Trip Report: Mt. Nebo - North Summit

View of North Peak (left) and North Summit (right)

I've wanted to hike the north summit of Mt. Nebo for a couple of years now. Although EVERYONE along the Wasatch Front seems to hike Mt. Timpanogos, Nebo is actually the highest peak in Utah County - by 179 feet to be exact. It is ranked as #38 of the top 100 peaks by prominence in the lower 48 (Timp is ranked at 47). I have yet to hike Timpanogos, and honestly don't know when I ever will. When people ask me why not, I tell them that if I wanted to come across dozens of people along the trail, I would go to a National Park and make it worth it.

Fall colors against a backdrop of pines

I realized that Fall Break would be the last opportunity to get a long hike out of my system before hitting the books for another two months while trapped indoors. To be honest, I was second-guessing whether I really wanted to spend my day hiking alone. When I woke up I hit the snooze several more times than intended, and then even as I was driving through the vibrant colors of fall, I debated whether I should call it good and go fly fishing instead. After hitting the trail I was glad that I didn't wimp out.

Provo Peak from a distance (this was one of my last clear views before the clouds moved in)

It was only after hiking about 200 yards up the first hill that I realized how out of shape I really was. I would look behind me every so often for the first couple of miles just to be sure someone wasn't doubled over, laughing at my poor display. I tried telling myself that it was my cold that I was still battling with which was slowing me down, but by the end of the trip there was no denying it. Although I am working full-time and going to grad school full-time, being crazy-busy behind a desk does not keep me from becoming a giant blubber of a mess.

The North Summit from the Nebo Loop

The fall colors all along this hike were amazing. The weather couldn't have been more perfect (with the exception of the actual summit), and the lack of traffic along the trail only helped get my last hike-high of the season. Just before starting up the North Peak and the North Summit, I met up with a group of three guys on their way back down from the summit. They reported that they had been hiking for 4 hours, and actually stopped 500 feet from the top. One of the guys said that they stopped because the mixture of snow and slate was too much for them to navigate comfortably without trekking poles. Once I finally made it to the top I could see what they were talking about. Without my poles there was no way to get up, and coming down was even more treacherous.

This is what I saw when starting up the peak and for the rest of the hike

I assumed that my hike back down to my car would have taken half the time it took to make it to the summit, but it felt like I was stopping twice as often for some reason. I read about a few doing the hike in 5 hours, but both groups I passed who were on their way down from the summit reported that they had already been hiking for 4+ hours. I tried to keep track of how long it took me, but I forgot...or something like that...

Cross on the North Summit overlooking the valley...or not...but you can imagine.

For those of you who ever want to tackle this day hike, I've included some directions to the trailhead:

Get on the Nebo Loop from Payson, UT and drive for about 25 minutes to the "Monument Trailhead". There is a parking lot with a bathroom and a trailhead located at the south of the parking lot (this is for the Nebo Basin trail - not what you want to take). On the north end of the parking lot is a dirt road. Take this road and it will lead to a second parking lot. The trail starts at this parking lot, and runs along-side a barbed-wire fence for more than half a mile. The trail is clear and well defined the whole way, so there is no way to really get lost unless you try.

I would rank this hike as moderately strenuous. The hike to the base of the peaks is steep in most places, but from the base of the peak to the actual summit it is VERY steep. If you go sometime between July and about the middle of September you should be able to make it to the summit without there being too much mud or any snow. Distance is 10-11 miles round trip and can take anywhere from 5 hours to...well, longer than that if you're me...

The Sven-Saw

Ever heard of the Sven-Saw??? I just saw this for the first time on KK's Cool Tools blog, but apparently it's been around for decades, if not centuries. It's compact and light-weight (less than a pound, the manufacturer says) and looks like the perfect tool when backpacking.

It's nice when you can snap branches on your thigh or foot, but sometimes you want to break branches that your foot has no chance of snapping in half. Here is a diagram showing how the ingenious idea works:

Looks like something worth purchasing. I love how compact it is when disassembling it. Pretty sure it would fit quite nicely on the side of my pack.

