On Top of the Valley...Beginning the Climb

One down, 29 more to go.

Last Saturday (June 25th) just before noon, my buddy Tom Atwood gave me a phone call and asked, "Do you want to knock off an item on your list today?"

To which I obviously responded, "Heck yes. Let's do it."

About two hours later Tom, his girlfriend Nicole, and myself were beginning our ascent up the Deep Canyon trailhead of the Wellsville Mountain Wilderness area near Mendon, Utah.

It was a beautiful day for a hike, and I was thrilled to get out of the house and take a break from technology (Playstation 3, NCAA 11, cell phone, and a computer screen).  My short pockets were filled with ziplock baggies of sunflower seeds and baby carrots, and hanging from my belt was the water bottle carrier I sewed in Boy Scouts keeping my bottle of Gatorade cool and close by. Nicole couldn't find the My Little Pony backpack that belonged to her sister so they filled her "normal" hiking backpack with sunscreen, Nature Valley granola bars, and water. The backpack was about the only serious looking hiker that was in our little trio.



The hike began surrounded by some farmer fields, but quickly disappeared into a grove of maple trees. The trail was slender and surrounded by vegetation, and was a constant incline the whole way. The Wellsville Mountains are said to be the steepest mountains in the United States and North America. The base of the range averages only about 5 miles wide and the highest points are well over 9,000 feet.


The trail rose out of the maples and aspens and ran parallel to the empty river bed that the melting snow and rain use each year to stream down to the valley. My calves and lungs were burning, my heart was pounding, but the beautiful surroundings lessened the pain.

Eventually the narrow dirt path that sliced through the vegetation disappeared amongst the sagebrush and lingering sheets of snow. So we just made our way left towards the closest high peak we could see. We trudged our way through the thorns and bushes like a bull in a china shop. Seeking aid from the cutting branches we decided to hike up the hillside of snow. Nicole and I slipped and crawled our way up the stairs created by Tom's footsteps, taking a break every so often to relieve the burning in our legs and burning in our fingers and hands from he cold snow.

It wasn't long before we realized we obviously were no longer following the trail and had become trailblazers. We pushed through, Tom still leading the way as we literally crawled our way up the ramp of snow.

After hours or walking, climbing, slipping, crawling, slipping, and crawling again, we made it to the top. It was worth it.

At the Top with Tom. Cache Valley in the background.

The peak we hiked to was still covered with snow, but we took some time to take some pictures and have some granola bars, carrots, and water. Then we realized we had to get back down, and we all agreed the way we came up was not an option.

We began to plan our descent. From the top of the peak we could see the Cache Valley to the East and the canyon we had climbed up. To the West we could see some more peaks a little lower than us and a glimpse of the cities, interstates and Willard Bay of the Great Salt Lake. Down below us we could now see a V-shaped rock where the actual trail as suppose to take us. We climbed across the peak and did some surfing down the snow covered face. Surfing down the snow buried all the memories of the tough climb up.

Nicole preferred the butt-surf technique while Tom and I tried to stay up on our feet. After the surf, we made our way down to the V-shaped rock took in the great views looking over the Eastern side of the mountains. We took a few more photos and then surfed our way down the actual trail hidden under the snow. When the snow ran out we made our way back down the trail.

After the drive home and some showers we (Tom, Nicole, Vicki, and myself) headed to Texas Roadhouse to celebrate with a lime rickey and prime rib.

It was so rewarding to cross the first item off my 30 by 30 list and to do it with a best friend and hero of mine. Growing up in the shadows of the Wellsville Mountain range in Cache Valley it has always been a goal of mine to ascend above the shadow to the peak. I look forward someday to do the entire hike which starts at the Deep Canyon trailhead in Mendon and goes across the ridge line and eventually ends down at the southern Rattlesnake Trailhead in Sardine Canyon just past Sherwood Hills Resort. The Wellsville Mountain Wilderness area I think contains over 14 miles worth of trails and is said to be a great area for viewing hawks and other wildlife. We started in the late afternoon so obviously only had time to hike the first part, but I plan to visit the rest of the wilderness area and other trails.

I think it was very fitting that this was the first item I crossed off my 30 by 30 list; the first step in an enjoyable, yet challenging climb.

States I have visited

One of the items on my 30 by 30 list is to experience all 50 states. "Experience" being defined as my feet touch the ground and I see some kind of unique attraction. So once again, thanks to the help of a quick search on the internet I found an interactive map that reflects where I have been (orange) and where I still need to go (grey).

JS map by amCharts

Create your own visited states map or check out the JavaScript Charts.

This map made me realize how tough this item is going to be to accomplish in less than three years time, especially while trying to knock off the other 29 items on the list. It has been 27 1/2 years and I haven't even reached the half way point!

Despite my childhood of vagabondage due to a mother and an aunt who loved planning family trips, I still have a long way to go and not a lot of time (or money) to get there.

In 1996, to celebrate Utah's Centennial, my family and cousins traveled through every county in the state and visited at least one historical site, state park, or national monument of some kind to get our "Utah Passports" stamped. It is one of the greatest memories and accomplishments from my childhood and I have the video cassette, stamped passport, funny stories and reward blanket to prove it.

