2019 Backcountry Fest Photos

[Udink]

But seriously, did no one get pictures of the comp?

Ooh, I forgot to look at all the photos on my phone! Here are a few, including one of @Artemus at the bag game.

@Dave, @Stephanie B, and @Nick's rigs parked at camp


Desert bowling!


The Lincoln log fire before it collapsed


@Artemus grabbing the bag

 

[Rockskipper]

@Jackson is doing the bar in July? How cool is that!

Don't feel bad about the bag failure, @Artemus, it's known as one of the most dangerous of games and there have been many many deaths and near deaths associated with it. Just having the courage to play it is saying a lot. People don't usually realize the dangers because it looks like just a simple paper bag.

And @Nanda , that doggie hike looks like my kind of hike. Great photos.

 

[scatman]

Great shots @Nanda!

 

[scatman]

Yeah. It might have been too much to chew on for some without some practice and experience in less demanding obstacles elsewhere first. I had a couple close calls myself. I don't think I got any pics of the two hardest spots we had to come down.

- Response from my phone -

So @WasatchWill, @Jackson, @Parma, @b.stark, and @Jessica - please describe in detail the two hardest descents in Ding and Dang that you didn't get pictures of and are these canyons kilt friendly.

 

[b.stark]

I'd say the canyons are kilt friendly as long as everybody stays above you @scatman

 

[Jackson]

Perhaps you have a few words to say on how you bested the field?

I practiced my balance when I was in high school, but other than that and an occasional yoga practice with Jessica, that's all I've got!

BTW good to meet you and your wife and good luck on the test in July. I am rooting for you.

Thanks very much! Great to meet you as well!

 

[Jackson]

So @WasatchWill, @Jackson, @Parma, @b.stark, and @Jessica - please describe in detail the two hardest descents in Ding and Dang that you didn't get pictures of and are these canyons kilt friendly.

There are two fairly high drops (10-12 feet?) off of chockstones coming down Dang if you do the loop counter-clockwise (which is the easier way to do it). You kinda have to wriggle your legs around one and then find a spot to press your feet against and then lower youself. Or you can go the @Parma route and do it as a controlled fall/slide with a bit of a drop/jump. I'm having trouble remembering the exact details of the other one though, but it was something very, very similar, and only a few minutes before the one I just described. Maybe someone else has them better parsed out in their head. Most of the obstacles are just a matter of finding good places for your hands and feet, with some mild chimneying and stemming in a few spots. Most physically demanding is the first obstacle with water when ascending Ding. That's the one where Adam took a selfie.
If you instead go Dang to Ding (clockwise), the first two obstacles are a pretty tough shimmy up.

A lot of the obstacles have good bypasses, but it's the ones in the narrows that don't, and they tend to be trickier.

 

[WasatchWill]

So @WasatchWill, @Jackson, @Parma, @b.stark, and @Jessica - please describe in detail the two hardest descents in Ding and Dang that you didn't get pictures of and are these canyons kilt friendly.

I think some of them challenged each of us in different ways. What was easy for one wasn't so easy for another and visa versa.

For me, it was two such obstacles in descending Dang Canyon...one being a pour-off of about 10 to 12 feet. To shorten the drop off we all had to aim to the right along the canyon wall holding to some very precarious toe and finger holds. At least they were precarious for me with the bit of exposure there was. Decsending in this manner drops you down to a lower lip of the pour-off, where the drop-off is reduced down to about 5 feet or so, making it an easier jump or slide off.

The second one for me was maneuvering over and around a chock stone sitting atop another 5 foot pour off or so. The chock stone added another 5 feet above it. It was really tricky trying to wedge myself around it in a way that allowed me to free both my feet to to find an awkward foothold at the bottom of the chock stone that was facing down canyon and then drop down. An alternative method would have been to bridge over and down, but I wasn't sure that I'd have the strength to keep the pressure needed to safely descend in such a way after all that we'd already done and not feeling 100% given the cold I was battling.

A similar such obstacle is seen in my pictures near the end with water there to greet us below it, and was a bit higher, but that one was narrow enough to do a simple chimney down.

- Response from my phone -

 

[Artemus]

Ooh, I forgot to look at all the photos on my phone! Here are a few, including one of @Artemus at the bag game.

@Dave, @Stephanie B, and @Nick's rigs parked at camp
View attachment 76909

Desert bowling!
View attachment 76910

The Lincoln log fire before it collapsed
View attachment 76911

@Artemus grabbing the bag
View attachment 76912

Good ones of the competition, even though it was of the fourth place finisher. It looks like we should have been wearing helmets as apparently @blueeyes is, waiting her turn.

Love the time dilation shot of the bowling game with the blurred bowling ball.

 

[Dreamer]

Fun seeing all the pictures. Looks like a great time was had. Sad to miss you all. Someday I’ll get out to that neighborhood. The nearly thousand dollar travel cost kept me from making this get together.

 

[scatman]

Thanks for the route info @Jackson and @WasatchWill, these thing are good to know before this old man attempts doing it. I think the next time I'm down that way, I will give Ding and Dang a try.

 

[scatman]

I'd say the canyons are kilt friendly as long as everybody stays above you @scatman

No doubt @b.stark. @Artemus and others have learned that lesson the hard way.

 

[swmalone]

Looks like a great trip. I wish we could have made it. That target shooting scenario scares me. We have had what I believe were ricochets on a couple of outings and we just had to hunker down and endure it since we couldn't even tell where the shooters were located. With the accidental death related to target shooting near Monte Cristo last year I hoped people would be more careful, especially with regards to proper backstops.

