It has been a while... Adventure Overload.

It has been some time since i last wrote and many adventures were had since then i will summarize many trips to catch up.

In no particular order;
I went on an amazing hike with bearfood in Bryce Canyon, eight miles round trip, up and down in scenery that changed constantly. Which trail was it you ask? well it was fairyland loop. No i did not see a single faerie nor any other fey creature. That hike is kind of magical though, you will walk for a while thru red rock canyons, then up a steep hill, come around a corner and BAM! beautiful lush green forests (later i figured out why it was like this). You will weave back and forth between the two, As soon as you leave one side you are so amazed that you forget about what you just left and are surprised all over again. Last, this is where i decided that when possible it is better to do popular trails backwards. the scenery is the same but you dont wind up hiking next to people you dont know and dont care to chat with because you will pass them going the other way.

Frisco v2; fatman and I decided we needed to return with a much smaller group and spend the time that an abandoned mining town deserves. on that day we were joined by a very good friend of fatman. we will call him Dragonslayer, intelligent and fearless, he made an excellent addition and i would adventure with him any day and twice on sunday. many crumpled building and a couple of mine entrances were explored, but alas we could not find that elusive box of money that is waiting for us out there.

On a busy weekend adventure still had to be found. part of the day we spent doing what we must, so for the other part we did what we wanted. and this time it was road trip, or really just a long drive. i cant begin to tell you where we went. to sum it up we got ourselves good and lost and then found our way again. this was also the "one cow trip" because on multiple occasions we would pass one cow just walking down the road. doesn't sound like much but it was weird. oh, and they all looked alike, and no we were not driving in circles.

One weekend there was a large expedition to Las Vegas. While what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas i will say just a few words. I have a great story retelling my night that can only be done in person, it ends with me waking up on the floor of the kitchenette of my hotel room. Good times were had by most, gambling was done by some, epic stories were retold by few, but many drinks were had by all...

On another weekend we set off again for the beautiful Zion National Park. This time we were there for the Emerald Pools. this was a very nice hike albeit shorter than i was used to at this point we found ways to take our time. should you wenture on this hike i will give you some advice. go in spring, the water from melting snow and rains will be cascading off the cliffs and the pools will be fresh and full. in mid fall the cliffs are still spectacular but the "pools" will leave something to still be desired. Last, there was an incident of smoker vs. rock. Rock won this time but i will not be discouraged so easily.

Again, adventure called and we answered, this time i had a very good friend of mine visiting and i wanted to do something off the main trail, challenging but not dangerous. We chose a part of Zion's East Rim Trail. A wonderful long hike, unfortunately too long overall to not find a point to turn back and hike the path already tread. But, good enough, to not mind walking it twice in a row. highlights included some wildlife and many traces of more animals. it also has some stunning canyon views full of lush green trees. beautiful scenery and good friends, what more could one ask for on a lovely Sunday.

Meatfest 2 was a wonderful gathering of many people. excellent food was prepared for both dinner and breakfast, including some freshly baked blueberry pie for dessert. while this was more camping than hiking, a good adventurer makes them most out of what they have. after drinking all throughout the night once many had retired to their tents i decided it was a perfect time for a walk. accompanied by a friend we made a wide circle around the camp and then struck off up a hill, to find another view. we found one be sure at the top of a hill we saw the sun rise over the mountains in the distance. after this walk, i took a tiny bit of rest had a nice morning and then proceeded home to sleep the rest of the day.


