Phenix in the Forest

Here at SUU, I have become heavily involved in the outdoor recreation community on campus. This has introduced me to an extraordinary group of people. Rock climbers, ski bums and backpackers, mountaineers and canyoneers. Many of these people live out of vans, small apartments, crash on couches, and own very few possessions. We sacrifice the material objects to get to the far reaches of the desert and high peaks of the mountains. When beginning to minimize your possessions, the question you're told to ask yourself is “Does this bring me joy? Does it add to my life?” So with these pictures I wanted to explore why gear passed the test of what to keep. When condensing everything you own to fit into a single van, where was the line drawn? As I worked on this project, I began to see that these things were more than just things. They are tools, they open doors. Allow us to scale 100 foot walls of cliff, surf down a mountain, and survive for days in the wilderness.   I took the...

This past summer I worked as an interpretation ranger intern at Cedar Breaks National Monument*. It was an inspiring adventure to work outdoors and introduce people to the monument. It is famous for it's natural amphitheater, which is home to a maze of rock structures called hoodoos. The amphitheater is over half a mile deep and is so steep that it is inaccessible from above. Here is a picture from the main view point of the park. You can see a portion of the amphitheater to the right. This is my friend Spencer, who worked with me this summer. We would hike into certain sections of the park to check for certain wildflowers and birds. Just a small perk to get private views of hidden canyons within the amphitheater ;) Even though most visitors come to Cedar Breaks for the view (or by accident, we're a rather small park) those who visit in late June through mid-July are in for a pleasant surprise. It's wildflower season!! Because Cedar Breaks is locat...

This week was SUU's Fall Break, so we went car camping and hiking in Pine Valley with a few friends to make the most of the long weekend. *Once again, click on the photos to view them as a slide show This was our sweet kitchen set-up. Tony has built a removable bed that fits into the back of his Toyota, complete with a pull out table. It made dinner so much easier and cleaner.   Our campsite at night. I am slowly figuring out how to take pictures in the dark, hopefully there will be more successful attempts to come. We watched a movie out of the back of Tony's truck once the sun set. I wasn't able to get a great picture of it, but it was a full moon and almost as light as day. When the moon rose, we couldn't even look directly at it because it was so bright. Andy, the pups, and my home for the weekend. The new jeep has tons of room for sleeping in the back, and it was a comfortable night even with the two dogs sharing our 'bed'.  ...

With two good looking dogs trotting at our heels, there is always some photo opportunities where ever we go. And lucky for me, they seem to really enjoy having their pictures taken. Here is a bit of a modge podge scrapbook of the pups. P.S. Click on the pictures to view them as a larger slideshow. ... Just the other day we took the dogs out for a little off-roading adventure in the desert.  Kodiak is real into having his picture taken. Juneau the mountain goat.\  ... A couple months back, the old jeep broke down on the side of the road. While Andy was getting her running again, the pups and I found a little stream. ... During the summer, heading up to Navajo Lake and hiking Cascade Falls is always a must. Kodiak showed Juneau his love of fetching sticks, and she figured out what all the fuss was all about pretty quickly. Here we got to the Cascade Falls hike! The view behind this guy is overlooking the Virgin Valley and...