The MOST Fun Cont'd...

So the weekend after Seattle I got to go up to the Uintah Mountains and do some camping and hiking with a bunch of people from my ward. I used to go up there a lot when I first moved to Utah and had been craving to go up there again! I headed up friday after work with a friend and we drove around for over two hours trying to secure a campsite for the rest of the group that was coming up later. We were getting really nervous when we reached the second to last lake and still no spot. We kind of had to fight for the spot we did finally get but we got it! I would definitely recommend making reservations (in like Feb.) cuz I guess everyone else around here thinks the Uintah's are cool too!
Jeremy (see Jackson Hole trip) and I tried to go fishing at the little lake we were by but didn't have any luck. I was real sad because I hadn't fished in a while and really wanted to catch one so I could eat it for dinner. We had a ton of fun around the fire that night making bread sticks, telling dumb stories, walking around the lake in the dark and looking at the amazing stars, and we even watched an episode of The Office on someones iPod! My how camping has changed! Then the next day after breakfast we went on a really neat hike. It was a four mile loop that went past several beautiful lakes and had some amazing panoramic views.
(Sorry no pics, can't get them off facebook)
I have been having a ton of fun with this guy I met named Paul too. He was actually one of my patients at an office I temped in when I first got licensed and we started talking about how much we liked to hike and stuff and one thing led to another and we started hanging out. He is so much fun! We have been mountain biking in Millcreek Canyon which was way fun but I am a little bit of a sissy when it comes to going down steep hills. And we go hiking all the time too on fun little hikes around the benches here in Salt Lake. It's been a ton of fun. Here's a pic we took on one of our night hikes.
The next couple of adventures all involve my friend Mark and a sweet little inflatable kayak he recently purchased. I guess Mark is known to make such random purchases every once in a while!
So, he buys this sweet kayak and decides I get to be his kayak buddy. Yay for me cuz I am real excited to go kayaking (but a little nervous to die at the same time). So we decide to take it out on the Jordan River for a test run. It's a real calm river and we think it will be good practice. Well lets just say the river is a little too calm, we have a heck of time trying to paddle, the river is absolutely the most disgusting thing ever (Mark got a rash to prove it), AND to top it all off we get lost, miss our take out point and end up having to walk miles through West Valley in the middle of the night to get back to our car. Oh man, it was the funniest thing I think that has every happened to me. Not so much at the time but I definitely crack up everytime I think about it now!
So that weekend we decide we are ready to try a real river and head up to the Weber River just below Echo Reservoir. I was a little nervous again because it's a bigger river and we don't really know what to expect. My fears were soon eased as I watched an array of people put in to the river in an array of rafts and tubes. If all they had were tubes and I had a sweet kayak then I should be okay right? Right! It was freakin' awesome. The river was the perfect speed and height and just enought rocks, bridges etc. to have some fun. The first time down we hit a few rocks that trapped us which causes the water to flip the kayak and dump us out which was like the funnest part of the whole trip!
At this point Mark is very confident and thinks he can take Niagra Falls, so he plans a trip to Jackson Hole to do the Snake again. Not in a big huge safe raft though, oh no, in his inflatable kayak with his loyal kayak buddy! Of course I am scared out of my mind at this point but go along like I own the Snake! And it was the best kayaking experience ever! I can't even begin to explain how much fun it is. Your in a little but sturdy two man inflatable kayak with a life jacket, a helmet (thank goodness), and your paddle just trying to hit all the big whitewater. Your whole body is covered in goosebumps because the water splashing up from every rapid is freezing cold but you don't really notice because you are so focused on paddling to get through this 10 foot rapid and staying inside the kayak all at the same time. Then in between the exhilerating whitewater areas you just sit back and relax, let the river take you, and just enjoy the amazing mountain views around you. Can I just say...I love it! I wish I had some pics to share but we haven't ever thought to bring along a waterproof camera :(
So thats a generalized run down of the rest of my summer so far. It is winding down fast but I assure you I am enjoying every last minute of it!