 

[scatman]

So Saturday it was time to join @Artemus, Becky and @Nanda on a hike around Temple Mountain to explore some of the old uranium mines. Of course, a hike would not be complete without man's best friend, so we were joined by Hope, Scooter, Luna and Skylar. We drove over to the trailhead and headed out, starting on the south end of the mountain. Our hike would take us in a counter clockwise route around Temple Mountain with many mine openings and it would take us about five hours to complete.


Small stone structure near the trailhead


Looking towards the north end of Temple Mountain


This is the last of the uphill - famous last words from @Artemus.


Old mining remains


A sealed off opening


An old adit


A thrush knocking at last light should reveal the secret keyhole.


@Nanda, Hope and Scooter


View to the northwest towards the BCP campsites


Upper reaches of Tower Mountain as we are heading to the east side of the mountain


Time to get some water for us and the dogs - after breaking Becky and Luna would head back to the trailhead.
Tint! (Navajo for let's go)


Another shot of Temple Mountain - sorry but I took a lot of the mountain


An old head frame located on the east side of the mountain


The sealed off calex hole


This is where our hike took an @Artemus turn. Can you see the upper mining road not quite halfway up
the mountain? Yeah, neither can I, so let's hike it.


Sheila and Skylar at the edge of the world


View to the north


Can you see the road yet?


Starting up the old mining road - this should be the last of the uphill.


See the road on the opposite side of the gully yet?


Road! We don't need no stinkin' road.


Needed to help the dogs in a couple spots


Last thing Scatwoman said, "This looks pretty steep!"


Last chance to see the old road.


Cable from an old mining tram


@Nanda, keeping the dogs calm as we look for the road.


Milk Vetch - a sure sign of nearby uranium in this area


Still trying to find the road


@Nanda and @Artemus surveying the San Rafael Swell country


Old mine shafts higher up on the mountain


I love this shot of Skylar and Art


This was the end of us trying to stay on the now non existent road thanks to mother nature. Time to begin
our down climb off the mountain. Trust your feet. Tint!


Nanda is next down


Lunch time! And also time to empty my shoes.


A man and his dogs. Love this shot too.


Looking up towards the top of the mountain


View to the north


North end of Temple Mountain


Can you see the half-track up there? We would have eventually run into this had we been able to stay on
the old mining road that at some points circles the north side of the mountain.


Anybody know the model and make?


More Tower Mountain


Checking out another old car


On the road again, I just can't wait to get on the road again. The life I love is hiking with my friends
and I just can't wait to get on the road again. This might have actually been the last of the uphill.


One last shot of the mountain

A excellent hike with great company. I kept looking back over my shoulder at that half-track up on the mountain, thinking to myself, "You know, I need to get up there." I guess BCP is just going to have another Fest!

 

[Desert Jewel]

The one RV that took over our spot and never left, decided to start doing target practice on Saturday, even though they were basically surrounded by people. They were almost pointing right at the area that some of our group was setup in. It all started while I was hiking the mesa above camp so I stopped by to talk to Art on the way down and see how bad it was. We had some pretty scary ricochet action that sounded close and Scatman and Desert Jewel were even closer to them. I had to go over and ask them to stop, and they did. Their excuse was that they were shooting down into the canyon (also idiotic), but at least they stopped. Needless to say, Backcountry Fest 2.0 is going to be in a more remote location.

View attachment 76829

That damn "Anal Momentum" causing a ruckus...Yikes!

 

[b.stark]

Evening panorama from Saturday at the BCP Fest campsite.

 

[b.stark]

OK since I've gotten all unpacked and had time to edit, upload, and finally sit down to write something up quick... here's some pics from my OK camera (Sony RX100) from Ding and Dang slots. Images don't capture how much fun this hike was. Really had a great time. Thanks @Jackson for leading this group!

Hiking up to Ding canyon

Already taking a bypass at the very beginning!

You'll notice a theme of everybody in front of me in the photos... guess I was taking my time a bit and taking lots of pictures.

@Jackson showing us how to do the first technical feature. This one was definitely the most physically demanding. My upper body strength just isn't what it used to be when I did farmwork every day. Then again it never has been very good...

Pano from most of the way up Ding. Sorry @WasatchWill because of how I took it, half of you got cut out of the panorama.

Lots of tafoni

Hiking the connector trail to Dang slot.

I was glad to be going down Dang. Some of the climbs would have been a real challenge going up. This particular feature had a webbing strap helpfully mounted to aid in descent. There were a few people here practicing rapelling from about where I was standing to take this image.

This downclimb was very tough. Had to do some super awkward moves over the chokestone and find some blind footholds underneath, then somehow transition into a scramble down to the bottom.

Got wet here

Then back to open country.

 

[Bobbiesworld626]

@WasatchWill I especially love the Lone Warrior! Thanks for sharing your photos. Good thing Bobbi and I didn't go with your group. There would have been some epic photos of us falling...We just learned what chimneying is (thanks @Yvonne!) Haha But you guys all look like you had a great time!

I looked at the photos too and now I want to do it. We can rock it. We got this.

 

[Nick]

I looked at the photos too and now I want to do it. We can rock it. We got this.

Sharpen up your knife and re-watch 127 Hours. You'll be good to go.

 

[Bobbiesworld626]

Sharpen up your knife and re-watch 127 Hours. You'll be good to go.

are you giving homework??? i have never seen 127 hours.....so ill just watch it.