Feb 2025

We had one good snow storm in February.  That was it.  It was a pretty sad month.  But we are always glad to get out.  Darren and Ella get out and do some good backcountry skiing.  Ella took Jacob Hamblin to Sweethearts Dance.  Darren took some girls down to St George for Valentines Day weekend. They did some nice pre-riding of the True Grit course. It was super muddy.  It cost almost 50$ to spray wash the bikes at a carwash after their ride.  

My Abigail is growing up.  She loves her Tiggy.  She goes out all the time with friends now.  She got braces mid 6th grade.  She is hoping to get them off by mid-8th grade. She has been going to the temple every Thursday morning at 6:00 AM with friends.  She had a few fun days skiing with school friends at the resorts. We all love to Tyler on Tuesdays. Abby always loves to talk to Tyler and tell him about her week and play all love talkin piano songs for him. 

As a family we went to a hockey game.  Not sure how I feel about adult men beating each other up.  Katie and Ang came over for a belated birthday celebration.  They made up a song for me which I loved.  Rachel came to visit with Ely and Rob.  It was a busy few days but we were able to squeeze in a quick icecream stop. 

 

January 2025

 We had a few good snow storms and Darren loved getting into the back country. Ella had some fun skimo practices and a big race

Ang’s band, Lucky Find, played at a fun Bar. Stacey? and Laci came up from St. George so we made a fun night of eating and dancing to good music.

abby had a hip-hop performance at her middle school. Ella is the best sister and brought her flowers after the dance. Abby choreographed it and made it happen with the group of girls.

Abby had her first comp hybrid giant slalom race of the season. She finished in about 23rd placefor a region. She was the fastest girl through trains with our Arrowhead Ski Team.

we love Abby’s friend Bailey. I’m trying to be brave and eat fish. Darren cooked us some yummy mahi-mahi.

grandpa and grandma Harston are in India. It’s fun to see their adventures.

MLK Weekend in St. George

What a great weekend in St George. We love spending time there, especially with the Allen family.  Ella, Darren, and Ruby did a bunch of biking.  But we also got in some hiking and rappelling.  The Lagoon has ice on it, but the pool was heated.  

Island in the Sky. 

Johnsons Arch and Scouts Cave.  

 

Bucket List Master of Adventures to do one day....

A few fun hikes and adventures I want to go on one day....

Ogden

• 9th Street Crag- Rappel and climb
• Causey reservoir- Ogden area- cliffs, paddleboards, Skull Crack

Layton

• Adams Canyon Waterfall

Farmington

• Patsy's Mine

SLC/Cottonwoods

• mnt van cott
• Cardiff pass 
• mount wire
• Black Mountain 8.3 miles.  5-6 hours.   3,000 elevation 
• Brighton Peaks Loop- 7.7 miles, under 4,000 feet of elevation 6 hrs to complete
• White Pine 10.2 miles, 6 hours round trip
• Wheeler, 8.7 miles, 6 hrs. 3,000 elevation,  Great Basin National Park, Nevada
• Mnt Nebo- (refer to book) 
• Kessler 
• Petes Rock- climb and Rappel
• moon rock water slide

American Fork Canyon

Midway- Hot Springs, Cascade Springs

Uintas

• Highline trail
• Shepherd Lake, Cliff Lake, Watson Lake, Clyde Lake, Three Divide Lake and Twin Lakes, Lofty Lake Loop, Lily Lake, Lambert Meadow

Vernal

• Toothbrush cave is about 20 miles north of Vernal and just east of Little Brush Creek Cave, Fantasy Canyon
• Red Fleet State Park (mini Lake Powell)

Provo

•  Buffalo Peak trail- kid-friendly summit trail
• Primrose Overlook above Sundance. mix with Horse Spring Loop
• Polar Plunge in Provo Canyon

Spanish Fork

• Dripping Rock Trail, paved trail and hike down to the waterfall area, park by a golf course, park across the street from the oaks at Spanish Fork Country Club on Powerhouse Road. 

Springville 

• Bartholomew Park, polar plunge 

Moab  

• SGR Canyon- RTR
• Corona arch and Jeep arch/culvert canyon
• Day Canyon- climbing Pocket Rocket says Ang- 5.9 overhung and pretty big moves. Rest at the second clip
• Colonnade Arch 3 miles, 240 feet in elevation, park at Keg Knoll Road, SUV most of the way, may have to walk the last little bit, 1 hr from south of the green river on dirt roads, the trail is marked with Cairns, all sun, no shade, bring water 
• Lost Springs Area
• Scratch and Sniff Canyon

