To Do in 2018

@LarryBoy is organizing it. It was one of his guess the map spots. ;)
Ahhh... got it. I think I see a running joke. I didn't read the "peak" part at first and went right to thinking of the actual Fremont State Park we do have here in Utah. But that would be an of place to hold a BCP meet up if any kind. [emoji23]

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@WasatchWill do you have a tentative date for your Kings Peak/Red Castle trip?
If it's early/mid July I'd like to join you. And maybe Brett too.

I'm also planning on:
Jan-Feb- Skiing, I got back into it last year. I may have actually go to someplace other than Sundance this year!
March- Canyonlands: Squaw Canyon/Lost Canyon...and maybe finally make it to Druid Arch!
April- Mesa Verde
May- Float Green/Colorado River in CANY
June- Hike Timp via Aspen Grove...(snow permitting)
July- Uintas
August- Sawtooths
 
Lots of good stuff. 2017 was a pretty slow year for adventures for me as my wife and I had a baby. I only got out on 2 really solid backpacking trips, but as a tender mercy they were 2 of the best trips I have ever been on. I always like to plan out trips for the coming year, with the realities of being a family man my trips always have a chance of falling apart, but if you don't plan anything then nothing will ever happen.

March: Buckskin Gulch.

June: Tushar Mountains.

June: (2-3 nights) Eastern Uintas, Spirit Lake area.

July: Some quick overnight trips into the Wasatch to check out some areas I haven't yet been able to get to.

July: (3-4 days) San Juans. I'm not sure where in the San Juans yet. I visited a few years ago and have been dying to get back.

August: (6-7 days) Windrivers East Side trip. Include North Fork Bull Creek, Horse Ridge, Dinwoody Creek, etc.......

August: (3-4 days) Sawtooths. Been wanting to get into some remote off trail basins I've had my eyes on in the Sawtooths for a few years now.

September: (2-3 days) Red Caste. It's probably time I finally visit Red Castle in the Uintas.

September: (2 days) A1 Peak in the Western Uintas via Hell Hole Lake.

October: (2 days) Wheeler Peak in Great Basin NP. I put this on the list every year and it has yet to happen. Maybe this will be the year.

I would also love to get into the Beartooths, and am thinking of shooting for two trips into the windrivers, but we will see what happens.
 
Well, another year. I am going to explore more of Butler and Comb washes, thank you @Nick for the introduction to Butler, a very special place. I am going to explore more of Slickhorn, Johns & Grand Gulch side canyons, trying not to repeat any old hikes. Dominguez Canyon is ripe for new exploration, and it is only 2 hours from my house. Finally I have 3 permits for canoe trips down Meanader, Stillwater and Labyrinth Canyons. Stillwater and Labyrinth will be about 100 miles, my longest float trip.
I am impressed by the to do lists on this thread, lot's of busy BCPers.
 
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As always, just about all my to-do's are photography related, but not all:

January-Grand Canyon and Sedona

March-Stan and I celebrating our two year anniversary. Last year we snowshoed to Hot Creek at 4:00 a.m. so I could shoot it under moonlight. We weren't prepared for the 18 degree temps and I didn't have the right lens, so this year we're going to try for sunrise, and wear down!
3.14.17 Hot Creek under Moonlight, longer view.jpg

Stan freezing his butt off as we got back to the car at sunrise:
Stan freezing his butt off.jpg

May: Moab for mountain biking (Stan) and photography (me). Then we go to Zion for some canyoneering-hopefully the Subway via Russell Gulch (thanks @Nick )!

July-shoot the monsoon at White Sands!

October-hoping to take a workshop in Colorado, but if that doesn't work I may just go there on my own. Or maybe a workshop in Marble Canyon, then explore the nearby area. Can't decide if I want to go north or south.....

December-another workshop in Death Valley.

And probably a few spontaneous trips to the Southwest, because I will go there at the drop of a hat.......
 
@WasatchWill do you have a tentative date for your Kings Peak/Red Castle trip?
If it's early/mid July I'd like to join you. And maybe Brett too.

I'm being told 2nd week of July is what they're aiming for. A couple guys in the group are having to fly in from the East and are keeping an eye on flights for a little while. But it's likely to be something like the 11 to the 15th, with the first night being at China Meadows or a short distance up the trail from there depending on campsite vacancies at the trailhead.
 
Wow you are all so organized with your trips! I kinda just start getting itchy on Wednesday and then open up my AllTrails app or pull out some maps and then head out.
Unsure location for January 13th and 14th, probably Yosemite.
Lots of random places until May.
Then Lost Coast Trail in May for 6 nights.
I want to do the John Muir Trail in 2019, so after May, I have to start saving PTO. :p
 
Wow you are all so organized with your trips! I kinda just start getting itchy on Wednesday and then open up my AllTrails app or pull out some maps and then head out.

