Newbie here

[donny h]

Hi all, I am the FNG here.

I moved to Springville 5 years ago after 30+ years in Ca and Nv.

I car camp for 1-2-3 months a year, that has been my thing for years now, ever since I followed The Dead around just a little. Just long enough to learn that for me, the worst day camping is better than the best day working.

I have a decent job for 4 months a year, spring and fall, just enough work to keep me camping the rest of the time. In winter I'm a hermit.

I'm almost 40 and single, I decided long ago that I wouldn't get serious with any woman who doesn't like camping like I do, other wise it's just another reason to stay indoors. Indoors is highly overrated.

Any of you ladies that can put up with a atheist, chainsmoking, medium drinking, target shooting, modern country music hating, grumpy old hippy outdoors freak who cusses like a sailor, doesn't like either political party and spends a month at a time in the desert for fun, well, any of you still with me out there?

The back country in Utah is unbelievable, it seems endless, I am going to explore it forever.

I said the same of Ca, and it's kind of true, but no matter where I went, there was always too many folks. So now I'm here, crowding the back country, oh the irony.

Utah...wow... some of the best remote spots I've found so far are in the San Rafael Swell, by Buckhorn Draw, and back behind Goblin Valley.

The Burr Trail has some remote stuff I really like, as does Fifty Mile Mountain. Batty Caves.

The north slope of the Uintahs is my new hot spot, I spent weeks up there last summer, kayaking on those little lakes: Sheep Creek, Browne, Long Park, Spirit, and Hoop.

I liked Horseshoe Canyon a lot, and I personally think Canyonlands is superior to the Grand Canyon in many ways. The White Rim Trail became a dream trip for me as soon as I saw it, and is part of the reason I upgraded from a van to a 4x4 truck. Can't wait to go back...

I fell in love with Boulder Mountain, and Calf Creek.

I liked the LaSals, that whole region, The San Juan, over to Natural Bridges, Valley of the Gods. I've been reading about Long Canyon, that is on my short list.

Fishing: I never have been into fishing before, but I picked it up last summer, and I did two epic week-long kayaking/fishing/camping trips at Flaming Gorge.

I suck at fishing, the fish are mostly safe with me out there, but it's a good excuse as any to go loiter on a lake.

Kayaks: Kayaking rocks, I hadn't done any overnighters before, and I plan a bunch more of those long trips. My sit on top is like backpacking, except I can bring more stuff. Silly, heavy stuff, like fishing gear, beer, guns, snorkel gear, beer, soda, canned food, beer, big binocs, music, books, a handfull of knives, a hammock, all the stuff it's fun to have but absurd to carry on your back.

Next kayak trips: Green River, the Missouri in Montana, back to Flaming Gorge.

Dream kayak trip: A few months on Powell. Maybe in winter.

Try kayaking, you'll like it. Best kayak/camp spot so far: Carter Creek at Flaming Gorge. Look for wild raspberries to stuff the fresh trout.

Safety: If you listen to couch bound safety "experts", you should never be alone in the back country. Ever. I do all my trips solo. I like it. You learn stuff out there alone, things like self-reliance, confidence, dealing with fear and stress, decision making, dealing with the results of your choices, trying to separate emotion and rational thought.

I even have a theory that solo can be safer than groups, testosterone and one upmanship has killed plenty of folks.I really watch my step with no one at my back. With no one to impress and nothing to prove, I never "dare" myself to exceed my abilities.

I pushed when I was younger, lived through the "shot-a-man-in-Reno-just-to-watch-him-die" period, now I guess I'm old and slow, don't know if "bold" will ever come back. (sorry, Johnny)

Irony: My activities are downright wussy compared to some of the outdoorsman around these parts, yet are considered semi-suicidal mountain-man behavior by my urban friends. Good thing I have thick skin, and don't much care what others think of how I spend my time.

There are a couple activities I feel cross the line, safety-wise, for a solo guy, and these are climbing and white water, so I have no experience in these two. Maybe one of these days.

Canyoneering: I did hike Little Wild Horse and Bell, the slot canyons in Utah are like nothing I've ever seen, I can't wait to see more, but I'm limited to stuff with little or no climbing, please share any spots you think I should see, the remoter the better. I've read about some canyons by Robbers Roost, and they all sounded very technical. Are there any "weekend warrior" rated canyons near the Roost?

Shooting: I've just been getting back into shooting after selling off my guns years ago, and I read posts here talking about a good carry gun in the back country, I just picked up a light weight beauty.