Canyonlands

• Syncline loop 8.3 miles. challenging hike. most of the park rescues happen in that park. counterclockwise, including the Spur Trail
• The maze- two to three days backpacking with a permit
• Druid Arch - Great views of the Needles.  Begin at Elephant Hills Trailhead.  lots of water. Add in Chesler Park
• Joint Trail- Elephant Hill to Devil Kitchen to Joint to Chesler and out big spring

Richfield 

• Red Hill Hot Springs

San Rafael Swell

• Lower Spring Canyon- backpacking trip?
• Fire Canyon- RTR
• Cassidy Arch Canyon: 4-6 hours; seven rappels up to 132 feet; big views on top of reef; Natural Arch; great day trip.
• Zero Gravity Slot canyon
• the squeeze, potholes, 16 rappels, wetsuit
• Baptist draw Canyon- Kevin sent to me
• Buckeye Canyon- wanted to do with Ang

Bryce Canyon

• Queens Garden Trail

Capital Reef/Escalante (west of Hanksville)

• Midget Rattler and ****Sad Cow disease (burr trail area)
• Boulder Mail Trail
• Coyote Gulch in Escalante- Set up base camp, hike 3 miles up Hurricane Wash, then next day hike 6 miles down to the Escalante confluence.  "sneaker" route, Jacob Hamblin arch - refer to book
• Death Hollow- backpacking trip- 14 miles round trip, water, start at Escalante town - Refer to book
• Cosmic Ashtray 
• Sulpher creek
• chimney Rock
• Hickman bridge
• Chop Rock- canyon
• Upper Red Breaks: 4-6 hours; one rappel of 30 feet; narrow sections/neat features; avoid in summer.

• Mule Canyon- hike the north fork and south fork in one big loop. 
• Lower Muley Twist Canyon- Park at Post Trailhead and do a loop counterclockwise to get elevation gain out of the way with fresh legs. 
• Dirty Devil Slot Canyon

Goblin Valley/North of Hanksville

• Crack Canyon
• Blue John Canyon

Hanksville

• Robbers Roost- Middle Fork- RTR
• Robbers Roost- Upper Twin Corral Box- RTR
• Lost Spring Canyon- Robbers Roost RTR
• Robbers Roost- Bull Pasture Canyon RTR
• Constrychnine Canyon- RTR
• Alcatraz

Lake Powell

• Reflection canyon

North East end of Lake Powell

• Maiden Water Canyon- Ang did it
• Hogwarts: 2-3 hours; four rappels up to 90 feet; scenic arch; good length rappels.
• Morocco: 2-3 hours; four-six rappels up to 50 feet; cool arch in the route; some exposure on approach.
• Leprechaun: 3-6 hours; rappels up to 50 feet; Left/Right are easy; the middle is tight.
• Blarney Canyon
• The Black Hole of White Canyon is near the northmost port of Lake Powell. 56 miles past Hanksville Total Distance: 5 miles Strenuous     The Black Hole of White Canyon is a semi-technical canyoneering adventure. This route will require 5 to 6 hours to complete with a shuttle vehicle, adding about 45 minutes without a shuttle. A 60-foot rope is useful for handlines, lowering packs, and emergency use. Novice canyoners or those with poor downclimbing skills will need to rappel a couple of short drops, all less than 15 feet high.

West of Lake Powell

• paria river
• hackberry slot canyon
• Inchworm arch
• Wahweap hoodoos
• Buckskin Gulch/Wire Pass - it is the longest and deepest slot canyon in the southwest United States and may be the longest in the world (refer to book)
• Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs
• Toadstool hike

South End of Lake Powell

• Eat at Birdhouse- Stefani Severson

Blanding

• Hovenweep National monument
• House on Fire
• Cedar Mesa- Grand Gulch- long wonderful hikes there. 10-15 mile loop hikes tons of hike

CEDAR CITY

• Mammoth Caves on Cedar Mountain
• Navajo Lake
• Cedar Breaks
• Ice Cave
• Brianhead downhill biking- BUnker Crekk and Dark Hollow, REd mountain Trail after rain shuttle, South Hills after rain, North Guardian
• Lambs Knoll and Cave Valley
• Ashdown Gorge  and Crystal Springs up SR 14

St George

• Climbing Green Valley Gap- top roping, easy climbs- mountain project
• Silver Reef Trail  RTR. Red Reef- RTR In spring big potholes to jump in.  Good camping walk-up.  
• La Verkin Creek in Kolob Canyon - backpack. from Lee Pass or via Hop Valley- get a permit
• The Stairs at Tech Ridge.  333 stairs- Walker Wy, St George 84770
• Ivens, Hell Hole All trails
• Red Mountain Trail starts in Ivins and finishes in Diamond Valley
• By Colorado City- Mexican delicious Barrazas Mexican
• Spring Creek Canyon- go in 2.5 miles, Near Kannarville
• Portal Canyon- Virgin Gorge- cross river over a dozen rappels, cross river
• Golf Canyon
• Mayday Canyon- close to Cherry- to the right of Portal Canyon.  Cool to see airplane wreckage. 
• elephant arch
• La Verkin Creek Trail, 14 miles to Kolob Arch

