Tag: hiking (Page 2 of 4)

Easy Hikes in the Wasatch Mountains – Willow Heights

willow height lake

The trail I picked next is the Willow Heights Trail. This is about a two mile round trip hike that leads to a mountain lake. This is probably the hardest of the easy hikes I am going to write about. It could be border line moderate. I have lived here in Utah for a long time and have hiked most of the trails up Big Cottonwood canyon but this is one hike I hadn’t done. After reading a couple of descriptions of this hike, I thought it would be a great one to try. My wife picked me up from work one evening and we headed up the canyon to give it a try.

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Big Goals For 2011

So beginning this year I have been thinking of the goals that I set last year and how I either achieved them or failed at them horribly. I am happy to say that I was able to accomplish one of the biggest goals that I have wanted to do for a while and that is bike to work more. As you can see in my last few posts I was able to do that and it was great. I had a goal of 15 times and I did that and more. I am going to triple that number for the coming year and shoot for 45 times.

Another goal of mine was to go climbing a bit more. I have to say that I wasn’t able to accomplish this. I did go out, but not the 30 times I was hoping. I did however go out hiking more as that is a lot easier to do with young kids. Both my boy and girl love the outdoors, and I have carried them, held their hands and watched them grow in the outdoors this past year. A little mud has never bothered my little princess.

This year I am not putting a number on how many times I would like to get out climbing. I am going to shoot for maybe a little more lofty goal of doing a few more multi-pitch climbs this year. I have picked out one in general and I have pinned in up on the cork board in the kitchen to remind me of it daily. I will be doing a lot of indoor climbing this winter to prepare myself for this climb.

Running is also another activity that I need to do a lot more of. I remember the days of coming home from work and trading the work shoes to the runners and hitting the pavement almost everyday. I have been trying to figure out when and how I am going to workout a little more and the answer that I keep coming up with is cut out a little sleep. I probably don’t really need 8 hours anyway. I never got that much sleep when I was back in college and working two jobs.

Something that I said last year I think is still applicable this year to all of us. “I am good at coming up with excuses at why I can’t reach a certain goal or maybe why I haven’t been able to go outside as much as I would have liked (Kids, work, family, tired). But when it is all said and done, these are just that, EXCUSES.”

I hope we can all figure out a way to stop making excuses and start living our dreams. I would love to hear from all of you. What are you planning this year? What goals do you have? What excuses you might have as why you didn’t accomplish your goals last year and how you are going to achieve them this year. Please reply to this post and by doing so we can all help each other succeed.

Hiking with Your Dog? Here’s What to Pack for Your Pooch (The Ten Canine Essentials)

Hiking with a dog

Ellen Morris Bishop knows how to keep a dog happy, healthy, and safe on the trail. After all, she and her own dogs, Meesha and Dundee, hiked more than 750 miles in their research for Best Hikes with Dogs: Oregon. Here are the Ten Canine Essentials she suggests you pack when you take your pooch into the wilderness.

· Obedience training. Before you set foot on a trail, make sure your dog will obey your commands when faced with other hikers, other dogs, wildlife, and an assortment of strange scents and sights in the backcountry. A dog that can’t behave should be left at home.

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Mommy Must Haves – Babes in the Woods (a great how to book)

Babes in the Woods

If you want to get outdoors with your kids, but have no idea what to plan or bring, here’s the book for you.  A fellow mother who learned it all by trial and error wrote Babes in the Woods: Hiking, Camping & Boating with Babies & Young Children.  “With a lifelong love of being in the outdoors, I couldn’t wait to plan a backpacking trip with my first baby,” says author Jennifer Aist.

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Leave No Trace

Leave No Trace

Nature. It is the essence of the world. It belongs to the wind and water. It belongs to the trees and insects; and to the birds, reptiles and mammals. And it belongs to us. We have a duty to protect and respect the natural wonder of the outdoors, whether it’s 80 feet below the ocean or 14,000 feet on top of a mountain. Leave No Trace is a set of seven principles created over 40 years ago to help us remember what to do and how to prepare for a safe, rewarding, and environmentally friendly experience.

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Easy Hikes in the Wasatch Mountains – Ferguson Canyon

Ferguson Canyon

Ferguson canyon is small canyon between Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons. This canyon has gained popularity over the last few year and is a popular destination for rock climbers. This is one hike that the canyon itself is the destination. The hike can be whatever you want to be. You can follow the trail to the end and get to a summit or just make it to the shaded canyon wall and stream.

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