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[TractorDoc]

We then headed on to REI to pick up something for @TractorDoc, and that ended up turning into an expensive trip.

What can I say? I have expensive needs.

Looks like you had a very enjoyable anniversary -- it looks like you even ran a comb thru your hair before heading out. I hope you two make it to fifty years together and beyond.

My day involved inviting/meeting/hiking with some friends at CVNP. A pop up rain shower poured on us for about ten minutes or so when we were about two miles from the car. . . hopefully they answer the phone the next time we call.

 

[scatman]

Sheila hasn't been on a hike since December 21st of 2024 due to surgery on her heel. The doc said that she could start hiking again in May, so today we attempted something easy - Ensign Peak.

I also had my left knee scoped this past Monday, and I was curious how it would do on the hike up Ensign.

The trail was crowded today, at least up until it started lightning and thundering. It eventually started to rain some which cleared most of the hikers off the trail. With the weather being as it was, this was definitely the most exciting hike up Ensign that I have had.

After taking a nice camera up Maybird Gulch last weekend, I am back to my normal rotation of cameras for this hike. on this one, I used the Canon Rebel T1i. It was released in 2009 and has a 15.1 MP sensor.

Here are some shots from today's short hike:


Gearing up at the trailhead


This used to be the original way up Ensign, but they don't want you taking this route
anymore.


Wood's rose


Utah service berry


Our modest goal


Alfalfa


Yellow salsify


The arrowleaf balsamroot is starting to get beat-up


That guy seems determined.


Phlox


Balsamroot and Ensign


Tall tumblemustard


Crow, flying to the east of us


Northern sweetvetch


Globemallow


Hawksbeard


Desert Alyssum


Getting there


Storm clouds moving in


Downtown SLC


The Wasatch Front and foothills


Aiming straight towards Mount Van Cott


I liked this shot with the clouds above


Summit shot


The Avenues Twin Peaks


Getting windy


Biscuitroot


Paintbrush


Dyer's woad


Heart-padded horse cress along the fenceline


Black locust


Great mullein



Fragrant sumac


Jupiter's beard


Primrose


Back at the Sube

Sheila's heel did okay, though I did notice that walking around Living Traditions later in the day that she had a slight limp. My knee seemed to be okay too, so we might graduate to the Avenues Twin Peaks next week and see how we hold up with that one.


The End

 

[Ugly]

@scatman congrats on the anniversary and getting back on the trail. Glad the lightning avoided you, it would not want to mess with your bionicness.
I hope you used a coupon at REI.

That dragon's tail looks easy from below

Jupiter's beard, fragrant sumac, and all the flowers are blooming like crazy.
Did both or either or none of the two cameras survive Maybird?

 

[kwc]

Congrats on 28........ We are at 49 this year

Congratulations to both of you! (52 for us later this year)

 

[scatman]

@scatman congrats on the anniversary and getting back on the trail. Glad the lightning avoided you, it would not want to mess with your bionicness.
I hope you used a coupon at REI.

That dragon's tail looks easy from below

Jupiter's beard, fragrant sumac, and all the flowers are blooming like crazy.
Did both or either or none of the two cameras survive Maybird?

Thanks Ugly. Not really sure if Ensign counts as getting back on the trail? I think the Avenues Twin Peaks will be more of a true test this coming weekend.

I used the coupon at REI, and took serious advantage of the 30% off of REI brand gear.

I'm guessing the heat coming in later this week will be the end of the foothill flowers.

My cameras are still drying out. I will put them both out on my deck later in the week when we reach to the mid-80's. My deck will probably be 90 with the heat radiating off of it. Another two weeks, and I'll try the big camera and see if it will power up and take a picture. As for the smaller point-and-shoot one, it got fully submerged on my little escapade and got lot of water in it, so I might go another month or two before I see if it still works. I did test out the Canon EF 24-105mm F/4L IS USM lens and it appears to work now, so that is some good news.

You been dreaming about the Draper Ridge?

 

[Ugly]

You been dreaming about the Draper Ridge?

Dream is perhaps not the right word...
I was younger the very first time I went up it.


This is some of the ridge near the top.

 

[scatman]

Dream is perhaps not the right word...
I was younger the very first time I went up it.
View attachment 141652

This is some of the ridge near the top.
View attachment 141651

Nice Beanie!

 

[scatman]

I got my stitches out from my knee scope on the left knee on Friday. The doctor said that it is a six to eight week recovery timeframe from the date of surgery. So that means I'm two weeks in as of tomorrow, so four to six weeks left. That being said, I hiked up the Avenues Twin Peaks which was a step up from the short hike up Ensign last week. I struggled some on this one and I'm not sure why. There was some humidity in the air in Salt Lake yesterday which doesn't happen often. That combined with tree pollen made me feel sluggish from the get go. I went slow so as not to aggravate the knee, and it did reasonably well. Sheila joined me on this one and pretty much left me in the dust. Wildflowers were plentiful and I took a lot of pictures of them on the way up.

I continued the camera rotation, using a Canon Rebel T2i which was released in 2010.


Salsify


Sweetvetch


Green in the foothills


Dyer's woad


The arrowleaf balsamroot is starting to wear out, particularly down low. Kind of like Scatman.