Swith&Wesson 340PD, 11 0z. empty, 13 oz. loaded, 5-shot .357 magnum revolver, double-action only, 1 7/8" barrel.

Extreme recoil, highly unpleasant to shoot, but an awesome amount of fire power in a tiny, feather weight package. I wouldn't shoot anything that wasn't on top of me trying to kill me, and at that kind of belly-button range, the 340 just might work. It's not a magic wand, just another tool.

My .22 (10/22) is the target shooter of choice for me these days, I've shot many thousands of rounds of .223, .308, and 7.62x39 in the past, I'm mostly over it, now I shoot .22 all day long for a coupla' bucks.

Okay, this is turning into a novel, lets see, I covered who, when, and where... I think y'all know more about me than anyone I've met in 5 years in Happy Valley...

[Iceaxe]

WOW..... your going to fit in real nice around here.

:2thumbs: Welcome :2thumbs:

I can help you out some on "hiker" slot canyons. In the Swell you can add, Ding & Dang, Moonshine Wash, The Chute of Muddy Creek, Upper and Lower Black Box, Crack Canyon. In Capitol Reef you have Sheets Gulch, Cottonwood Wash and Burro Wash from the bottom, Sulpher Creek.

Other hiker slots to consider..... Subway, Orderville Gulch, Red Cave, Kanarra Creek, Deep Creek, Parunuweap, Zion Narrows......


....and....


.....drum roll please..... :drums:


....Buckskin Gulch...... Worlds Longest slot canyon...


Anything off these two lists should work for you
http://climb-utah.com/hardcore.htm
http://climb-utah.com/weekend.htm


:rockon:

[accadacca]

Yo Donny.....welcome to uutah.com. What a novel......."Lately it occurs to me what a long, strange trip it

[donny h]

Thanks Iceaxe, for the nice welcome, in the novel above I forgot to mention I just found the climb-utah site a few weeks ago and IT ROCKS.

Here and there have got to be the two definitive back country sites for Utah.

I really like the sound of the Black Box. Gots ta go.

Soooo many places... this really is an amazing state.

I mentioned everything under the sun in the above post except backpacking skills so here goes: Not much. I have all the gear, but I haven't gone on more than a one nighter in some years.

I spent a month rattling around Kaui with a backpack, and a couple weeks each in Colorado and the Sierra Nevadas one summer, but never really got that far off the beaten path.

I would like to tackle one of the long hikes someday, maybe PCT or John Muir.

Boulder Mountain looks like a place a guy with a pack could go lose himself.

I'm sure I butchered this quote from Daniel Boone:

"I have never been lost."
"I will admit to having been confused for several weeks".

[donny h]

Thanks, accadacca.

"What if the hokey pokey really is what it

[Sombeech]

ever since I followed The Dead around just a little. Just long enough to learn that for me, the worst day camping is better than the best day working.

:guitar: :drums:
That would have been cool. You'll have to tell us about it.

Welcome to the forum!

[LJ]

Oh my, be still my heart. Now that guys is the way to woo an outdoors chick! Who is this guy? All that and he can write in complete sentences also? :2thumbs:

[dbessee]

Welome Donny :2thumbs:

Sounds like you've got the most important parts of safety down anyway so I sure wouldn't worry about the couch experts :bootyshake:

For more places to go you're already on the right track with climb-utah. I work nights on 12-hours shifts so I get lot's of web research time and nowhere is better. Go Iceaxe! :rockon:

Have fun out there!

[donny h]

Oh my, be still my heart. Now that guys is the way to woo an outdoors chick! Who is this guy? All that and he can write in complete sentences also? :2thumbs:

Aww, I like you all ready, LJ.

Did I mention I like to cook?

[donny h]

:guitar: :drums:
That would have been cool. You'll have to tell us about it.

Wow, long subject, worthy of another novel...maybe a short one.

Some felt Dead shows were church. I wasn't a devotee at that level, for me shows were the greatest carnival on earth, with the choice of being a spectator or participant at any given moment.

All with a soundtrack by the greatest garage band, ever.

I only saw some 15 shows, but did many more "lots", just being there, not inside the venue. Only part of the carnival was inside, the lot wasn't as good as inside, but better than... working... or something.

Some of the coolest/strangest times I had were not at shows, but the other events I went to as a result of shows, music festivals, group camping, rainbow gatherings, hemp rallies and such.

The most memorable of all would be the sad week of Jerrys death.

