Kendall Card 2.0

I’ve been playing around with Animoto and they have a really neat tool I used to create a quick video from still images. You can also use video clips as well but I didn’t have any from the deer hunt. After all, it’s only 5 days of hunting and we got out for 2 of the 5.

It took me about 10 minutes to put together this quick 30 second (30 second vids are free, longer vids require a paid account) as a test. Turned out pretty good, IMO.

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

I was talking with my uncle the other day about hunting strategy. He knows I like to hike long and far to get “way back” into some spots where I’m sure to be alone. He’s hunted for 50+ years and he’s got a theory about the close to road spots that are hidden and overlooked.

So yesterday after my oldest boy got home from school around 3:15 we quickly packed up and headed up the Mirror Lake Highway. With thoughts of my uncle and our conversation as we left the trailhead, my son and I turned off the trail withing a couple of minutes to walk a lesser traveled ridge and find a place to sit down, in an area just a stones throw from the highway but an area I accidentally found and thought it might be a good spot.

We saw some tracks down low in spots I wasn’t thinking we’d see some and along the ridge in obvious crossover points between the aspens and timber we didn’t see any. It sure gave me pause for thought. The snow was falling lightly and my 11 year old was getting ready to find a spot to sit when I saw a big pine tree on a bare ridge/point and said that we’d circle around to that point and sit down for the rest of the evening.

We crossed a few tracks which was encouraging as we made our way to the point. As we came up to this big old pine tree, sitting all stoic on the rounded ridge, I told my boy to walk further on a bit and see if there wasn’t a better place to sit as there were no rocks here. As he walked off I ranged the area – 278 yards to the clearing where we had come from, 156 to the timber cross canyon, 74 to the bottom of the draw.

Just then I saw antlers moving through the exact opening I just ranged in the bottoms and a nice little buck walked through and turned to come up the hill towards me. I motioned for my son to hold up as he was just 20 yards from me making his way back to the tree and surely would be seen from below if the deer lifted its head. I had told my son we’d take any buck with 3 or better on one side so when I saw this guy had a little 4 on one side and deep fork 2 point on the other I held steady, waited for him to present a good shot and just like that the hunt was over.

This is where he landed, and the far tree on the left is where I was standing. I hit him while he was next to the small snow covered pine trees and as he was walking up the hill.

It started to snow a bit more as we pulled the buck back into the bottoms of ravine, made quick work of quartering him up and stacked him in the new Blacks Creek pack I recently picked up (the Featherlight Barbarian). It handled the load very well, in fact better than other packs I’ve hauled with, as we hiked down what turned out to be a perfect trail along side the dried up creek bottom back to where we had deviated from the main trail. By 8:15 we were back at home to a disbelieving wife/mom who couldn’t figure out how we got up there, got a buck so fast and got back home. I just told her we didn’t go “way back” to find the buck.

Spring has definately sprung and when that happens I turn my attention to skiing as many lines as I can squeeze in before the bike, trails, camping and hiking become the only alternatives.

Mount Watson stands tall at 11,527′ amidst a number of other peaks like Bald Mountain, Reid and Notch Peak near the Bald Mountain Pass off the Mirror Lake Highway in the Uintas. Mount Watson isn’t really that impressive on paper, but what’s most inspiring is the east face, particularly when seen from Bald Mountain pass as you’re heading down towards Kamas. It’s also the first major peak you catch a glimpse of as you pass the Provo River Falls around mile marker 23.

I was on a recon mission yesterday, not thinking I’d make the summit. But it shouldn’t surprise me that I would go anywhere but to the summit, despite the 5 miles of road I had to skin to get to the Trial Lake turn off. The drive and desire to summit a mountain, particularly one I’ve talked about for years is quite simple, elementary even. Skiing down said mountain is icing on the cake.

From the Trial Lake turn off, it was another 1.5 miles of skinning to the base of the mountain as my route took me across Trial Lake, through the woods that later in the day would smell and feel like a warm summer day, then booting up the southeast ridge as I made the summit.

(Click on the thumbnails below to see the photos larger)

The feeling of standing on top of a mountain you’ve looked at for years is unique and rewarding.

The views from on top were tremendous and my up close and personal inspection of the East Face was motivating. The upper 2-3 turns may be some of the spiciest skiing I have yet to ski, approaching 60 degrees. I didn’t ski it, opting to reserve that treat for when I return with my friend Jim, so I ventured down the north ridge. After getting to a more mellow spot where some sled heads had been high marking, I dropped in for a few turns in some tricky wind crusted snow.

The trek out was smooth although I wished for better wax and nordic skis for the kick and glide down the 5 miles of the Mirror Lake Highway to the car. It was a great day in the mountains for a solo adventure. I’m looking forward to returning for the descent of the East Face proper.