Toadflax


Hawksbeard


Phlox


Trail heading through some gamble oak


A place to rest


Lupine


Lewis flax


More lupine


Wasatch beardtongue


Nice stand of vetch


Foothill death camas


Geranium


Paintbrush


Stuck?


Slow down you move to fast
You got to make the morning last
Just skipping up the Twin Peaks Trail
Lookin' for fun and feeling groovy.


Paintbrush and balsamroot


Johnson's jumping spider


Paintbrush and sage


Balsamroot


Evening-primrose


Stitches out and Band-Aids on


On the south summit looking over at the north summit, with the Dude Benchmark in the distance


A nice shot of folks on the north twin


Looking for something to zoom in on.


our break spot on the south twin


Rock goldenrod


Lewis flax and friend


Deer botfly


Swallowtail


Heading down of the south twin


Mat rock spiraea


Hookers onion


Sulphur buckwheat


Shoreline Trail


Spreading fleabane


Yarrow



Assault on the Sube!



This means war robin!


The End.

 

[Bob]

6 to 8 weeks? Cutting it close for July 7

 

[OldBill]

This means war robin!

Something about Subarus? They like mine as well.

Good luck with the recovery!

 

[scatman]

6 to 8 weeks? Cutting it close for July 7

It's all about the quads @Bob - along with the calves and hamstrings. They've got me on quite the exercise routine, and torturing me at physical therapy, so I should be ready to go by July 7th. Going to attempt Van Cott today and see how the old knee does.

 

[scatman]

Something about Subarus? They like mine as well.

Good luck with the recovery!

I thought maybe it was the color of my Subaru.

I'm doing well so far on the recovery.

 

[scatman]

Hot hike doing the Van Cott Loop today. @regehr, I was hoping to see your rattlesnake, but all I got to see were two horned lizards. The balsamroot are really dying off on this hike, but the mule ears are in full swing.

Canon Rebel T3i was used for today's pictures.


Shoreline Trail


Toadflax


Northern sweetvetch


Alfalfa


Sheila put me to shame two days ago on the Avenues Twin Peaks, but not today as I felt much better.


Salsify


Enjoying some arrowleaf balsamroot flower


Dry Canon and the Avenues Twin Peaks


More sweetvetch


Evening primrose


Van Cott is an exposed hike, with little or no shade, and I was sweating on the uphill portion today


Ants


Hawksbeard


Sulphur buckwheat


Mule ears



Wasatch beardtongue


Lewis flax


Mule ears were thriving close to the top


Balsamroot was doing better higher up too - a little over 6200 feet


Western stoneseed amongst the mule ears



A friend joined us for lunch.


Out lunch spot


Black Mountain Ridge to the north of Van Cott


Spreading fleabane on our way down




Descending into Red Butte Canyon


Vetch and mule ears


More vetch


Common yarrow


Wild rose


Bastard toadflax


Ladybug


A lone hawksbeard flower, with more to come


Phlox


Dyer's woad


Can you see the squirrel negotiating the barbed wire?


Red Butte


Magpie near the Subaru. I hope he hadn't chatted with the robin from two days ago.


Life flight ready for takeoff on our way past the University Hospital.

 

[regehr]

too bad about the snake but it's great to see you're out hiking, Scat!

 

[Ugly]

Sunday afternoon in the heat, I hoofed up against the grain of people coming down and spent the night. I was out pretty early Monday morning, so I could get some work done, smoke a tri-tip and brats, and do some stuff at my parents.

Some snow and waterfalls.


It started cloudy with a chance of rain, and then sunset became this.


I had the camera ready and a place picked out to do some astro... but to be honest, I fell asleep before 1030, and only woke up once, and happened to watch the space station go overhead, and then I was asleep again until after sunrise.

I like the little yellow flowers and this branch or something.


A tree about to leaf.



@scatman should I cross this snow bridge?
I did break part of one by where I stood to take this picture.



@regehr the creeks are raging a bit more now... but not flooding.


Not a lot of flowers yet, but some.


More water.

 

[scatman]

@scatman should I cross this snow bridge?
I did break part of one by where I stood to take this picture.
View attachment 141890

A definitive "No" on crossing the snow bridge. Though I must admit that it does look tempting.

Camera update:

The big camera turns on, but can't communicate with any lens that I attach to it.

The small red camera that was totally submerged and was waterlogged, turns on and takes pictures, but you have to enter the date and time every time you turn the camera on.

 

[Rockskipper]

@scatman, love your Nat-Geo worthy shot of the ants.

@Ugly, love your sunset shot.

 

[scatman]

@scatman, love your Nat-Geo worthy shot of the ants.

@Ugly, love your sunset shot.

Skipper, you are back?

 

[Rockskipper]

Skipper, you are back?

I had no choice. I tried everything - therapy, weird Chinese medicine, herbs, weird American medicine, alfalfa hay compresses, etc. but nothing could supress the desire to harass @scatman.

 

[scatman]

I had no choice. I tried everything - therapy, weird Chinese medicine, herbs, weird American medicine, alfalfa hay compresses, etc. but nothing could supress the desire to harass @scatman.

Well then welcome back! And now let me give you a reason to harass the Scat. You might want to put on your sunglasses for this one.