A long, strange week, wandering up the coast from Long Beach, a drum circle in Venice within hours of Jerrys death, five thousand people in Griffith Park in LA by that night, kids pouring out of the woodwork, old school heads, yippies, school buses no one has seen in years, more drum circles, and candles, crying and wailing, laughing and drunkenness, reasonable cops and thick headed media dimwits.

I-5 north in the wee hours, more heads, everywhere, we're not the only clowns headed to San Francisco.

Sunrise at Golden Gate park, there must be 1000 people here and Jerry has only been dead for 24 hours.

The crowd gradually swells over the next three days, and the park service and local cops maintain the story: There will be no gathering of any kind. No memorial. Go away.

Their story is blown saturday morning with the delivery of 400 porta-potties. Then a stage. A huge backdrop. Sound system.

By the end of saturday, it is a zoo. A few thousand folks, partying in a mood I never saw before, with a desperation, a finality, an uncertainty, a grief driven hysteria for some.

The carnival isn't going to last forever, in fact, it kind of just stopped when I was looking the other way.

I went and drank some Janis juice on Janis Hill in memorium, seemed fitting.

Umm translation: Swilling Southern Comfort in a spot where Janis Joplin used to do the same.

By noon sunday there was some 25000 people in Golden Gate park, it was a really hard place to be, it's like we weren't mourning a man so much as the end of an era, and that was a hard reality to face. I'm glad I was there, but it was damn sad.

Keep on keepin' on...

P.S. I got to meet Leary and some other psychedelic heavyweights over the years, but that would be yet another novel.

[hesse15]

Hi all, I am the FNG here.
..
hi welcome
interesting!!!! :2thumbs:

[LJ]

Oh my, be still my heart. Now that guys is the way to woo an outdoors chick! Who is this guy? All that and he can write in complete sentences also? :2thumbs:

Aww, I like you all ready, LJ.

Did I mention I like to cook?

And you can cook?! Where exactly is Springville? :nod:

[donny h]

And you can cook?! Where exactly is Springville? :nod:

Lets see, coming from Springdale you head north on I-15 for a couple hundred miles, and when it feels like you've traveled back in time fifty years, you're there. Sean Hannity should be playing in the background.

You know you're close when you start seeing the big hairdos, the hairstyle known as a "Wasatch Front".

Think Provo, but not quite.

Tonights menu was Ahi burritos, chased with Ding-Dongs.

[donny h]

I work nights on 12-hours shifts so I get lot's of web research time and nowhere is better.

I hear you!

My definition of winter: It's when I quit doing it, and just talk about it.

From one Don to another, thanks for the welcome.

[dbessee]

My definition of winter: It's when I quit doing it, and just talk about it.

From one Don to another, thanks for the welcome.

Glad to have you. I seem to have both winter and summer activities and spring and fall just get schizo :haha:

As long as we're havin' fun it's all good.

[tanya]

Hi all, I am the FNG here.

I moved to Springville 5 years ago after 30+ years in Ca and Nv.

I car camp for 1-2-3 months a year, that has been my thing for years now, ever since I followed The Dead around just a little. Just long enough to learn that for me, the worst day camping is better than the best day working.

I have a decent job for 4 months a year, spring and fall, just enough work to keep me camping the rest of the time. In winter I'm a hermit.

I'm almost 40 and single, I decided long ago that I wouldn't get serious with any woman who doesn't like camping like I do, other wise it's just another reason to stay indoors. Indoors is highly overrated.

Any of you ladies that can put up with a atheist, chainsmoking, medium drinking, target shooting, modern country music hating, grumpy old hippy outdoors freak who cusses like a sailor, doesn't like either political party and spends a month at a time in the desert for fun, well, any of you still with me out there?

The back country in Utah is unbelievable, it seems endless, I am going to explore it forever.

I said the same of Ca, and it's kind of true, but no matter where I went, there was always too many folks. So now I'm here, crowding the back country, oh the irony.

Utah...wow... some of the best remote spots I've found so far are in the San Rafael Swell, by Buckhorn Draw, and back behind Goblin Valley.

The Burr Trail has some remote stuff I really like, as does Fifty Mile Mountain. Batty Caves.

The north slope of the Uintahs is my new hot spot, I spent weeks up there last summer, kayaking on those little lakes: Sheep Creek, Browne, Long Park, Spirit, and Hoop.

I liked Horseshoe Canyon a lot, and I personally think Canyonlands is superior to the Grand Canyon in many ways. The White Rim Trail became a dream trip for me as soon as I saw it, and is part of the reason I upgraded from a van to a 4x4 truck. Can't wait to go back...

I fell in love with Boulder Mountain, and Calf Creek.