Here's a couple more ideas from Amazon...
               
This was more of a quick post just to get one in for the week. Next week I will post about my hike up Mt. Nebo.

Website Review: NOAA.com, The Most Accurate Weather For Your Location - ANYWHERE

I came across this website a couple of weeks ago. The website claimed that you could find the predicted weather for the EXACT location you want to know about - even by elevation. I have always felt that using weather.com or a local news weather forecast was inaccurate, since I would typically be thousands of feet higher than what the forecast would report.

After navigating through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's website, I quickly saw how useful it would be when planning those trips which take me out of the valleys and into the mountains. When entering a City in the search box it does a fairly good job of bringing up what you are looking for, but, for some reason, if you type in the City AND State, it gets confused. When I tried typing in "Grand Teton National Park" it was also too much for the search engine. I found that typing in the Zip Code gives you the best shot of finding what you are looking for without wasting any time.

Once your desired location loads, you can move the exact location you want within the red box on the Google Map. Under the map the latitude and longitude is listed, along with the elevation. I couldn't find an option to punch in the lat/long when doing a search, but using the map to locate your exact location is no big deal.

**I would say this website is a must when planning trips in the backcountry. Don't waste your time with the forecast you will find on weather.com or on some local news station's website - unless, of course, you want a second opinion, but I haven't been able to find any other website which claims to give an accurate forecast for any elevation.

Gear Burger - Website Review

Thanks to Google Reader, I saw a review last week of Gear Burger given by The Adventure Blog. After checking it out for myself, I thought it was worth posting about in the blog.

Gear Burgar is an outdoors site of all sites - meaning they find out where all the deals/sales are going on, and list them all on their site. To put it simply enough, check out this website if you want to find the best deals on your outdoors gear and clothing without having to spend hours on the web. The website tracks down all the gear you would find at REI, but checks out all the other similar websites to find you the best deal out there. Here are all the sites they currently track:

Altrec.com Outdoors (New), AltrecOutlet.com, Backcountry.com, Bike.com, CampSaver.com, Chifly.com, DepartmentOfGoods.com, DogFunk.com, evogear.com, FishWest.net, FontanaSports.com, GearX.com, Giantnerd, Half-Moon Outfitters, HucknRoll.com, Konasports.com, Marine Products, MasseysOutfitters.com, Moosejaw, o2 Gear Shop, OutdoorBasics.com, Patagonia.com, RamseyOutdoor.com, RealCyclist.com, REI, RiverBum.com, Skis.com, Snowboards.net, TheRiversEdge.com, USOutdoorStore.com, WildFly.com with more on the way!

I assumed that I would be able to click the link to Gear Burgar and immediately see what deals are currently out there, but it's not that simple, unfortunately. Apparently this website wants something from you before they are willing to give you the goods, so you have to open an account first. You only need to give your e-mail address before having access to the information you are looking for, and it's not a problem to change your settings if you don't want to get any unwanted e-mails.

When first logging on to the website, I was kind of confused. I couldn't figure out where to find the deals I was looking for, and it seemed that the only options I could find were dealing with my settings and preferences. Finally I saw in the left corner "Gear Bin" and voila. 

After checking out my "deals" I felt a little disappointed. I saw some great deals like 80% off some Nikwax Base Wash, but after clicking the link I saw that their "deal" was $5 for a 5 oz. bottle, not 80% off for their 33 oz. bottle - meaning they saw that the site was selling a bottle for $5, and assumed that it was for the 33 oz. bottle. NO savings for this one...

There were several other items that were sold-out or discontinued, and others that were just flat-out priced wrong on the Gear Burger website. I did see some clothes that were accurately priced, AND in stock however.

I would give this website two stars for having a great idea, but it appears that they are still working out the kinks and trying to make the website work properly. If they can get the system working like it should, than I have no doubt this company could become a best friend for a lover of the outdoors.

Outdoors Impaired...

