King's Peak 2007

I've been busy. One of my craziest summers ever. Now that it's winding down, the kids are back in school, and I'm finding comfort in the routine, I figured it was time for an update. My summer was full of outdoor activities, sporting events, family projects and a big family reunion (in Island Park near West Yellowstone).

But the highlight was the 50-mile backpacking trip that I did with the scouts in the High Uintas. The trip was similar to the last one we did in 2005 but this time we had a much bigger group, and everyone without exception made it to the top of King's Peak, the highest peak in Utah (~13,500 ft). Here's the snapshot:

I'm not sure what compels us humans to climb mountains (in reality not metaphorically), but there's nothing quite like the sense of accomplishment you feel when you get to the top. 

Basic stats from the trip: 14 people, 50.32 miles, 252 fish, 49.5 lb pounds on my back (on day 1 at least), and 5 lbs less around my waist when I arrived back home. Here's an example of one of many brookies we caught:

Work didn't slow down one bit during all of this madness so that made for a blog-less summer. However, there's a bunch of work-related stuff happening that I'm really excited about...and will be posting about later.

I hope your summer was equally exhilarating.