My Journey

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Riversdad.....thanks.....I would think that the fall colors in those mountains in that area would be sensational. Past years I've spent on the eastern side of those mountains and caught some of those colors. Phenomenal ! This year I spent the past week exploring & climbing on the west side.....Phenomenal (even without the fall colors) !



As best I recall we hiked maybe 2 miles up that snow covered road to see what we could see.....



In less than an hour of hiking we reached the driveway to the Great Basin Station.....



Right there were the 3 informative signs that I've posted here.....



And below those signs were snow covered boulders.....I'm not sure what possessed me to wipe the snow from the boulders but this particular one sure did intrigue me.....I thought it beautiful.....



We hiked on down to the station.....not a single footprint to be found.....





I decided not to walk around.....it was just so perfect without our footprints.....then I proceeded to photograph a few of the outbuildings.....





And then we hiked back down the mountain.....with the spirit of adventure reignited in my blood.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

We continued south now looking for a nearby mountain to climb.....an internet search came up with Black Cap Mountain (6,597') .....we dropped the truck / camper off at the city park in Salina, Utah and headed up into the mountains in the Jeep once again.....



There was no actual trailhead here.....actually there was no trail here.....this was complete bushwacking and without GPS I'll admit it was a real struggle to find this mountain peak.....



There were just too many false summits that blocked my view of Black Cap Mountain but eventually I got things figured out and up we went.....



Fitbit tells me that we hiked 3.5 miles with 470' of elevation gain.....perfect mountain to begin our training on (take note of Tanners' fur blowing in the wind.....it was nearly blow the dog off the mountain type winds).....



Nice views from the summit.....







.....and a great day in the mountains climbing & four wheeling.....



This place was crawling with mule deer & elk.....



and a couple of happy dogs.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

The following day (November 8, 2022) we were right back at it climbing Carter Peak (6,718').....shown below.....the taller of the two cone shaped peaks.....



And again we took the Jeep to the "trailhead" (which is actually an abandoned 4 wheel drive roadway) and began our 3.4 mile roundtrip hike with a total elevation gain of 1,240'.....





It was yet another cold & blustery day in the mountains.....certainly makes the simplest climbs a bit of a challenge.....eventually we encountered a gate and it was basically a foot path for the remainder of the climb.....







Eventually we made our summit.....cause that's just what we do.....



This peak is littered with towers & shacks & all the crap that goes with it.....if there was any good in that it was that they provided us a nice wind break and allowed us to more easily enjoy the views.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Later that afternoon I found myself in the camper.....still restless.....still not satisfied. The beauty of Utah is that there are mountain peaks nearly everywhere that you look.....so off we went to climb Venice Peak (6,432').....







i parked the rig on a ranchers' property and started our climb from the paved highway.....this was another small mountain with no actual trailhead (5.1 miles round-trip with 700' of elevation gain).....we picked our route and headed on up.....found deer antlers along the way.....



.....which I placed in a tree.....why ? I'm really not sure.....



On a false summit several mule deer crossed our path.....



Further up the mountain I found a rather small mule deer skeleton.....



The winds were finally beginning to subside as we neared the summit.....





The summit was a long ridge.....possibly a half mile long.....possibly even more.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

The highpoint of Venice Peak was marked with this small boulder pile.....



But way to the north along the ridgeline I could see a man made monument but it was obviously at a lower point.....on the way there we came across the skeleton of a hawk.....it's last breathe taken on a mountain peak.....a dream of mine.....





I don't think I'll ever tire of the times that I spend up high.....







I took our summit shots at the point that was obviously not the summit.....



Tanner has become a natural at these summits shots.....we are grateful to have so many.....



The three of us sat together on the mountain top.....cause that's just what we do (lately it's all we do).....

 

[longhorn1]

One can never get tired of Yellowstone or the Tetons. Visiting with snow would be a life long dream, but I would need from the other half, and I doubt she would go for that. So thanks for the winter pictures. Sorry about the truck. I'm lucky to probably have the top Ford guy in Indiana at the dealer we use. Before Ford and GM started closing dealerships his father had one of the biggest Ford Dealerships in Indiana. This guy has a who's Who list of customers. I can usually get in with a weeks notice. Safe travels. Having the cabin to head back to will make travels even better

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

JD.....how's the new pup working out ? And yea to catch the Tetons covered in the early winters' snow is a real blessing.....and it's even better to catch it on a day when the sky is filled with a mix of white, fluffy clouds.....that's perfection.....



Now the goal was to get in one more small mountain summit before the next storm rolled in.....so we drove a bit further south landing in Ridgefield, Utah where we set up "base camp" (parked) at the local Walmart store.....we stayed 2 nights camped here and honestly it wasn't so bad.....generally speaking I get my views from up high and not from a chair or a truck camper window.....

Table Mountain (7,351') .....9.2 miles and 3,130 elevation gain.....just a few miles to the northwest of our "base camp", was the next mountain that we climbed.....we parked next to the old county jail and hiked from there to the informal "trailhead" (there actually is no trailhead.....just a suggested starting point along the ATV trails as best I could tell).....





Not too difficult to figure out how this small mountain got it's name.....





We struggled to find our way along the countless ATV trails that crisscrossed these lands.....it seems as though in an environment such as this that there are no rules and if there are any rules, certainly the masses just ignore them.....but eventually we found our way to the mountain, scaled the northern wall (the suggested route up), marked our entry / exit point to the mesa with a small stone cairn as I always do in these types of situations.....



From there it was maybe ten minutes of walking through somewhat dense brush to the somewhat densely covered high point along the western fringes of the mesa.....



There were no stone cairns, no flag poles, and best of all no cell phone towers nor roads.....there was nothing here to mark the summit.....we took no summit shots.....







