backpacking video

i made this super amateur video of our backpacking trip - and we can't figure out why the quality is so bad. this is one of the funnest trips we've had! hoping for many more. also, a special thanks to riley and koda for being rockstar camping buddies, and also the stars of the film. and most of the photos. they are the coolest!

Backpacking in the Uinta's

we've been wanting to go backpacking for a long time now, especially since i had never been (which was virtually inexcusable since we have all the gear). when we realized we wouldn't be able to spend a week at grey's this year with either of our family's we compromised with a backpacking trip. it was much more doable.

devin taught me how to pack a backpack, and i ended up just under 25 pounds. we were headed into the uinta's and were expecting some rain, and probably a big crowd at Grandaddy lake, where we planned on setting up camp.

at the last minute, we made a few changes: we decided we would go a little further, past Heart, Grandaddy, Betsy and Fish Hatchery lakes to Mohawk lake, and we also decided we would take Brandon's dogs!

the morning of, we headed to ernie's for breakfast, per tradition, then up to Heber to trade cars with Brandon (so we would have 4wd) and grabbed the dogs and a few last minute things. we got to the Grand View trail head earlier than we planned, but it was cold and raining. it rained for maybe the first hour of hiking - it was absolutely gorgeous - and then got sunny. the lower temperatures in the Uinta's made for perfect backpacking weather!

the dogs were awesome, and 4 miles later, we had found a perfect camp site! there are about 100 pictures here, mostly of dogs and plants and scenery. it was so gorgeous. we had a weekend and spent the majority of our time making sure the dogs stayed close, fishing, purifying water, and teaching katie how to cook on a tiny little backpacking stove. a total success.

the first night was pretty miserable. we had crammed the two of us, plus the two [wet] dogs in our small tent, and i had a lot of chest pain and difficulty breathing, probably because of the altitude - it was terrifying!

saturday morning was much better. we did more fishing and the dogs did more swimming, and then the thunder began. we watched the storm clouds roll in over the lake, and got the dogs dry and all settled into the tent just as the rain started. we watched The Office on dev's phone (don't act surprised... haha!) and took a nap until the storm passed. at that point, it was late afternoon, and we decided we wanted to head back home. we didn't want more rain, and we didn't want another scary night like the night before, plus we were out of dog food! in about 20 minutes, we were packed up and headed back out.

we dropped the dogs off at brandon's and had some food at Dairy Keen, and were home at about 10. luckily, we were in provo canyon before it got dark. we are covered in sunburns and bug bites - which i think means the trip went well! i was proud of myself for having done it. sure, it was only about 8 miles round trip, but i had never walked any kind of distance with any kind of weight, and was worried all week about looking like a huge wimp, which i did anyway, but i was better than i thought. this trip only makes me more excited to get out and do more backpacking and camping before the summer is over!