There is a collection of road trips i have left out so far, so i will see to them now. I have driven 1900+ miles three times in the past few months. First, i flew home to Michigan to be part of and see my sister get married to a wonderful man. If you have ever heard the story about the best man who has his plane run so late that he cant possibly make his connection, and the wedding is the following day. With all the troubles and solutions involved i was "that guy". but hey i got to fly first class for free! then i drove back with a friend that was also moving out west for a time. Left Early in the morning and began driving, car loaded with stuff and supplies. I drove and drove and drove some more, stopping only when necessary. I stopped shortly after 2 in the morning, we had made it to the west side of Nebraska. The Following day i learned Colorado is the most beautiful state i have seen yet. driving thru in late summer is breathtaking.
The second, was the return journey in mid fall but this time i was free to wander as i wanted, so i drove thru texas and visited family. On my way here i encountered fog 174 miles of fog. as i drove on i looked to the horizon and thought "is that a massive cloud laying down on the job?". Yes it was. After a couple days in Texas it was time to move on, so my next stop was to visit a friend in Memphis, TN. This was a good time although Beale Street would have probably been more fun if it wasnt the off season. But, i like having a party street all to myself, well with friends. Crashed for the night and then back off to Michigan. With the exception of fog and a good bit of rain in Texas, weather had treated me very well. that is until about an hour from chicago when it began to snow. i dont think it really stopped from then on.
The last of these long drives happened very recently. my employment in Utah started very early so more driving here i come. i followed mostly the same path as when i drove before , with a few exceptions. i stopped to see some friends in chicago and took in a museum while i was there. The next day i left headed west, my target Omaha Nebraska. Two more differences; A. it was winter, B. i was driving alone(if you dont already know driving cross country by yourself can be a little maddening). so i was going to take the drive in a couple more pieces and not push myself for too long so i planned well. When i left Chicago, it snowed. When I left Omaha the following day it snowed. in fact everywhere i left it snowed. on the second day, on my way to Denver i looked south and saw a giant storm cell that covered the horizon. When i looked to the north i saw the exact same. But the weather gods smiled on me and i drove thru sunny skies all day long. I spent the night in Denver and the next morning headed for my new/old temporary home in Utah. Again I drive in sunny skies all day long and when i left Denver got snow. Final note i dont just mean a little snow i mean those giant storms that dumped feet of snow all over the states and shut things down all over.

The final story is the last Smoker and FatMan episode of fall 2009. It was so EPIC that it will, after all this time, have its own entry. I will leave you with this, it is titled "Eight Dollar Machete".

~"Find adventure in everything, everyday."

Episode 4 - The High and Low of poor descisions

We all looked forward to it, the magical day of Sunday finally came. We all collected in the parking lot late in the morning. Now last time I mentioned that our adventures have become more popular, it’s getting a little extreme now. The final count for today’s journey is at 17 this is amazing it’s also amazing that we got them all into three vehicles.

Before we get too far into today let me give you a little background. At heart I am a twelve year old boy. I like toys, I like to do stupid things and I especially like to do stupid things with toys. As I get older the toys really just get more expensive; cars computers fancy electronics that I don’t really need but I like to buy. But some toys are timeless. Today’s examples are Nerf guns. now nerf has come a long way since I was actually twelve, but they are still as amazing to me now as they were way back then and yes I still take them apart to see how they work and "make them better". Well several of us have purchased what would equal a small arsenal if you put them all together, many weapons and hundreds of sticky darts.

So the pretense of today’s adventure is a full on nerf war in a ghost town. For our town fatman has selected Frisco, UT. It is an abandoned mining town well out of the way. Perfect for the trouble we are looking to cause.

Anyway, back to the beginning pack them all in including rev. pappy keeping two white girls in his trunk and having a guy in back dressed like a Columbian drug lord. Yes it is a normal Sunday for us. We gas up and fatman carefully make his candy selection choosing non other than the famous three musketeers bar. We take off. On our way I remark to fatman that really we should be charging people for these adventures. People do remember to always at least tip your drivers... we make a side stop at the petro glyphs.