I liked the LaSals, that whole region, The San Juan, over to Natural Bridges, Valley of the Gods. I've been reading about Long Canyon, that is on my short list.

Fishing: I never have been into fishing before, but I picked it up last summer, and I did two epic week-long kayaking/fishing/camping trips at Flaming Gorge.

I suck at fishing, the fish are mostly safe with me out there, but it's a good excuse as any to go loiter on a lake.

Kayaks: Kayaking rocks, I hadn't done any overnighters before, and I plan a bunch more of those long trips. My sit on top is like backpacking, except I can bring more stuff. Silly, heavy stuff, like fishing gear, beer, guns, snorkel gear, beer, soda, canned food, beer, big binocs, music, books, a handfull of knives, a hammock, all the stuff it's fun to have but absurd to carry on your back.

Next kayak trips: Green River, the Missouri in Montana, back to Flaming Gorge.

Dream kayak trip: A few months on Powell. Maybe in winter.

Try kayaking, you'll like it. Best kayak/camp spot so far: Carter Creek at Flaming Gorge. Look for wild raspberries to stuff the fresh trout.

Safety: If you listen to couch bound safety "experts", you should never be alone in the back country. Ever. I do all my trips solo. I like it. You learn stuff out there alone, things like self-reliance, confidence, dealing with fear and stress, decision making, dealing with the results of your choices, trying to separate emotion and rational thought.

I even have a theory that solo can be safer than groups, testosterone and one upmanship has killed plenty of folks.I really watch my step with no one at my back. With no one to impress and nothing to prove, I never "dare" myself to exceed my abilities.

I pushed when I was younger, lived through the "shot-a-man-in-Reno-just-to-watch-him-die" period, now I guess I'm old and slow, don't know if "bold" will ever come back. (sorry, Johnny)

Irony: My activities are downright wussy compared to some of the outdoorsman around these parts, yet are considered semi-suicidal mountain-man behavior by my urban friends. Good thing I have thick skin, and don't much care what others think of how I spend my time.

There are a couple activities I feel cross the line, safety-wise, for a solo guy, and these are climbing and white water, so I have no experience in these two. Maybe one of these days.

Canyoneering: I did hike Little Wild Horse and Bell, the slot canyons in Utah are like nothing I've ever seen, I can't wait to see more, but I'm limited to stuff with little or no climbing, please share any spots you think I should see, the remoter the better. I've read about some canyons by Robbers Roost, and they all sounded very technical. Are there any "weekend warrior" rated canyons near the Roost?

Shooting: I've just been getting back into shooting after selling off my guns years ago, and I read posts here talking about a good carry gun in the back country, I just picked up a light weight beauty.

Swith&Wesson 340PD, 11 0z. empty, 13 oz. loaded, 5-shot .357 magnum revolver, double-action only, 1 7/8" barrel.

Extreme recoil, highly unpleasant to shoot, but an awesome amount of fire power in a tiny, feather weight package. I wouldn't shoot anything that wasn't on top of me trying to kill me, and at that kind of belly-button range, the 340 just might work. It's not a magic wand, just another tool.

My .22 (10/22) is the target shooter of choice for me these days, I've shot many thousands of rounds of .223, .308, and 7.62x39 in the past, I'm mostly over it, now I shoot .22 all day long for a coupla' bucks.

Okay, this is turning into a novel, lets see, I covered who, when, and where... I think y'all know more about me than anyone I've met in 5 years in Happy Valley...


Wow! I like it when a man puts the cards on the table like this! :popcorn:

[DiscGo]

Donny H- I watched the National Title game and then drove across the country, so I somehow missed your newbie thread. Here is a belated welcome. You sure became a regular member fast.

[DiscGo]

Oops. I just realized that you were 2006 and not 2007. My bad.

[nefarious]

Wow! I like it when a man puts the cards on the table like this! :popcorn:It's an awesome intro, good job rediscovering it so a newby like me could have a gander. I'm thinking there are more than a few similarities between this guy and me. Probably the only big difference is that I don't see ever hooking up again.

[tanya]

Wow! I like it when a man puts the cards on the table like this! :popcorn:It's an awesome intro, good job rediscovering it so a newby like me could have a gander. I'm thinking there are more than a few similarities between this guy and me. Probably the only big difference is that I don't see ever hooking up again.

Never hooking up with a woman again!?!?!?!? :eek2: Why!?!?!

[donny h]

Wow! I like it when a man puts the cards on the table like this! :popcorn:

Awww, Tanya, you're so sweet, you were interested enough to bring my mini-novel back to the top, I kinda forgot about this thread, I did lay it all on the line here, eh?.