It rained heavily that night.....it turned to snow early the following morning.....and then it got even colder than it already had been.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

We then headed further south, a phrase you'll read often now as we travel down the highway.....we took the paved secondary roads south, arrived in Joseph, Utah with plans to climb yet another peak. From here we drove west on a Forest Service road as we entered the FishLake National Forest .....



I set up camp right on that road on a scenic knoll that provided us with a small, level spot.....



As you can see the views from our camp spot were far better than what any man should deserve.....



The following morning was our coldest yet.....12 degrees when we hopped into the Jeep to begin our days' climb (13 degrees was the coldest yet.....Rock Springs, Wyoming).....





We took the Jeep as far up the mountain as I felt comfortable with going.....obviously others had gone much further which turned out to be our good fortune as the road was covered with ice & snow.....their forgotten tracks made for our trail.....



Trapper really struggled in the deeper snow.....her paws filled with snow which soon turned into ice and I found that I had to stop often to rid her of that discomfort.....





Oddly Tanner was not at all affected.....I find it interesting that they're both Golden Retrievers yet they're so different.....and not in just their colors.....



Further up the mountain we left the National Forest behind as the road passed through private lands.....shortly after this point we encountered a fallen Quaking Aspen tree down across the roadway & it was here that our compacted roadway ended.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

My hope for that day was to stand on the summit of Joseph Peak (9,325').....







But it was not to be.....Trapper only suffered more as we hiked even higher.....so we left without a summit but we did indeed have a wonderful day in the mountains.....5.9 miles with 1,750' of elevation gain.....





A quick search on Google Maps revealed a hot spring (Red Hill Hot Springs) to the east of Joseph, Utah.....so off we went to relax and to take a well needed soak in those hot springs located at the base of a small mountain.....



The water oozed from what appeared to be an almost cave like feature.....then spilled over these rocks where it filled three pools.....





I soaked in those pools.....I closed my eyes.....and I actually took a nap.....



The dogs had been waiting patiently in the truck camper.....once I had my fill, I shared the pools with the dogs and all I could think was just how much I love travel.....

 

[Riversdad]

My newfie mix is the same way. Every time we walk in the snow I have to stop every so often to clean out her pads as they fill up with ice balls. Tried a pair of booties on her, but she wasn't having it, so we continue with stop and clean. My other two dogs are completely unbothered by it and don't ice up like she does.

 

[mekcanix]

When I was a wee little lad my Opa use to drive our dog nuts every winter trimming the fur on his feet. Teddy was probably in the 150 pound range he was a biiig dog. But I remember him doing that for ice. I was probably 7 or 8 sooooo I maybe mis remembering

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Riversdad / mekcanix.....I felt so bad for Trapper & I've since thought about purchasing the booties but my inclination is that she would chew them right off. I've also thought previously to purchase the booties for hiking in the southwest due to all the plants with thorns. I often wonder how the coyotes survive in that environment.....



We now took aim for yet one more mountain summit so we drove southwest on the interstate.....the interstate crossed the next mountain ridge which was also where our next planned climb was located. Well, there was lots of snow on that particular mountain that we planned to climb.....I could see it from quite a distance. And the planned route was bushwacking.....I decided to change the plans. We next stopped at the Historic Cove Fort to re-plan the day.....







This place was actually pretty cool.....although I couldn't tell you one single thing about it.....







The log cabins were the best.....the woodworking in the barn was absolutely incredible.....and then we headed on down the highway.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

From here, we drove west and eventually we connected with Interstate 15, and then we drove south to our next unplanned brief stop.....we simply stopped at this next spot to stretch the legs and to allow the dogs to do their thing(s).....being an avid user of Fitbit, I'm hell bent on walking a minimum of 250 steps each hour (recommended by Fitbit). While parked at the truck stop in Parowan, Utah I decided to have a look at the ap ioverlander and noticed that people overnighted at the Iron County Fairgrounds.....and that's what we decided to do as well.....



Well, as it turned out we had parked just a few miles from the trailhead to Valentine Peak (8,050').....



And so it was that after a long, quiet nights' sleep at the fairgrounds, we left the rig parked right there, and took a long, quiet hike up into the mountains.....







Initially this climb was steep, then passed through several miles of ridgeline with a few ups and downs along the way.....





The trail for the most part was well marked and as best I recall we only once lost our way (not really lost.....just off trail as there were no other man made tracks here).....



This is just how we felt as we climbed even higher.....



I had no idea what this particular sign even meant.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

There were two false summits on this particular climb.....and the trail was located on the north side of these false summits.....





From trailhead to summit was approximately 3.5 miles.....I'd say that those two false summits were the most difficult part of this climb.....the north side of the mountains obviously gets very little sun so the snow was deep there and there was a layer of ice below that snow that made the climbing a bit sketchy.....





Gaiters and crampons would have been a real asset on the last section of this climb (my gaiters were left in the camper.....my crampons were stolen).....





The last ten vertical feet of this climb were super sketchy.....it was a small wall to climb yet it was covered in ice.....





But we made it and we didn't stay long (no summit shots of a dog here).....I was terrified that one of the dogs would slip as the summit was close to being knife edged and with the ice.....well, yea, it was terrifying.....



For us on that day, we crawled, walked, hiked & climbed 10.3 miles round-trip with 2,650' of elevation gain.....

 

[Arjan]

Very, very nice - thank you for, again, beautiful pictures.

If you don't mind, you wrote " ...littered with towers & shacks & all the crap that goes with it.. " What are they for as you seem to be quite a long way away from anywhere ? How are they powered.... We seem to have that a lot less here..

Thanks !