Now petro glyphs are pretty amazing if you care about history or are even remotely interested in people that were here hundreds of years before you and your cell phone. If you don’t know what petro glyphs are they are petrified writing and objects and really it just looks like a group of school children were having picture time on the rocks. I find it really amazing, and just think hundreds of years from now people will read the shit we write on walls, that is assuming that the apocalypse doesn’t wipe everything off the face of the planet first. It could happen. But just think about that before you write some really stupid shit onto a rock... back in the car.

we have a nice drive for a little over an hour visit some nice towns, and by nice I mean they raise farmers and serial killers, one gas station and no traffic lights I wouldn’t be surprised if most of the town still had outdoor plumbing. There were some beautiful views of small mountain ranges to go with the horrible views of desolate godforsaken wasteland. Eventually fatman being our driver makes the statement "ok, it’s somewhere on our right, but I never see it until after I pass it." I think these would be the worst directions to ever give someone, unless you don’t want them to get there. What do you know we pass a dirt driveway and hear "that was it". So we circle the wagons and head down the dirt road of death. As we pull in we see an amazing sight, broken down buildings, rock and mud huts crumbling away. And the trash people didn’t or couldn’t take with them and time just hasn’t destroyed yet. 'nam gives me an excellent tip "those rock huts with holes in them... ya don’t climb on the roof." apparently there was an incident he might have been part of on a previous excursion here.

In the "town" part of this ghost town there is a single room building, some large drum looking contraption, and four of these mud hut things. We take a quick look around and the nerf guns are brought into town. cougar-bait even brought the nerf bow and arrow. Before war there are sights to be seen, a road leads off to the left being to the mud/rock huts. Now I can’t really speak much about other people’s experiences because with a group this large I do what comes natural I sneak off into the hills and don’t tell anyone where I’m going. But I do have a small hand radio with me we were using them for communication in-between cars on our way out "in case someone got lost". the irony I realized and pointed out to others was the radios are small enough that if one of the cars did get lost they would most likely be out of range of the radios, but they were fun to talk between cars and count the number of signs that had been previously attacked by a shotgun, I believe the final toll was ten. Yep we came to a classy place.

Now I take off into the hills with a radio, hike up for a while and find some really nice views over the town and surrounding area. There are mountain ranges in the distance, some small mountains to the southwest. I get out my monocular to take a better look off in the distance; I spot the mining area in that same small mountain. Several buildings and such. I continue moving around, climbing over a couple of different hills. I stop with a nice view thru my monocular of the rock mud huts and see the large group moving in pieces up the roads towards them I have myself a bit of water and continue to watch them and also look around. They spent a while in that area and some small gunfights did happen to break out. Mostly it was rookie being ambushed by three or more people. the best one was when he ran for the fence and tripped right before it, once he was laying on the ground his attackers pounced and I almost felt bad for him being shot that many times. I decide to move again. Next time I can see them they are all moving back towards the rest of the town, I try to raise someone on the radio. Dead air. Well I couldn’t be the only person to bring one of the radios with me could I??? The answer was yes. Well screw them, I continue on my personal journey. At the top of the next hill I try the radio again and still nothing. There are some worriers in the group so I decide it would be a good idea to make some sort of contact with the group but I am way too stubborn to actually walk back there just to tell them I’m ok. I had used my compass earlier to get my bearings and the lid of it has a signal mirror and while this isn’t an emergency it is a fine use of it. I spot fatman, besides being one of the biggest people in the group he was wearing an awesome hat that you just couldn’t miss (if you don’t know I’m actually a big fan of hats as long as they are not onstage)... anyway I use the mirror properly and get his attention, I chose him because I knew he had binoculars and that was the only way he was going to see me at the distance. We waved and I continued my personal hike.

Just so we are clear I don’t recommend going off on your own in the middle of the desert, there are numerous things that could go wrong; snakes, spiders, rockslides, psychotic episodes, hillbillies. If you do, at least tell someone in your group where you have gone. Mostly to save them time searching for your body. This reminds me that I came down one hill and found a nice flat spot; I look around and start to notice those snake holes again. I start across in my destination on the theory that it’s too hot out here for cold blooded animals, and then the ground collapses a little bit under my foot. Well, I don’t wait around to see if I woke any little friends from there holes. I kick up my pace and find a new place to be.

