Granddaddies

This last weekend Ross, Jeff, Nathan and I backpacked the Granddaddies in the Uintas. Its one of my favorite hikes and I have been looking forward to it all summer. I was really hoping to be able to get more backpacking and camping in this summer but its almost over and its gone to fast to think. But this was a really fun trip. Its just 4 miles in and 4 miles out and its not a very hard hike. It was Nathan's first time backpacking and he did amazing for a 5 year old. He told us a couple times that his legs aren't as long as ours and they get tired easier too. We left Friday about 2 and started hiking about 4, I think, and found a camp spot around 7. The hard part is finding a camp spot because it has to be 2500 feet from water and from the trail and the Uintas are covered in lakes. Finally we found a spot where we could fit a tent and build a fire pit and set up camp. We took a tent that Jeff and I had bought the first time we did Havasupai and couldn't remember how big it was and when we got it set up we looked at it and was wondering how 4 of us were going to fit in it, and yes it was a very snug fit, however I did sleep very very warmly the first night. Also, the mosquitos really weren't that bad, for the Uintas (when I backpacked with the young women, after getting home, we counted 50 mosquito bites on my back and 20 on one foot). I think I only came home with around 20 this time so that is good. The weather really cooperated also, it was sunny and warm most of the day and the wind wasn't too horrible. I was afraid Ross would be bored because all there is to do is hike and fish and he doesn't fish, luckily he took a book and he was content and he said he enjoyed himself.

On Saturday we just kind of hiked around to some of the other lakes and fished through out the day. We caught some really nice sized fish but just let them go, didn't want to try to find a way to cook them. All in all it was a pretty good day. That night, Jeff decided to sleep in his hammock, which freed up a lot of space in the tent so we could breath, it was colder though and I woke up freezing (I planned ahead and took some hand warmers to keep me warm at night, toss a couple in the sleeping bag and they keep you pretty toasty). Sunday morning we just got up, ate, got rid of camp and hiked out. I was surprised at how well I did with the hiking, I guess I am in better shape than I thought, which was nice not to be sore after the hiking. It was a lot of fun and we are already talking of a trip or two we want to do next summer.