big Horn Mountains in Wyoming.

It was a wonderful, but challenging trip. We covered about 35 miles over the course of the week while climbing from a starting elevation of 7,800 feet to a base camp at 10.400 feet! We did a day climb to Cloud Peak, which brought us to 13,167 feet, added about 6 more miles to our trek and took us 10 hours to complete.

On the way back to the Twin Cities we lowered the flag at the evening ceremony at Mount Rushmore. We camped at nearby Keystone and headed home on Sunday.

There were a lot of funny moments along the trail, check back on Friday for a more detailed look and laughs at our trip!

P.S. Today is my daughter’s 11th birthday, Happy Birthday Sweetheart!

Spend a week on a boat with a group and you’re bound to leave with one…

A nickname!

As we set sail for our final two days, we realized that everyone on our boat was slowly earning one!

There were two who came with nicknames already…

“Kimo”, which means Jim, was earned while on a vacation to Hawaii by you guessed it, Jim. There was “Moi”, which I was told means “nap”. The person who earned that moniker had the ability to take a nap on a moment’s notice and as we found out, pretty much any spot on the boat!

There was also “Rainman”, not only because this scout had “aced” his recent ACT test (yes, that’s true), but more importantly, in the event of rain, he carefully wrapped himself in protective gear before going to sleep on the deck of the boat, hence, the name!

We also had “Shark Bait” and “Tubes”, which were handed out based on the love of fishing for sharks by the former (maybe his height played a role too) and the ability to stay on a tube while being pulled by a high-powered boat and driven by a counselor determined to toss him by the latter!

There was “Dumps”, which was richly earned following a late evening encounter with a troublesome toilet. (An event that is second only to the sinking of the Titantic, in terms of maritime disasters!)

“Ox”, John Candy’s character from the movie, “Stripes” was given to a young man that will anchor our football line this coming fall. “Win A Dream Date With Ox” from the closing moments of the movie was something that we must have repeated a thousand times and for some strange reason, never got old!

That leaves yours truly!

For my ability to get our boat moving faster than anyone else on our return trip from Marathon, I earned the nickname, “Knots”!

7.6 knots to exact!

All of those names were a direct result of the fun we were having on this trip!

It was the type of trip where you forget what day and time it was!

Even more importantly, you could care less!

We saved the best snorkel dives for the last two days.

We hit a couple of coral reefs on the ocean and they were simply beautiful! Dispite a close encounter with an errant speed boat that buzzed us at one spot, the dives were fantastic! The beauty of the reefs and the fish really put into perspective the ongoing battle with the oil spill.

For our last night on the water, we tied up to another of our troop’s boats to enjoy their company and swap stories for a couple of hours. Around 10:00 PM, we untied and anchored a short distance away from their boat. The following morning, our captain broke out the water guns for our guys and we did a “sneak” attack on the other boat before we sailed off!

On the way back to Sea Base, we anchored and swam to an island, rich with area history, for a self-guided tour.

Following lunch, we made the final leg of the trip and were back at the dock by 2:00 PM.

Time to unload and clean the boat!

Unfortunately for us, it was also the hottest weather we had experienced since we had arrived! There was very little cloud cover or breeze and the temps were well into the nineties! Within a half hour, we removed all of our gear from the boat and cleaned the boat from bow to stern and inside and out!

We were the perfect example of teamwork!

Then it was time for a shower!

I don’t think a cold shower has ever felt better! I didn’t even mind that it seemed that the shower stall was moving from side to side!

There was a “luau” for our final evening at camp. We wore matching Hawaiian shirts, did the limbo, performed a skit, which we came up with that morning and had a very nice meal.

There was one last chance to spend some money in the trading post on some souvenirs, then it was “lights out” in the bunkhouse style room we all stayed in.

Morning came and we found ourselves back where we had started…

Waiting for a late bus, which was to take us to the Miami airport!

Good news for us…

Our driver wasn’t “Tony”!

The bus was about an hour and a half late, but we still had plenty of time to make our flight. Following some anxious moments with luggage, a name foul-up and a scout attempting to take liquid thru security, we were on the plane and headed back to Minneapolis!

We arrived home safe and sound along with memories of a trip of a lifetime!

As my son enters his senior year of high school and soon begins a new chapter in his life, it will be a trip that I will always cherish!

But wait!

My summer of high adventure continues!

I am leaving this weekend for another Boy Scout trip with my other son to Wyoming. We will be backpacking in the Big Horn Mountains and if all goes as planned, making it to the top of Cloud Peak, which is slightly over 13,000 feet!

Our troop is also taking part in an evening ceremony at Mount Rushmore on our return trip.

Stay tuned!

“Things I Learned While At Sea”…

*Going to the bathroom on a boat can be a great workout! (Just ask my son)

*If you are going to spend a week on crowded boat, get a “colorful” and very caring captain. Thanks Captain Gerard!

*Oh those sailing terms! Okay, I already knew bow and stern, but I could never keep straight “port”, which means left and “starboard”, which means right, I do now! I also learned about “apparent wind”, “true wind” and “leeway”. There was, “jib’, “jibe”, “tack” and “trim” and of course the “mainsail”! I also had a geat refresher course in tying a “clove hitch” knot!

*Hold onto BOTH ends of the dive flag rope when securing it! I learned this one the good, old fashioned way, by experience! On the bright side, a scout got the opportunity to go up the mast in a hoist and retrieve my mistake. Thanks again, Shark Bait!

