DELANO PEAK
After nearly a one month hiatus from the amazing
outdoor scene of Southern Utah, I was finally able to return to the wilderness. I decided to repeat, well repeat the same concept, of last Julys camping trip but rather than Great Basin National Park we drove to the closer Beaver Canyon/Tushar Mountain Range. The camping was awesome we basically had a campground to ourselves. Nobody within sight, right next to a lake. I sat gazing at the lake while I read The Monkey-Wrench Gang. What a perfect moment!
The highlight of the trip though was to summit the 6th highest peak(I stand corrected it is not near the 6th highest in Utah whoops good thing I have such informed commentators!) in Utah, Delano Peak. I read a review that said it was an easy hike, one of the easiest peaks in the Tushar Range. With that thought I convinced Renee that we could haul up Niah, and Rachel and Cody could haul up Emma. I did not think they would make it up all the way and they didnt, thankfully as it was a much harder hike than I had anticipated. Niah and Renee made it to above 11,000 ft. After Renee turned around Cody and I slowly continued to the top.
I summitted first, (summit sounds much cooler than saying it was a long up hill hike), signed the log book, and took some pictures. Then I sat for a couple minutes and just took it all in. Summitting peaks is an amazing experience. Its hard to breath, your legs are burning and your body tells you to stop, and give up, but upon summit everything is worthwhile and one of the greatest feelings of satisfaction I have experienced. Truly it is a mind over body moment!
Cody, a couple minutes later, also made it to the top, but at this point with a slight sprinkle and strong wind gusts we did not have much time to enjoy the peak. Instead we descended several hundred feet. At the peak Cody saw the herd of mountain goats that live on the mountain and we decided to try to get a closer view. This was after Cody decided to be possibly the first person to make a snow angel at over 12,000 feet. We snuck to within about 30 yards of the mountain goats before the discovered us and began to move away.
Once I read an article about survival tips and it mentioned that hikers who summit are more likely to die on the descent rather than the summit. Often people set a goal to make it to the peak so when after the have achieved the goal the let their guard down. Even with this knowledge, Cody and I had a difficult time getting off the mountain! We were mentally tired, and physically exhausted and because of this fell times, fortunately like I said this was not a technical climb just a steep hike and so we made it back with minor bruises, blisters and cuts!
Niah and myself just before her and Renee turned around
Flora and Fauna
After nearly a one month hiatus from the amazing
outdoor scene of Southern Utah, I was finally able to return to the wilderness. I decided to repeat, well repeat the same concept, of last Julys camping trip but rather than Great Basin National Park we drove to the closer Beaver Canyon/Tushar Mountain Range. The camping was awesome we basically had a campground to ourselves. Nobody within sight, right next to a lake. I sat gazing at the lake while I read The Monkey-Wrench Gang. What a perfect moment!The highlight of the trip though was to summit the 6th highest peak(I stand corrected it is not near the 6th highest in Utah whoops good thing I have such informed commentators!) in Utah, Delano Peak. I read a review that said it was an easy hike, one of the easiest peaks in the Tushar Range. With that thought I convinced Renee that we could haul up Niah, and Rachel and Cody could haul up Emma. I did not think they would make it up all the way and they didnt, thankfully as it was a much harder hike than I had anticipated. Niah and Renee made it to above 11,000 ft. After Renee turned around Cody and I slowly continued to the top.
I summitted first, (summit sounds much cooler than saying it was a long up hill hike), signed the log book, and took some pictures. Then I sat for a couple minutes and just took it all in. Summitting peaks is an amazing experience. Its hard to breath, your legs are burning and your body tells you to stop, and give up, but upon summit everything is worthwhile and one of the greatest feelings of satisfaction I have experienced. Truly it is a mind over body moment!
Cody, a couple minutes later, also made it to the top, but at this point with a slight sprinkle and strong wind gusts we did not have much time to enjoy the peak. Instead we descended several hundred feet. At the peak Cody saw the herd of mountain goats that live on the mountain and we decided to try to get a closer view. This was after Cody decided to be possibly the first person to make a snow angel at over 12,000 feet. We snuck to within about 30 yards of the mountain goats before the discovered us and began to move away.
Once I read an article about survival tips and it mentioned that hikers who summit are more likely to die on the descent rather than the summit. Often people set a goal to make it to the peak so when after the have achieved the goal the let their guard down. Even with this knowledge, Cody and I had a difficult time getting off the mountain! We were mentally tired, and physically exhausted and because of this fell times, fortunately like I said this was not a technical climb just a steep hike and so we made it back with minor bruises, blisters and cuts!
Niah and myself just before her and Renee turned around
Flora and Fauna
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