Planning my year

[Aldaron]

I just spent all morning fiddling with my calendar to plan my trips for the next year. The net result: 26 planned vacation days.

It looks like I'm going to take my big trip to Banff, and then a shorter trip to the Winds.

It scares me to take so much vacation time in one year, but it couldn't be for a better cause!

 

[Nick]

Nice!

Here's what's on my 2013 list so far:

Early spring/late winter backpacking in The Roost or near Powell
Zion backpackaneering, Kolob-style
A big Backpacking/Canyoneering trip in The Grand Canyon
Further exploration in the Salt Creek area of The Needles
Summer vacation up north to Glacier, maybe even further north towards Banff

 

[Aldaron]

Cool. I think I'm going to do Banff in mid-August. I know it will be crowded, but I don't want to risk the weather at other times, so I'll just try to deal with it.

I have four day trip planned for the North Winds, and a four day trip planned for the South Winds. And then I have a four day trip planned for Lake Powell.

I have a bunch of smaller trips planned, including our annual 14er and all of our weekend trips. And, of course, my trips back home that eat into my precious vacation time! Sometimes I think I should move back home just so I can have more vacation time to spend out here!

Cold days are the best times for trip planning.

 

[HomerJ]

It looks like I'm going to take my big trip to Banff, and then a shorter trip to the Winds.

Make sure you hit the other 3 parks (Jasper, Kootenay, and Yoho) that border Banff while you're up there! Jasper was my favorite of them all!!! Your pass will get you into all of them so definitely worth hitting them all! Unless you're backpacking... then it might be a little hard to hit them all!

 

[Aldaron]

Definitely! I've got a discussion bookmarked from the Other place with suggestions up there, and I plan to spend time at as many as I can.

So, you think Jasper was the best? I liked the idea of kayaking on Maligne Lake. Was that your trip?

And I definitely want to backpack some, but I may end up just doing one or two overnighters, or one two nighter, so I need to make them count.

 

[Laura]

2013 looks like it's going to be almost exclusively Utah/out of Utah/Sierra Nevada:

-Yosemite in January
Zion/Grand Canyon in February
Moab/Carbondale in May (yes, boyfriend and I are going to start exploring potential retirement towns-woohoo!)
July backpacking in the Eastern Sierra
August spend 10 days traveling all over Southern Utah shooting the Perseid meteor shower (location recommendations welcome! Right now thinking about Capitol Reef, Monument Valley, and possibly Kanab/Vermillion Cliffs),
10 days in Utah in November, including a workshop with my photography idol David Muench. I can't WAIT for 2013!!!

 

[Laura]

It scares me to take so much vacation time in one year, but it couldn't be for a better cause!

That's what it's for!! The only thing you can count on is the time you have right now so enjoy every vacation to its fullest.

 

[pixie1339]

This year I want to do a few things that were on last years list that didn't end up working out. Glacier National Park, Titcomb Basin in the Winds, and a Four Corners trip are the longer trips I want to take. I have a bunch of shorter trips in mind as well. Colorado National Monument and Rattlesnake Arches. Willow Gulch, The Golden Cathedral, and Peekaboo and Spooky in Escalante. Halls Creek Narrows, Sheets Gulch, and Upper Muley Twist in Capitol Reef. There's so much more. I sure wish I had more than 3 weeks of vacation!

 

[Aldaron]

I think that every time I sit down with my calendar it becomes harder and harder to stay employed.

And I think my wife and I are just one shared bad day away from becoming hippies.

 

[Yvonne]

I'm not sure how much time I will have next year and how demanding my studies will be.
But I definitely will do a few trips that are on my bucket list for quit a while.

Shorter trips could include the Escalante Slots again and Willow Gulch, then definitely Halls Creek Narrows, Burro Wash, Sheets Gulch.
In summer I would love to spend a dew days in Yellowstone again and do some of the higher elevation hikes/backpack.
Since I saw the great report of blueeyes to the waterfalls of Havasupai, I wanted to go and see it by myself. That would be a great trip for next near.
And hopefully a backpacking trip into the Uintas or even into the Winds.

A lot of plans and even more trips I want to do. But I guess a few things have to wait again...

 

[Nick]

Wait, you'll be living in Utah now, right Yvonne? Sounds like you'll be able to go crazy compared to living in New York and coming out a few times!

 

[Yvonne]

Wait, you'll be living in Utah now, right Yvonne? Sounds like you'll be able to go crazy compared to living in New York and coming out a few times!

12 more days, Nick.
I can't wait, I'm counting the days....
And I will be hitting the trails as often as possible. My mentioned hikes are the big ones I have to do.
Beside that there will be numerous smaller overnight trips, long day hikes, or just a few weekends of exploring.
And now and then I also have to study a bit

 

[HomerJ]

So, you think Jasper was the best? I liked the idea of kayaking on Maligne Lake. Was that your trip?

The main reason why I liked Jasper better was that Jasper had a lot less people than Banff. We didn't kayak Maligne Lake although I would have loved too! We just did the touristy things....

 

[Laura]

I

And I think my wife and I are just one shared bad day away from becoming hippies.

I was just thinking the same thing. If I lost my job I'd keep my computer, my camera, my car and my cats. I'd sell everything else, including my condo, and become even more of a free spirit than I am now. It'd be liberating in a very Buddhist way.

 

[powderglut]

Winter rules in these parts. If you want to ski every day. The ski bum mantra is "Quit your day job!"
Powder morning tomorrow!!

 

[Aldaron]

Laura, that's exactly what I'm thinking!

 

[Nick]

Adding another to my list for 2013. Just booked permits to return to Salt Creek. Doing the same basic route as before but bringing Audra along for the ride. Stoked!

 

[wes242]

For the last 11 years I have had to have my year planned out by Feb for work. This is the first year that I get to fly by the seat of my pants and go whenever I feel like it! I would like to get some backpacking trips in, no spot planned out yet. I won a free week stay in Tulum Mexico so I will be doing that. I think Fall this year I would like to go to Colorado and chase some color instead of the Tetons for once too. I will see what 2013 brings!

 

[Yvonne]

Adding another to my list for 2013. Just booked permits to return to Salt Creek. Doing the same basic route as before but bringing Audra along for the ride. Stoked!

I'm envious!! I love Salt Creek. Will redo the trip one day because there are still one or two ruins I left out this year.

 

[Michael Pust]

2013 looks like it's going to be almost exclusively Utah/out of Utah/Sierra Nevada:

-Yosemite in January
Zion/Grand Canyon in February
Moab/Carbondale in May (yes, boyfriend and I are going to start exploring potential retirement towns-woohoo!)
July backpacking in the Eastern Sierra
August spend 10 days traveling all over Southern Utah shooting the Perseid meteor shower (location recommendations welcome! Right now thinking about Capitol Reef, Monument Valley, and possibly Kanab/Vermillion Cliffs),
10 days in Utah in November, including a workshop with my photography idol David Muench. I can't WAIT for 2013!!!

Where will you go in Yosemite? One of my favorite haunts is The Emigrant Wilderness just north of Yosemite.