Basically, it's all still true.

[tanya]

Wow! I like it when a man puts the cards on the table like this! :popcorn:

Awww, Tanya, you're so sweet, you were interested enough to bring my mini-novel back to the top, I kinda forgot about this thread, I did lay it all on the line here, eh?.

Basically, it's all still true.

Have you found that lady yet?

[donny h]

It's an awesome intro, good job rediscovering it so a newby like me could have a gander. I'm thinking there are more than a few similarities between this guy and me. Probably the only big difference is that I don't see ever hooking up again.

Thanks, nefarious.

I don't wanna say I never will hookup again, but it's possible, and I'm okay with that.

I'm not going to aquire a ball-n-chain type relationship, ever, and I've had my share of meaningless intimacy, I'm not really into that anymore.

So what does that leave? A possible relationship with a woman with the same interests as me, someone who uplifts me, not holds me back, a woman that accepts me for for who/what I am, no more will I try to change to be what someone thinks I should be. I'd prefer a brilliant woman, no more airheads for me, too exhausting.

I think the odds are slim, but like I said, I'm okay with that.

[donny h]

Have you found that lady yet?

Not yet, although I don't really seek her, I had high hopes for this Tanya gal at UUtah, but I think she's turned off by my smoking habits. :haha:

Plus she's always flirting with Buck Naked, err, maybe I got the porn star name wrong, it's one of those UUtah pimps, Gammerhate or something. :mrgreen:

[tanya]

Have you found that lady yet?

Not yet, although I don't really seek her, I had high hopes for this Tanya gal at UUtah, but I think she's turned off by my smoking habits. :haha:

Plus she's always flirting with Buck Naked, err, maybe I got the porn star name wrong, it's one of those UUtah pimps, Gammerhate or something. :mrgreen:

Don't worry about Hammer. He loves all the women. He just has a thing for my C-store so I get a little more love. :lol8: I could only really fall for a one woman man.

I don't flirt.... if I am attracted to a man there is no doubt in his mind. I just like to make people happy..... it's not really flirting. I do it with women too.

[donny h]

I do it with women too.

That deserves a good punch line, I wish I had one. :haha:

Where is your C-Store?

If it's the one in Escelante that makes fresh cinnamon rolls, I take back everything I've said, you are the woman for me.

I love the store in Boulder, too, so if that's yours, I wanna move in. Burr Trail adjacent, baby!

[tanya]

I do it with women too.

That deserves a good punch line, I wish I had one. :haha:

Where is your C-Store?

If it's the one in Escelante that makes fresh cinnamon rolls, I take back everything I've said, you are the woman for me.

I love the store in Boulder, too, so if that's yours, I wanna move in. Burr Trail adjacent, baby!

If that is all it takes to make you happy, my place will delight you. Its in the middle of paradise!!! 12 miles from Zion National Park, 9 miles from the Glendale entrance to the Grand Staircase, 60 miles from Bryce Canyon, 85 from the Grand Canyon North Rim, 22 miles from Cedar Mountain and I forget the mileage but not too far from Tuweep and Coyote Buttes. It's heaven! There are lots of bike trails out here to for those biker types.

http://www.zionnational-park.com/zion-national-park-lodging.htm
This does not list the C-store but I have one of those too. A Chevron.

[tanya]

I do it with women too.

That deserves a good punch line, I wish I had one. :haha:

Where is your C-Store?

If it's the one in Escelante that makes fresh cinnamon rolls, I take back everything I've said, you are the woman for me.

I love the store in Boulder, too, so if that's yours, I wanna move in. Burr Trail adjacent, baby!

You made 300!!! :five:

If that is all it takes to make you happy, my place will delight you. Its in the middle of paradise!!! 12 miles from Zion National Park, 9 miles from the Glendale entrance to the Grand Staircase, 60 miles from Bryce Canyon, 85 from the Grand Canyon North Rim, 22 miles from Cedar Mountain and I forget the mileage but not too far from Tuweep and Coyote Buttes. It's heaven! There are lots of bike trails out here to for those biker types.

http://www.zionnational-park.com/zion-national-park-lodging.htm
This does not list the C-store but I have one of those too. A Chevron.

[txoutdoorx4]

Hey there, I just joined up yesterday and I'm already addicted to this forum. Your post is inspiring with all the cool stuff you have listed and I'm sure you're going to enjoy it here as much as I have over the past day. Take care, and welcome!

Frank