Bag Night Challenge 2015

[LarryBoy]

Really? I've never seen it from above that I can remember and am going to this summer. Great. Looks like a reflection pool. Your sunburn loop ???? Could it be from the north over Bald Mountain and then circumnavigating the Castle? That's my intent.

I strongly recommend doing it in the other direction. From the trailhead to Squaw Pass is mostly boring miles, and I like to get those out of the way first, so that the scenery keeps improving throughout the hike. Hike south from the East Fork Blacks Fork Fork's Fork Trailhead (or whatever it's called) and over Squaw Pass. Once over, you have two options - Either go over the pass into Red Castle Basin (Nick posted some route tips for that option somewhere on BCP), or continue on the Highline Trail over Porcupine and Tungsten. Since Friday was a beautiful day, I was feeling strong, and the clouds weren't building at all, I opted for the latter. Staying on the bench on the far west side of Yellowstone Basin yields some great views and cuts off a mile or two, as opposed to staying on-trail. Hiked up to that little pass and got some great views of the entire Yellowstone Basin, Red Castle Basin, and Mt Powell. From there you can just follow trail down from Smith's Fork Pass, into the Red Castle Lakes, and out over Bald Mtn

Route would be challenging in stormy weather, as you're above treeline for about 60% of the loop. However in fair weather, it's the perfect way to spend a weekend. Only downside is that after having admired Red Castle Lakes from above, they're not nearly as dramatic when you hike right up to water's edge. Nice problem to have though!

 

[Artemus]

Yeah, i've walked about 90% of the whole thing already. Multiple times. The only part not yet done is the actual crossing from Porcupine into Upper Red Castle and the Upper Red Castle basin. Thanks for the info. Why did you call it the sunburn loop? if not for the reason you had good weather and got sunburned. Did you solo it and how many days? I'll be doing it as a mostly loop with a spur from the car over Bald Mountain.

 

[LarryBoy]

Yeah, i've walked about 90% of the whole thing already. Multiple times. The only part not yet done is the actual crossing from Porcupine into Upper Red Castle and the Upper Red Castle basin. Thanks for the info. Why did you call it the sunburn loop? if not for the reason you had good weather and got sunburned. Did you solo it and how many days? I'll be doing it as a mostly loop with a spur from the car over Bald Mountain.

Figured I was tan enough already this summer to go without sunscreen. I figured badly wrong. Ouch. It was basically a day and a half - started out and did a mile or two on Thursday night, did le grande tour and camped down by Red Castle Friday night, and did Red Castle and hiked out Saturday. It's quite a bit of hiking, but doable if the weather holds. Plus there's not many sheltered spots to camp if you stop mid-route

 

[slc_dan]

@slc_dan - 47! Looks like you were the only one tent camping in Iceland What kind of rental car is that? We look forward to a few landscape pics...

ahh, those were just the angle I shot them in. Some were crowded, most were not. I liked my private soccer field looking out into the West Fjords the best I think .

 

[WasatchWill]

YTD Total: 14 Nights

1 Night | Jan 30-31 @ 5th Water Hot Springs w/ @steve, @Tess, @Mike K, @LarryBoy, & @Sam De Vries
1 Night | Feb 15-16 @ Backyard campout w/ the kids
1 Night | Mar 18-19 @ Backyard, testing out Klymit X-Frame pad under Equinox Globe Skimmer tarp
1 Night | Apr 3-4 @ Frontyard - testing out some minor modifications on my hammock and tarp setup
2 Nights | Apr 9-11 @ Capitol Reef National Park
1 Night | May 24-25 @ Little Rock Canyon Overlook
1 Night | June 2-3 @ Silver Lake, AF Canyon
1 Night | June 5-6 @ Hobble Creek Canyon
1 Night | June 9-10 @ Chris Flat
1 Night | June 16-17 @ Naturalist Basin
1 Night | June 21-22 @ front yard (with the kids)
1 Night | June 23-24 @ front yard (with the kids)
1 Night | July 2-3 @ Slide Canyon

 

[uintahiker]

1/16-19 Fox Valley, MO - 3 nights
3/13- Atchison State Fishing Lake, KS- 1 night
4/10- Indian Cave State Park, NE- 1 night
4/16- Atchison SFL, KS- 1 night
4/24-4/30 Southern Missouri & Northern Arkansas- 7 nights
5/22- Northern MO- 1 night
6/26-7/2 midwest roadtrip- 7 nights

