Spring Activities

I was able to get out and backpack a couple of times this past month. One weekend Peter, Marty, Ty and I got out to Colorado City and hiked up to the confluence of Squirrel Canyon with Short Creek. The next morning we hiked up to the "amphitheatre" and even scrambled up on top to get a look around. This past weekend Eric and I took the scout troop over Red Mountain. The ten mile hike is great and covers some awesome slick rock. This year it was cool, breezy, but sunny and sleeping in our new tent on the sand was comfy. Eric and I also camped out for 3 nights and did some rock climbing at Joshua Tree National Park. We climbed several of the classics lines while there. On the home front, we have been celebrating birthdays. First it is Angie's then comes Deb and Becca. Now we will be celebrating Eric's, Gordon's and Sheri. Marty and Becca have been busy with high school and have been going to dances and other activities. Becca is very involved in the planning and organizing of Junior Prom. She has been nominated to be on "royalty". It seems like she brings home a different boyfriend every day. Marty has been splitting his time between High School and the EMT class at Dixie College. He really enjoys the EMT class and is the top student. We made our first run on the boat out at the lake the other day. Wake boarding was fun, even if the water was cold! I went to Red Rock Canyon just west of Las Vegas a few days ago and did a long multi-pitch route with a friend. The climbing was moderately challenging, (Ginger cracks on the Ginger Buttress in Juniper Canyon which is about a 1000 foot climb) but we got one of our ropes stuck while pulling it after rappelling. It took us a couple of hours to climb back up and retrieve the rope and get down. For a few moments I had thoughts of being stuck on a ledge overnight. We did make it down to my truck but not until after dark. No harm was done and all our gear was intact, but I was tired, cold and hungry. I can only imagine how tire, cold and hungry I would have been if I would have had to spend the night up there.