As I said in Cranial Malfunction a few months ago, "we are no longer 'required' to work as we once were" while in the outdoors...

Once I can afford the monitoring fee and the actual beacon, I want to get a SPOT locator. They are small and lightweight, and as long as you have a clear view of the sky, your chances of survival when in a scary situation multiplies exponentially. It makes me wonder how local and state agencies are going to start regulating when they will, and won't, go out for a rescue. With stories like this one found in the New York Times something is going to need to change:

Last fall, two men with teenage sons pressed the help button on a device they were carrying as they hiked the challenging backcountry of Grand Canyon National Park. Search and rescue sent a helicopter, but the men declined to board, saying they had activated the device because they were short on water.

The group’s leader had hiked the Grand Canyon once before, but the other man had little backpacking experience. Rangers reported that the leader told them that without the device, “we would have never attempted this hike.”

The group activated the device again the next evening. Darkness prevented a park helicopter from flying in, but the Arizona Department of Public Safety sent in a helicopter whose crew could use night vision equipment.

The hikers were found and again refused rescue. They said they had been afraid of dehydration because the local water “tasted salty.” They were provided with water.

Helicopter trips into the park can cost as much as $3,400 an hour, said Maureen Oltrogge, a spokeswoman for Grand Canyon National Park.

So perhaps it is no surprise that when the hikers pressed the button again the following morning, park personnel gave them no choice but to return home. The leader was issued a citation for creating hazardous conditions in the parks.

Pretty sure I don't need to comment on how ridiculous these guys are. I will say it a million times probably - some people just don't belong in the outdoors...

(Article originally found at Trout Underground)


Click here to see an additional story just posted this morning on The Goat about K-Mart employees putting batteries in the SPOT locators, not assuming that store patrons would activate the beacons just to see how long it would take for a helicopter to arrive...

All-In Trek: 12,500 miles within one year

I came across this story on The Adventure Blog, and had to share. Some stories are too impressive to pass up.

An outdoors fanatic, Samuel H. Gardner, plans on beginning his "All-In Trek" expedition on January 1st, 2011. He will be hiking the countries four longest trails within a year, and will start with The North Country trail in the dead of winter. He will only be the second to ever complete this trail during the winter months. Did I mention that he is in his mid-twenties??? This guy amazes me.

During his interview with CheapTents.com he disclosed that he is planning on going through 22 pairs of shoes over the year he will be on the trail. So how many miles will he need to cover each day if he is going to meet his goal? He will need to average 34 miles a day which, those of you who hike know, is quite the feat. For food he will be mailing ahead boxes to drop-off points where he can re-stock his supply and will use whatever transportation he has access to in order to get from one trail to the next.

The first time I was able to really understand what is required of such intense thru-hikes was when I read "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson (which I just found out will soon become a movie produced by Robert Redford). It's hard enough for me to imagine the amount of preparation (both physical and mental) which goes into planning such a long trip, but I think the hardest part for my head to wrap around is how someone is able to take months, not weeks, off from work and family to achieve something as intense as one of these hikes. So how does someone like Samuel take a full year off from life to carry out his "All-In Trek?" I hope to one day hike the PCT, but can't see any way of doing this without either doing it between jobs or once I retire, but who wants to wait until they are out of their prime condition to do something like this?

To pay for his expedition, he will be relying on his sponsors who include the Ultralight Adventure Equipment company which is located in Logan, UT. If you want to contribute, or want to learn more about the All-In Trek than check out his website HERE. He will be updating his website along his journey.

Woman Puts Her Hand Down a Bears Throat!?!?

A Wisconsin woman hears a weird sound coming from her backyard, looks out the window, and sees a mama black bear obviously choking on something. The bear is close to passing out when the woman realizes that it must be her dogs bone that is lodged in the bears throat. Although the bear has one of her cubs close by, she is so close to passing out that she doesn't mind it when the woman reaches down the bears throat, grabs the bone, and pulls it out. Not really sure there is anything else I need to write about this one...

Here is the story, and HERE is where I found the story. Back to my weekly postings!