Zion

East side of Zion

• Red Hollow Slot Canyon with kids- just past Mt Carmel junction in Orderville, a short one-hour
• Vermillion Cliffs- go after a rain storm to see colors and filled in potholes. 
• Red Canyon AKA peek a boo- All Trails
• Catstair Canyon- All trails
• White pocket hike
• mammoth cave
• West of Kanab- Mansard Trail.  long and hard.  leads to a cave-like overhang with petroglyphs all over the floor.  
• coral pink sand dunes

Inside Zion

• Birch Hollow -start early.  Very popular- let small groups go through.  Exit up Orderville with a car shuttle, - if permits then can go out of Orderville
• Behunin
• Orderville Canyon - rappel with wetsuits. Add on Birch Canyon to make for a long day- need a permit 
• Right Fork of North Creek
• Bridge Mountain Arch
• Hike Lava Point to Zion.  need a shuttle
• Das Boots to Subway
• Refridgerator
• Spry
• Icebox
• Emerald Pools

Oregon

• Bend Oregon- Victorian cafe, Lava River Cave 

Washington

• The enchantment hike Seattle Leavenworth 
• Devils Punchbowl at Lake Crescent in Olympic National Park

Montana

• Coffin Lake- an old volcano

Idaho

• Palisades Creek Campground- great for kids
• Dierkes Lake next to Shoshone Falls- an hour before Boise

California

• Redwood Forest
• Damnation creek
• Fern Gully 10-mile round trip 
• Grove of the Titans 
• Patrick’s Point State Park- Camping
• Fern Canyon, Prairie Creek, Redwoods State Park
• Mattole Beach Get permit October 1 
• Lost Cost Trail 
• Jump Canyon and the 7 teacups, canyoneering, wetsuits, by Fresno/Death Valley

Nevada

• Ruby Mountains
• Cathedral Gorge State Park
• Lake Tahoe- clothing optional Secret Cove Beach
• Gold Strike Hot Springs Trail- hot springs, 5 miles RT, outside of Boulder City
• Valley of Fire State Park- Rainbow Vista Trail- RTRyan, Balanced Rock- RTR, Atlatl Rock and Arch Rock RTR, Fire Wave RTR, Mouses Tank RTR
• Wheeler, 8.7 miles, 6 hrs. 3,000 elevation,  Great Basin National Park, Nevada

Arizona

• Antelope Canyon -Lacey rafted down it in high water, antelope costs 90$ for an adult 
• The Wave 
• Seven falls
• Sycamore Falls, Kaibab canyon
• Grand Canyon- Rainbow Rim biking 
• Salome Creek Canyon- AKA The Jug - 5.6 miles RT.  The best time to do it is late spring.  one rappel, good shoes, dry bag, check the weather for flash flood 
• white pocket canyon by Jacob Lake

​

Sedona

• Stay at: village of oak creek, Quail ridge resort, Red Rock State Park 
• Good camping near Jerome, Cottonwood Sedona or near hangover trail. 
• Mountain Biking: 
• Bike and Bean 
• See to-do list in MTB Project
• Red Rock State Park - 5 mile network of family trails. 
• Bell Rock area trails - family - 8 trails all 1 to 3 miles easy
• Big Park Loop - 3 miles
• Intro to Sedona -5.2 miles easy
• Cathedral Rock - 10 miles
• Mescal Trial - 13 miles
• Upper Dry Creek Trials - 15 system trials - 32 miles
• Hiking: Sedona Hiking App
• Other:
• Petroglyphs at Palatki Heritage Site in Coconino National Forest
• Verde Hot Springs
• Zip Lines - Predator 
• Slide Rock State Park or Grasshopper Point - play in the water
• Grasshoppers Point or Wet Beaver Creek - cliff jumping
• Subway Cave in Boynton Canyon

Colorado

• http://www.telluridemountainclub.org/via-ferrata/

Wyoming

• Wild Iris Rock Climbing
• Rock Creek Hollow
• Close by to Wild Iris is Rocky Ridge

Maine

• Bar Harbor
• Acadia National Park
• Camden Hill

Switzerland

• https://www.engadin.ch/en/bike/ . - Mnt biking for Darren

Scotland

• smoothie cave

Costa Rica

• Bajos del Toro- hidden treasure waterfall

Chili

• Patagonia- Marble caves 

Mexico

• cenote sink hole to swim in, cenote Lu'um by Cancun and Xplor adventure park,  130$ a day for a day pass. 

Belize 

• Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM cave)

France/Germany 

• at Christmas - Strasbourg