Within moments upon setting foot on the “Island Rose” we knew we had them…

Options!

Captain Gerard made that clear!

If we were cooking a meal, we knew we weren’t limited to only a single choice! We had ham, we had turkey, we had steaks, we had burgers, we had cheese for those burgers, of course lettuce and tomato, we had mustard, we had relish, there were onions, if we chose to slice them and of course there were options as to which utensil we could use to slice that onion! We could have brats, there were supplies to make pancakes, which came with the option of putting chocolate chips in them and of course, butter and syrup for them!

You get the idea!

Our captain liked to point out our options, so we could make an informed decision. So it came as no surprise following a morning snorkel drive near our previous night’s anchor spot, that we had options for setting our course for our next two days of sailing!

The plan for our first day out was to sail about 30 miles down the Keys to Marathon.

Sounded simple enough, but…

The ocean side was feeling the effects of hurricane Alex, which had passed well to the south, but was kicking up some pretty good sized waves. We could sail down on the ocean side or we could stay on the gulf side. The latter meant it would be calmer, but not much fun in terms of actual sailing!

As I mentioned, our captain also liked to show-off just a little, along with a touch of brag and with his salty voice announced…

“All of the other Sea Base boats are staying on the gulf side, we’re sailors, let’s head out on the ocean!”

That’s right, I’ve been a sailor for about 13 hours now, what was I thinking? Let’s go!

But hitting the ocean also meant it was unlikely we would be doing any snorkeling that day due to the high waves, BUT, we could hit a spot that might have a shipwreak to explore that we could swim and walk to!

There were ALWAYS options!

On this day we also found out that everyone on our boat would take a turn or turns at the helm! The captain would set a timer for 15 minutes and following a schedule set-up by our crew leader, we would take turns guiding our boat. It didn’t matter if we were passing under a bridge or in big waves, when your time came, you were at the controls. (The captain was sitting in a chair behind and above us, just in case!)

The waves were about four feet that day and as our captain pointed out, it’s not the size of the wave, but more the time in between waves that make it rough.

Kind of like, it’s not the heat, it’s the humidity!

You could soon tell a difference from the gulf side of the Keys and the ocean side when the boat started rocking from side to side and just moving about the boat became a challenge! We were sailing with our “jib” deployed and we were doing about seven and a half to eight knots.

Well past something called, “hull speed”!

Anyway you look at it, we were hauling!

When it came time for my turn at the wheel, I learned how to find the “groove” with the boat. The sweetspot! The spot where the line from the movie, “Top Gun” popped into my head…

“I feel the need, the need for speed!”

Okay, it wasn’t like we were in danger of getting a speeding ticket, but in terms of a sailboat, we were moving!

Then the effects of being on the ocean and getting rocked back and forth started to set in!

I am happy to report, none of our crew got sick to the point of losing one’s stomach contents overboard!

Getting very queasy, now that’s a different matter!

With boat going strong back and forth, going down below deck for more than minute became difficult! It posed a challenge when it came time to prepare lunch!

Following a listing of all available options for our mid-day meal, it was decided that brats sounded best.

“Just fire up the grill on the stern and make sure you slice the brats so they don’t roll off,” declared our captain!

Gotcha!

Well, that grill was now going up and down like a bobber in the water! Also, just keeping the thing lit proved to be a challenge. (That situation was helped by placing tin foil in the vents of the grill.)

I don’t think a brat was the best choice for yours truly!

By the time our late lunch was ready I was really feeling the effects of being on the ocean for a couple of hours! I spent more than a few moments staring at the horizon in an attempt to help my growing headache!

I managed to consume my meal. (I went with the onion, relish and ketchup on a bun option!) It wasn’t the best tasting meal I’ve ever had but I was very happy to be able to keep it down!

We continued to make our way to Marathon and we did decide to stop and “explore” the spot with the shipwreck. The one problem…

It was low tide and the plan was to swim with sandals on our feet, then walk the rest of the way in shallow water.

But…

When it came time to walk, everyone was sinking up to thier knees and beyond in muck! (A note, I’m being kind by using the word, “muck” here!)

I was bringing up the rear of our exploration party to make sure everyone was accounted for when my son brought to my attention that he was having difficulty keeping his sandals on his feet. His feet were sinking and his sandals were coming off! (I was having trouble too!) With us getting farther and farther away from our anchored boat and the whole experience losing it’s appeal, my son and I decided to “abort” and head back to the boat and observe from that vantage point. Upon the return of the rest of our crew and the sharing of their “experience”, it was decided we made a very wise choice!

Our crew unofficially named the spot, “Bird Cr*p Island”!

Needless to say, everyone spent a fair amount of time rinsing off from that swim/walk!

So much for that option!

We pulled our anchor and headed into Marathon for the night. Following a stop for ice cream at a dockside store, we toured the harbor and found an anchor spot for the night.

The next morning we headed back up the gulf side, stopping from time to time for a snorkel drive. We saw another boat from our troop, which gave us the opportunity to display our pirate garb as we sailed past them!

We were making our way back up near Sea Base, where we would anchor for the night. The following day was spent back at Sea Base, where we enjoyed a day of beach volleyball, sailing small sailboats, kayaking and tubing. We ate our evening meal at the base dining hall, but we slept on our boat.

We would be headed back out the next day!

Me at the helm!