That's how I used to operate until places started getting too busy and I needed to start getting permits 3-4 months in advance.
 
That's how I used to operate until places started getting too busy and I needed to start getting permits 3-4 months in advance.
Very true. I got my permit for Lost Coast in October 2017 for May 2018. The week after I scheduledwas already booked and they were not giving anymore permits. I got lucky!
Most of all the other areas I go do not require any permits.
 
I have never hiked anywhere that required permits until going to the Grand Canyon in 2016. Fortunately somebody else took care of the permit process (thanks @Curt ). Actually the only permit I have ever gotten myself for backpacking was in the Tetons.

May try a night or two in Yellowstone this year if nothing else comes up. Kinda stinks being at the mercy of whatever's left after reservations.

Also: Finally made some plans (last minute, as usual.) Just a short run up to the Black Hills. I'll have two full days to do something. We'll see what conditions look like when I get there. Of course I wouldn't mind hiking Black Elk Peak...
 
Very true. I got my permit for Lost Coast in October 2017 for May 2018. The week after I scheduledwas already booked and they were not giving anymore permits. I got lucky!
Most of all the other areas I go do not require any permits.
That about sounds like Canyonlands. I literally was on the site the evening of the first day they were available for the year and already my timeframe for almost 5 months later was just about full. I have to get better on planning ahead of time for those types of locations.
 
Now that I think about it. I guess 80% of where I hike requires me to get a day permit or an overnight permit, but I can pay for it at the trailhead.
The LCT is the first I encountered with a limit. Only 60 people allowed to be hiking it at one time. This is my first trail over 20 miles haha, so that is probably why.
 
That about sounds like Canyonlands. I literally was on the site the evening of the first day they were available for the year and already my timeframe for almost 5 months later was just about full. I have to get better on planning ahead of time for those types of locations.

I set my alarm for midnight the days I needed to book permits at Canyonlands....spent 5 minutes booking the permits and then went back to sleep :)
 
I'm revamping my to-do's for 2018 based on recent developments. Permits have been secured and I've also trained my fat arse back into the best shape I've been in for years so I am going back into full backpacking and canyoneering mode this year! Here's my new schedule so I can hold myself to it later on:

  • Westwater Canyon rafting in March (and more later in the year)
  • Toroweap in March
  • Grand Gulch/Bullet Canyon backpacking in April
  • Gates of Lodore rafting in April
  • Mystery Canyon and other Zion canyoneering in May
  • San Juan River rafting in May
  • Upper Death Hollow backpacking in May
  • No plans for June yet...
  • Stillwater and Cataract Canyon rafting in July
  • Main Salmon River rafting in July
  • Finishing the Uinta Highline Trail in August!!!
  • A week in Glen Canyon in September

Possible other backpacking to fit in the mix:
  • Parunuweap via Fat Man's
  • Some Dirty Devil action
  • Slickhorn and more Cedar Mesa in general

This is shaping up to be an outstanding year.


Nice to see so many plans already in the hopper! 2018 is looking great or me so far. As of now I won't have another trail guides project taking up time (although I'll miss the work), and I won't be doing a major house remodel (definitely won't miss the expense). But that means I should be wide open for going outside much more often than I was able to in 2017.

Most of my plans right now hinge upon wether or not I or anyone I know wins a permit and when. I won't know until February if any of us were succesful. But this is what I have/will put in for:

Gates of Lodore - HIGH PRIORITY
San Juan - HIGH PRIORITY
Rogue
Middle Fork Salmon
Desolation
Smith
Grand Canyon (cancellation lotteries & 2019)

I'd also love to make it out on a trip to some of these rivers but probably not all of them:

Stillwater
Cataract
Westwater

I will get Audra out on a mellow river or two this year. We were so close last year but had to cancel to keep working on the house.

I liked my winter trip to that guard station in the Uintas so much last year that I booked it again this February. Hopefully it snows or that might not happen!

Now that we sold our boat we're limited to renting to explore Glen Canyon from the water so we booked a houseboat for a week in September. And if the rivers don't pan out, I'll probably rent a runabout for an early July trip.

I plan to spend more time in the Bears Ears region this year, including over New Years weekend if weather allows. I've neglected that area for years because it's just a little further away than everything else and I'm trying to make up for it now.

And last, I hope to spend more time exploring the Dirty Devil.

Happy planning everyone.
 
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