February Backpacking Trip

It's been a pretty stellar week here in the high country-- well, that's not really a shocking statement since every week up here is pretty much off the hook. But, the last week or so has been particularly excellent. It's been sunny and warm! Can't wait till spring. Yesterday the Food Guy, Alabama Star, Greg and I went up to Ship Rock for some climbing. It was pretty exciting. Food Guy had to carry me up a couple sections of the approach trail because I couldn't climb the boulders. My claws just wouldn't dig into the rock. Today, the Food Guy and I put in a pretty solid day's work. We started off the day with a beautiful run from Camp Z in 48 degrees and sunshine. Trust me, that's like a full on heat wave up here. After we finished our run, we headed out to Mark and Leslie's house to cut firewood. I just hung out on the porch while the people worked, but I'm proud to say that we have enough firewood to get through the winter now. I'm sure the temperatures will be back below freezing on the regular soon.

Last weekend was the annual winter backpacking sufferfest with B. Aubin, Nate, and the newest hardcore in the bunch- Steven. The jury is still out on Steven though. He was in much better shape this year, but he might have been sandbagging us. My pack was heavier than his and I'm just a dog. All kidding aside- Big Ups to Steven for getting in shape. He gets the most improved player award for his year.

We had sunny skies and a beautiful trail to hike. We started and Pine Gap and hiked the Gorge trail for most of the day. The trail went from the river back up to the rim a few times. It was a pretty stout hike. One poor guy we met at the trailhead fell into the river and dislocated his shoulder. Poor guy had to hike back up to the rim and drive home in a lot of pain. It was beautiful though. I'd bet he'd say it was worth the price of admission. Check out the view from the river.

After a great day of exploring the Gorge, we made it to Babel Tower where we found a sweet campsite that even had a bar.

It was nice during the day. Check out this view from one of the vistas back on the rim.

But the wind was serious at night. It was friggen cold! I found creative ways to stay warm like sitting on Steven instead of the cold ground.

The boys seemed to have alot of fun, and there was lots of hamming it up for the camera. Check out the Food Guy doing his best fashion model tiger pose.

We hiked out Sunday morning under blue skies and made it to Pappy's BBQ for a late lunch. I had to stay in the truck and eat dog bones, but the people ate some killer brisket. Food Guy doesn't eat a lot of meat these days, but he's not one to turn up his nose at a good brisket. I hear the hush puppies are pretty amazing there too.

We're taking it easy tomorrow. Food Guy just needs to get a short run and maybe a ride in since he's training for the 100milesforswisher.com run in August. Mostly, I'll be sleeping while the Food Guy grades papers. We'll have more adventures next week, so check back when you can.