Because we knew we would be leaving the mountains of Utah for the flat land of Oklahoma and because we had a spare moment to let our adventurous sides free, we decided to go for a one night backpacking trip up Provo Canyon, starting at Big Spring Park.
Since we had only been planning this trip for at least a couple days, we didn't get the option of choosing the weather forecast (rainy with thunderstorms). Despite our fear of getting completely soaked and the having to hike down the mountain with everything sopping wet (and because we didn't really see another free weekend before we would be moving), we chose to embark on our adventure.
By the time we packed our backpacks and got on the trail, it was about 5:30pm. I know what you're thinking - we must be crazy - going backpacking not long before dark with thunderstorms in the forecast. The truth is, we probably are crazy, but that's how I get you to read my blog. Nobody would want to read a story about a boring backpacking trip up Provo Canyon where everything went smoothly.
Thus we embarked, full of enthusiasm, for the trip ahead.
As an Eagle Scout, I knew that I should follow the Scout Motto and "Be Prepared", so we asked my brother-in-law for advice on where we should camp once we got up there. He gave us a map and pointed out a few possible places, giving us mile estimates of how far said places would be up the trail.
There were two main areas he suggested, one that was about two miles up and another that was about four miles. He mentioned that there was a really cool view not to far from the higher clearing.
So, being a man and not wanting to short-change my backpacking adventure, we set out for the higher clearing with the intent of getting up the next morning and hiking to the nice view.
(Who is going to choose the first clearing when the second one sounds so much better?)
After about two miles, we saw a clearing down below the trail that seemed to match the description we received. We could hear the stream and knew that there was water near the clearing. We decided that since it was still light out, we would hike on and get to the next clearing. As we hiked farther and farther, we were getting higher and higher on the mountain. Next to the trail was an empty riverbed (I've never heard of a streambed before so I'll just call it a riverbed) and it should have occurred to me that unless there was some weird anti-gravity thing going on with this mountain, there wouldn't be water in the stream at a higher elevation. Nevertheless, we hiked on.
By this time it was getting darker and although the summit of the mountain was probably only fifteen minutes away, we decided to turn back since we hadn't seen any water for a few miles. We knew that we didn't have much daylight left and we wanted to camp near water, so we headed back down to the first clearing, but not before taking a few pictures.
You can see the difference that the flash made in taking our picture when we were turning around. Here are a few picture from when we decided it was better that we find water than hike to the summit.
When we got back to the first clearing, we had just enough daylight left to get the tent set up. Then we filtered some spring water in the dark and made dinner. The next morning, we woke up expecting a drenched tent but were pleasantly surprised. We filtered some more spring water (using a pump that we borrowed from my brother-in-law) and made some oatmeal on a backpacking stove (also borrowed) before enjoying the scenery and hiking back down the mountain. I don't want to sound like the little red hen here but look who's doing all the work and who's enjoying the oatmeal...
What happened to the rain you ask? Well, as soon as we got back to our apartment, the rain started to pour. I guess we timed it just right.
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