Canoe Trip

Last week Eric went on a canoe trip in Canyonlands. This was the first main trip our canoe has been on. There is a company that works out of Moab that rents equipment if you need it, but this time he brought ours. He did the same trip last year with my siblings, and this year was joined by my siblings again along with my sister-in-law Heather, Michaels girlfriend Melissa, Jill's in-laws and their kids, and Eric's brother Nathan. It sounds like everyone had fun. I didn't go (last year either) because Emma is too young to sit on a canoe for 5 days. I was glad Eric was able to go and that he had so much fun. Here are some of the highlights.

Getting ready to start

Along the way they stopped and hiked up to see different things like caves or old abandoned structures.

Of course, the scenery was always flawless! You just can't beat southern Utah.

After long days of working hard (hee-hee)...

...they camped in a different spot each night and tried to relax.

One night they had a visitor. He convinced several people to get out their tents. A few people remained out in the open, but before you start thinking about how brave they were, check out the barrier they created to keep their "friend" away.

The last day they went on a hike before being picked up by the same company that dropped them off. According to Eric and Nathan, this was the hardest hike they've ever been on. That's probably due to the fact that it has a 1,000 ft climb in just a 1/2 mile of trail. The total hike is about 6 miles long. The view from the top and along the way seems to indicate that it's worth it, although it might take more to convince me. Besides the views, the hike contains some narrow parts and old structures. Did I mention the amazing views?!!

You can see the trail in the bottom left of this picture and can follow it right on up the middle of the cliffside. Yup, this cliffside was the really hard part.

In the picture below, if you look really hard you can see some of the hikers at the bottom of the main climb. It gives you some perspective as to how big it was.

After the hike they were picked up and taken back to their cars. Ahh! I bet those cold drinks tasted beyond delicious.