Finally someone picks up a fucking radio. I ask what the plan is and if the plan could involve picking me up if it’s going somewhere I’m not. We rendezvous on a dirt road. Supposedly we were meeting near some kind of graveyard but I never saw one. We unload out of the cars again, this time we leave the nerf behind. I like that most people got more into the journey than the nerf war. Anyway most of the group head straight for what we will call the mining town. I stay behind, of course I do. Fatman bearfood and cougar-bait do the same we take the road less traveled. I find my first shotgun shell of the adventure and then another. We climb some large hills with spectacular views across the wastelands and to the mountains many miles away. During this time we notice a white minivan being a real creeper. Stopping then moving slow then drive away then turn around and do it again. They had a nice mugger/kidnapper vibe. Since we didn’t find a box of gold on our own we meet up with the rest of the group, sort of. Up a trail and around a bend is the mine itself. I don’t know if there were more of them around. Dilapidated building and old mining structures dot the landscape. Sensible people would say "hell no I’m not going in there", but we adventurous people say "oooh what could be down there???” to be honest i didnt climb my giant ass down the small hole, not for fear of it collapsing but mainly for two reasons; first i would have been at the back of the line and second because it looked like is was dug by i rare breed of midget that couldnt hit a normal person in the head with his pickaxe. This was also demonstrated later by some of the structures they had built here with five foot tall doorways.

Bear food and I take off up a hill made almost entirely of loose sharp rock. I find it amazing that my classification of hill has changed since living in Utah, what I used to call hills I think I will now call mounds of dirt. We scramble near the top of it roughly one hundred fifty feet or so. The view is almost indescribable. And so I’m not going to. We were actually trying to see what the view over the back side of this small mountain range looked like. unfortunately it would have taken us at least another half an hour or more and we noticed the group departing from the mine and headed back down except fatman, snakebite, and LPB (little pink backpack) they headed a different way and I applaud that. bearfood and I find another way down our slippery slope avoiding making a nice face plant in a cactus a couple of time we meet up. On our way back we investigated a couple of small buildings and some rocks but make it back. To celebrate the end of the journey fatman takes a shower of cream soda. Hey whatever does it for you I guess....

instead of stopping at one of the couple e.coli farms on our way back we go to a nice reputable restaurant. And yes I was that guy firing nerf darts out of the back window of a moving car at the car behind us.

In the end I covered probably only four miles. I would like to go back again and spend more time investigating the area. But I got to see some wildlife, rabbits and lizard and such I also took in some amazing views. I call it a success!

Shit you should bring with you

There is only one thing that is mandatory....Water! You are in the desert, you need to drink water.
I recommend a few things though because you never know when something will go wrong, or you might wind up lost or separated from the group.

1. Water - yes it is that important. I also like a camelbak because it gives you pockets to carry other things in.

2. A knife - I'm not talking about Rambo’s combat knife but something sharp and functional I just bring a folding Gerber. It is lightweight and sharp. If you think you should bring a knife to fight a bear off you should really read about how to deal with bears. For the most part you would just make a regular bear into an angry bear.

3. A first aid kit -(really only the group leader needs one but I always bring a small one of my own) like a couple other things I will mention, this item is useless if you don't know how to use it properly.

4. A compass - I bring a nice compass with signal mirror with me, to get my bearings before wandering off. The signal mirror is really useful for letting people know where you are even from miles away.

5. a snack - especially if you are doing a hike where you stop and backtrack once at the end of it its really nice to hit that stopping point and take a break have some munchies or jerky or whatever you like. It makes the hike back a lot nicer.

6. A camera - it’s always nice to document your journeys. Looking back on them and remembering the good times you had adventuring. Remember extra memory or film and also batteries.

7. A flashlight - I prefer a headlamp version it keeps your hands free. I find this piece to be important because you never know where adventure will call you into dark places.

8. a good attitude - you are supposedly doing this to have a good time, and a bad attitude will not only make the trip for you more painful, but probably sour the experience for the others traveling with you as well.
In general experience will tell you other things you would like to have with you. You will develop your own style of hiking. I also bring a bandanna a garbage bag for my own and other peoples as well (leave no trace), a pair of sunglasses and I carry a backup pair (UV damage is real people), a pair of binoculars or I like the monocular mostly because it’s lighter weight.