- Joined
- Dec 23, 2013
- Messages
- 4,323
My 2026 goals are pretty modest at this point.
First, in February, sometime around the middle of the month, I'm going to try and hike up to the top of Ensign Peak. It is only a 400 foot climb from the trailhead. I'm not too worried about the climb, but the descent gives me some apprehension. I'll probably summit Ensign a couple of times in February.
According to my knee surgeon, mid-March is where I can get back to more rigorous hiking. Knowing that I'll start doing more strenuous foothill hikes.
I have made reservations for backcountry campsites on Antelope Island - one for mid-March, one for mid-April and one on May 9th. These will all be one night backpacking trips to Split Rock Bay on the island. It is a 4.6 mile backpack into them, so that should give me a good idea how my knee will hold up with some weight on my back.
I've got tentative plans to summit Logan Peak above Cache Valley in the late spring, and I'd like to do a loop hike to Old Ephraim's Grave (The last wild grizzly bear in Utah) also in the late spring, maybe early summer.
I usually summit some peak on my birthday in July. I'm not sure what that looks like at this point.
If things go well this spring, then I may do a trip into the Frank Church Wilderness with @Bob and his band of outlaws. Need to cut that one down to a five day trip Bob.
In late August, I have a trip that will happen regardless of how my knee feels. My son asked me last summer to plan a trip to Yellowstone so that he and his girlfriend could come along. This will be his girlfriend's first backpacking trip. I am planning on five day backpacking trip into Shoshone Lake; taking one day to explore the Shoshone Geyser Basin. Each day will be roughly four miles so I should be able to grind through it even with a bad knee. Of course, it will be dependent on getting into the lottery and getting the sites that I want.
In September, I am hoping to do a trip with @TractorDoc and his group of scallywags along Cache Creek up to Republic Pass in Yellowstone along with a day hike up to The Needle thrown in for good measure.
Also in September, I'd like to head back to Ice Lake for three nights with a couple of day hikes (yet to be determined) from basecamp.
First is Ensign Peak in a month though, and if successful I'll move forward from there.
Knee update: I'm still experiencing some pain in my right knee. While I thought it might be the tib-fib joint, my knee surgeon still believes it is coming from the lateral part of my knee. So next week I will be having another MRI to determine if the surgery was successful. At my age, there was always chance that it would not be successful. So it is wait and see until I get the results which will be the last week of January.
First, in February, sometime around the middle of the month, I'm going to try and hike up to the top of Ensign Peak. It is only a 400 foot climb from the trailhead. I'm not too worried about the climb, but the descent gives me some apprehension. I'll probably summit Ensign a couple of times in February.
According to my knee surgeon, mid-March is where I can get back to more rigorous hiking. Knowing that I'll start doing more strenuous foothill hikes.
I have made reservations for backcountry campsites on Antelope Island - one for mid-March, one for mid-April and one on May 9th. These will all be one night backpacking trips to Split Rock Bay on the island. It is a 4.6 mile backpack into them, so that should give me a good idea how my knee will hold up with some weight on my back.
I've got tentative plans to summit Logan Peak above Cache Valley in the late spring, and I'd like to do a loop hike to Old Ephraim's Grave (The last wild grizzly bear in Utah) also in the late spring, maybe early summer.
I usually summit some peak on my birthday in July. I'm not sure what that looks like at this point.
If things go well this spring, then I may do a trip into the Frank Church Wilderness with @Bob and his band of outlaws. Need to cut that one down to a five day trip Bob.
In late August, I have a trip that will happen regardless of how my knee feels. My son asked me last summer to plan a trip to Yellowstone so that he and his girlfriend could come along. This will be his girlfriend's first backpacking trip. I am planning on five day backpacking trip into Shoshone Lake; taking one day to explore the Shoshone Geyser Basin. Each day will be roughly four miles so I should be able to grind through it even with a bad knee. Of course, it will be dependent on getting into the lottery and getting the sites that I want.
In September, I am hoping to do a trip with @TractorDoc and his group of scallywags along Cache Creek up to Republic Pass in Yellowstone along with a day hike up to The Needle thrown in for good measure.
Also in September, I'd like to head back to Ice Lake for three nights with a couple of day hikes (yet to be determined) from basecamp.
First is Ensign Peak in a month though, and if successful I'll move forward from there.
Knee update: I'm still experiencing some pain in my right knee. While I thought it might be the tib-fib joint, my knee surgeon still believes it is coming from the lateral part of my knee. So next week I will be having another MRI to determine if the surgery was successful. At my age, there was always chance that it would not be successful. So it is wait and see until I get the results which will be the last week of January.
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