I would like to do something similar with the states, but it is going to require me to hit more than half of them within just a few years. I have always loved traveling, and try to do it as much as I can afford. I even travel for work quite frequently. Unfortunately, however I think I have failed to follow the suggestions of Mr. Robert Frost and have revisited to many areas instead of focusing on "the road(s) less traveled by."

The good ol days!

Don't get me wrong, I cherished the annual trips to float the Snake River and visit Yellowstone National Park.

Mountain biking in Moab and rocking back and forth while lying on the bed of a truck camper and staring out the slit window to keep from getting car sick has made me the man I am today.

Now it is time to focus on the eastern half of the continent, but can it be done in two years time?

I guess we will see, or I might have to switch the goal to be a little more specific. I can do that, right? It is my list.

Making the map was fun to get a visual of where I have been and where I need to go. I encourage you to try it. It is like the digital version of those awesome sticker maps people slap on their RVs.

Just curious if you have been to any of the unvisited states on my map if you have suggestions on good trips and things to see. If so comment below.

Filling the bucket: My 30 by 30 List

December 5th, 2010 was a memorable day for me. It was a day that, although I don't remember the events completely, I remember the affect they had on me. It was a day that ended with me staring at the ceiling, pondering some of life's proverbial questions: What have I accomplished so far? What does my future look like? Am I making the most of my talents and potential?

On December 5th, 2010 my older brother turned 30 years old, and on that day I realized I was only three years behind him.

Doing a quick online search will begin to reveal the culturally invented importance we sometimes place on the third decade mark. So as I stare down the farewell to my 20's I feel the need to adhere to the ritualistic ceremony of creating a 30 by 30 or a 30-year-old bucket list.

Since that December night, the idea of creating and accomplishing the list has been trapped in my mind and failed to coalesce into a tangible inventory until my flight home from a work trip a few weeks ago. I had just spent a week in San Diego at a conference, and was headed home on Saturday May 14th. I boarded Frontier flight F9 575 out of Denver International Airport, and sat between what I supposed were to college students similar to my own age. One was a girl named Shannon from Vernal, Utah and the other was a physics student originally from Utah but studying now in Boston. We became acquainted with each other through some chitchat about where we live, what we do, and why we were headed to Salt Lake City, and discovered that we were all connected to Logan, Utah.

Shannon had spent a year in Logan going to school, and the physics student (didn't catch his name or don't remember it now) had lived in Logan and graduated from Logan high school just a few years ago. He spent most of the flight catching up on sleep from a full day of travel or studying a text book. Shannon and I had a good conversation throughout most of the flight, that revealed that she was a quite an interesting person. She spends her summers fighting fires in the Vernal area, and amongst other things had recently participated in the Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay Race with the fellow employees at the accounting office she worked at.

After the complimentary drinks and the delicious warm cookie Frontier offers on their flights (awesome) our conversation turned to my turning 30 years old and my desire to create and accomplish a "30 by 30." Shannon decided to help me. She pulled out the really nice journal that was a gift from her boyfriend who had just graduated from office training in the Army (her reason for being on the flight, she was returning from his graduation). She tore out a piece of paper and we began listing the 29 things I would like to accomplish in the next three years (decided to just do 29 because that is how many lines her paper had and it was one short of 30). The 30th item being to "Finish this List."

Here it is in no particular order:

1. Fly in a hot air balloon.
2. Hold an idea.
3. Start a business.
4. Learn to play the Cello.
5. Finish a 5K.
6. Experience all 50 states (feet must touch the ground and see a unique attraction).
7. Learn a foreign language.
8. Take a cruise through the Mediterranean.
9. Take a cross country train ride.
10. Keep a journal.
11. Start to write a book/screenplay.
12. Get into graduate/professional school.
13. Become a father.
14. Buy a piano.
15. Start and finish P90X program.
16. Go on a backpacking expedition.
17. Volunteer in a local non-profit organization.
18. Become a coach.
19. Shoot below 95 for a round of golf.
20. Reconnect with old friends.
21. Find a deceased individual ancestor and perform the vicarious ordinances of salvation in the temple.
22.  Watch an NFL game in an NFL stadium.
23.  Hike the Wellsville Mountains.
24.  Get a Platinum trophy on NCAA 11.
25.  Finish a food challenge at a restaurant.
26. Visit and photograph all the LDS Temples in Utah.
27. Watch all of ESPN Film's 30 for 30.
28. Graduate from LDS Institute of Religion.
29. Own first edition hardcover versions of all of Michael Crichton's books.

 I am eight four three two items short and have a few more ideas, but would love your feedback on the list so far as well as any things to fill in the blanks. Please share in the comments or suggest some privately.

If you think lists like this are silly please make your case against it. Especially if you have had your own personal experience with such lists.

I would like to thank my older brother for giving me the three year warning, and apologize that his list will now have to be a 40 by 40. I would like to thank Shannon for reminding me how fun it is to meet new people and challenging me to continue to make life interesting, and I would like to preemptively thank everyone for their comments, suggestions and feedback.