Total nights: 21

 

[Nick]

Total YTD: 27 Nights

Jan 17-19 > Solo at Powell > 2 Nights
March 5-8 > Backpacking Trachyte Creek > 3 Nights
March 21-24 > Glen Canyon > 3 Nights
Apr 30 - May 3 > Glen Canyon: Escalante > 3 Nights
May 14-18 > Glen Canyon: Crystal Springs/North Lake > 4 Nights
May 22-25 > Backpacking Grand Staircase > 3 Nights
June 4-8 > Glen Canyon: Iceberg Canyon > 4 Nights
July 2-7 > Reflection Canyon > 5 Nights

 

[Artemus]

Total YTD: 27 Nights

Jan 17-19 > Solo at Powell > 2 Nights
March 5-8 > Backpacking Trachyte Creek > 3 Nights
March 21-24 > Glen Canyon > 3 Nights
Apr 30 - May 3 > Glen Canyon: Escalante > 3 Nights
May 14-18 > Glen Canyon: Crystal Springs/North Lake > 4 Nights
May 22-25 > Backpacking Grand Staircase > 3 Nights
June 4-8 > Glen Canyon: Iceberg Canyon > 4 Nights
July 2-7 > Reflection Canyon > 5 Nights

View attachment 32092

For a guy with all those booboos you sure get out a lot.

 

[Nick]

For a guy with all those booboos you sure get out a lot.

It eases the pain of all the booboos.

 

[NateGeesaman]

I can't tell you all the specific dates and places because I have been camping so frequently, but I have kept meticulous track of my total and for 2015 I sit at 49 nights as of last night. I have been living in the heart of some of the best camping and hiking in the world in Boulder, UT and taking every advantage to sleep outside. I have watched this thread in jealousy over the past few years at people who get 40-50 nights a year, but I got almost 50 in the first half of the year this year thanks to my move. I am happy... Check out my photos at www.flickr.com/photos/nategeesaman/ for proof of my love of the outdoors.

 

[pixie1339]

30 nights total

Jan. 16th-18th: 2 nights, Valley of The Gods with @Miss Buffalo
Jan. 31st-Feb. 1st: 1 night, Antelope Island
Feb. 13th-16th: 3 nights, Valley of Fire
Mar. 5th - 9th: 4 nights, Virgin River Gorge, Alabama Hills, Eureka Dunes, and The Racetrack with @Miss Buffalo
Mar. 20th - 22nd: 2 nights, Indian Creek
Apr. 2nd- 5th: 3 nights, La Verkin Overlook, Grand Canyon South Rim
May 1st-4th: 3 nights, near Torrey, Willow Gulch, 40 Mile Ridge Road
May 7th-10th: 3 nights, Salt Creek Canyon
May 23rd-25th: 2 nights, Comb Wash
June 19th-21st: 2 nights, all girl camping trip in Flaming Gorge
June 27th-29th: 1 night, Naomi Lake
July 3rd-7th: 4 nights, Rocky Mountain National Park

Dream Lake before the fog...


...and after

 

[Bob]

Feb 6 - Feb 8, 3 nites Grand Gulch
Mar 26 - Mar 29, 4 nites Escalante
Apr 26 - Apr 27, 2 nites Island Park
Apr 30 - May 3, 4 nites Death Hollow
May 10 - May 13, 4 nites Island Park
May 17 - May 23, 6 nites Island Park
May 25 - May 27, 3 nites Island Park
Jun 1 - Jun 2, 2 nites Island Park
Jun 9 - Jun 10, 2 nites Island Park
Jun 14 - Jun 18, 4 nites Island Park
Jun 22 - Jun 25, 4 nites Island Park
Jun 6 - Jun 9, 4 nites Island Park ......................42 nites

Framers finally showed up.............................
First walls:


Front entry area:


Front side house first floor:



Overview till next week, looking at back of house. 95% of first floor walls up in 4 days

 

[IntrepidXJ]

It's been over a month since I've been able to get out camping, and it felt great

Total: 20 Nights

February 14-16 | Natural Bridges | 2 Nights
March 21-22 | Davis Canyon | 1 Night
March 28-29 | Monument Mesa | 1 Night
April 22-26 | Coyote Flat & Lower Grand Gulch | 4 Nights
April 30 - May 3 | Coyote Flat, Todie Canyon, Bullet Canyon | 3 Nights
May 12-16 | Moab & San Juan River | 4 Nights
May 22-25 | Panorama Point, Golden Stairs, Sunset Pass | 3 Nights
July 10-12 | Mineral Basin | 2 Nights

 

[Opi]

Got out and did a little car camping and spent a couple days on my bike touring (pedaling) around the Nicolet National Forest.