I had a funny interaction with Anna the other day. It went something like this:

I was sitting on the bench in our mud-room getting my shoes on to head to work. Next to me was a stack of mail with the picture she’s holding of Uncle Sam.

Anna: Daddy, who is that?

Me: It’s Uncle Sam

Anna: He looks mean. What does he want?

Me: He wants to take my money

Anna: All of it?

Me: Yep, as much as he can get.

Anna: (after some thought and reflection, and said with a serious look) Daddy, that’s not nice, not at all

Me: (trying hard not to laugh) No baby, that’s not nice at all is it?

Sometimes these precious moments need to be recorded.

I don’t recall from my years of being a Boy Scout or even as a boy scout leader that I went on that I ever took a book (aside from the Scout handbook) on a campout. But as McKinley, my oldest son who just turned 11 and joined the local Boy Scout Troop, was packing for his first campout he asked if he could take his book along. He was asking his mother, a devote reader herself, if it would be ok and although she thought there was no way he would have time to read, how can you say no to a child who wants to read? So he packed his book.

This campout was the Klondike Derby with winter camping in snow caves that the scouts had built the previous week. I arrived at the camp after work on Friday night and once the evening activities including dinner were done I found the cave that McKinley and I would share. Upon entering the cave to find an uneven floor, stalactites on the ceiling and about 18″ of headroom we commenced to sculpt the cave.

McKinley kept insisting it was fine, but I knew better. About an hour later we moved into our cave, complete with a shelf for gear, enough headroom that I could sit up without becoming claustrophobic, and enough space that both of us fit with ease. McKinley knew that I had a Mountain House Blueberry Cheesecake in my pack and a Jet Boil.

CLICK ON THE IMAGES TO SEE THEM FULL SIZE

As we got settled into our bags, with my ultra bright Coast H7 headlamp making it as bright as noon, McKinley asked if he could read. Of course I said yes. So while he dove into a book, I boiled up a little water and made dessert. When it was ready, with some music from my iPhone playing, we downed some awesome Blueberry Cheesecake. He turned to me and said, “Dad, I’m pretty sure that the other kids aren’t having as good of a time as I am. I’m pretty lucky to have my dad here.”

I was the one that felt lucky.

A few years ago when it came to backcountry skiing, life didn’t exist outside the Cottonwood Canyons, or to be more precise, life didn’t exist outside of Little Cottonwood Canyon. But with the move to Kamas, my discovery of the Uintas, the dream of “built the skin track and they will come” that was my Mount Aire project to name a few spots and I’ve discovered that life is well lived outside the epicenter of the Wasatch. That’s not to say I haven’t fondly reminisced of my days there and the lines, both big and small, that I’ve ticked off the list. Let’s just say I’ve not made it a priority to get to LCC.

That is, until last week.

Wednesday the report was 2-3″ in the surrounding areas and 6-9″ in the epicenter. I could no longer deny it’s pull so I resisted the tractor beam of upper Little Cottonwood and happily set my sights for the epicenter for my first voyage of the season. My few text messages to generally willing partners yielded a shut out so I would be going solo. As such I chose the simple route – Days Fork via the Flagstaff directisima. I was well rewarded with 3 laps of stellar pow that on occasion got all over my face.

A LITTLE COTTONWOOD CLASSIC – Sunrise lighting up Cardiff and Superior

It was while soaking it in Wednesday afternoon that I booked my return flight to LCC for Thursday morning with a timely text to Daren hoping that I might have company…and company is what I got. 4 others to be exact, including a split boarder named Aaron that graciously endured my rants about my last experience with a split boarder. Thankfully, he would redeem split boarders for me.

I was surprised that we were first up the skin track on Flagstaff with another 3-4″ of fresh. Then again, it was a prime day to tag Superior and a number of guys were headed in that general direction. I knew Days would deliver and didn’t hesitate to keep to the plan. The skin track was extra slippery and most of us toiled a bit. The sunrise and views were a great diversion from the toil and anguish of the skinning.

(CLICK THE IMAGES TO SEE THEM LARGER)

After cresting Flagstaff and looking into Days Fork I knew it would be another classic Happy Days kind of day – 2-3″ of new on the south side with 6-10″ of new on the north side. The best part? We had it to ourselves. We all stood there with the uneasy elevator style “after you”, “no, please, after you” courtesy gestures to which I gladly offered up a “May I?” and dove in.

I’m not sure if it was Aaron or Adam who started to speak first, but when everyone had arrived at the bottom of Days I said something to the effect of “I think I’m gonna need more of that” to which they both cited, in unison the famous line from Oliver Twist: “Please sir, may I have some more?”.

And more we got…and were filled. Evidence:

Yes, even splitboarders can rip it. 😉