2 nights - IAT Chippewa Morraine - April 10-11
2 nights - IAT Jerry Lake segment Chequamegon NF - April 24-25
1 night - Natural Bridge State Park Kentucky - June 5
4 nights - Virginia Highlands on the AT - June 7-11
3 nights - Boot Lake campground Nicolet NF - July 8-10
12 Total nights!



Dinner was yummy!

 

[Artemus]

23 nights
July 10 - Two nights camped at 10K' feet to walkabout the Sweetwater Gap and climb Mt. Nystrom in the Southern Wind River Mountains
Mt. Nystrom east cirque while going up:

 

[Scott Chandler]

Another update of this

Total: 17

5/1-3: 2 Nights east of Zion NP
5/31: 1 Night Domingez-Escalante National Conservation Area, CO
6/1-5: 4 Nights East Elk Campground, Curecanti NRA, CO
6/22-25: 3 Nights Near Lake Solitude, Cloud Peak Wilderness, WY
6/26-28: 2 Nights Bighorn Lake, Mt Zirkel Wilderness, CO
7/1-2: 1 Night, Oliver Creek, CPW
7/4-5: 1 Night, Lake Helen, CPW
7/9-12: 2 Nights, Granite Lake, CPW
1 Night, Emerald Lake, CPW

I wish I could camp at those last two camps all summer. Two of the best (Emerald below)

 

[andyjaggy]

I did a quick overnighter up American Fork Canyon.

9 nights.

March 6th-7th - 1 night - Zion
March 24th-25th - 1 night - Kodachrome Basin
March 25th-26th - 1 night - Buckskin Gulch
March 26th-27th - 1 night - Arches
June 18th-21st - 3 nights - Green River Lakes/Three Forks Park
July 2nd-3rd - 1 night - Amethyst Basin
July 17-18th - 1 night - Silver Glance Lake

 

[Bob]

Feb 6 - Feb 8, 3 nites Grand Gulch
Mar 26 - Mar 29, 4 nites Escalante
Apr 26 - Apr 27, 2 nites Island Park
Apr 30 - May 3, 4 nites Death Hollow
May 10 - May 13, 4 nites Island Park
May 17 - May 23, 6 nites Island Park
May 25 - May 27, 3 nites Island Park
Jun 1 - Jun 2, 2 nites Island Park
Jun 9 - Jun 10, 2 nites Island Park
Jun 14 - Jun 18, 4 nites Island Park
Jun 22 - Jun 25, 4 nites Island Park
Jun 6 - Jun 9, 4 nites Island Park
Jun 13 - Jun 17, 5 nites Island Park ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, 47 nites

First floor walls completed ....


Inside framing started for second floor ........



First log to install, to support second floor walkway .......



Lifting the log into place, 12" dia, 33 ft long .......


Log beam and posts in .....



Oh, I did have time to go pick these by Ashton .......

 

[IntrepidXJ]

Total: 21 Nights

February 14-16 | Natural Bridges | 2 Nights
March 21-22 | Davis Canyon | 1 Night
March 28-29 | Monument Mesa | 1 Night
April 22-26 | Coyote Flat & Lower Grand Gulch | 4 Nights
April 30 - May 3 | Coyote Flat, Todie Canyon, Bullet Canyon | 3 Nights
May 12-16 | Moab & San Juan River | 4 Nights
May 22-25 | Panorama Point, Golden Stairs, Sunset Pass | 3 Nights
July 10-12 | Mineral Basin | 2 Nights
July 17-18 | Burrows Park | 1 Night

 

[Udink]

This weekend I did a 13-mile loop to Island Lake and back, spending the night at Duck Lake.

7:30AM glass at Duck Lake


Total: 2 Nights:
6/12/2015 - Cedar Mountain, San Rafael Swell
7/17/2015 - Duck Lake, Uintas