Moab Expedition

Guest blogger, Tyler, here. I make the rare appearance on this blog, but from time to time, something interesting happens in my life. Maleen likes me to put those interesting things to words so they don't get forgotten. Bless her wisdom.

When I was growing up in the badlands of southeastern Idaho (also known as Idaho Falls), I would go on campouts. I was close in age to my brothers: Kolby (older by 14 months) and JR (younger by 17 months). Incidental to our age, we often participated in campouts for boy scouts. Kolby preoccupied himself with keeping me alive, and JR worried himself with keeping me safe. I was less "outdoorsy" than...like...everyone. So, my dutiful brothers were often busied with staunching bleeding wounds, defending against anaphylaxis-inducing insect bites, and keeping up on first aid to insure their dear brother didn't adventure into the great beyond without their expressed permission. On occasion, they would express permission, but the looming, impending wrath of my mother kept them at bay. 

But, that's been years.

Years have come and gone between camping with Kolby and JR. In the intervening years, I learned I could defend myself against bleeding by not cutting myself. Bug spray keep the anaphylaxis at bay. And I've learned a bit of first aid myself...on account now of the wrath of various mothers who had entrusted their beloved, inexperienced young man to my care. 

Despite the long passage of time, Kolby came to me earlier this year and said, "Ty," (only my brothers call me "Ty"), "I've got to get back to the wild. I'm going camping. You in?"

Without thinking, of course, my response was, "Yeah."

As it turns out, there was much less bleeding. While the views were breathtaking, no one was in shortness of breath. :)

It was a great trip, which is why you're reading about it. 

We took our trip at the right time — middle October — when Moab wasn't blazing. On advice from some really smart guides, we decided to camp outside Moab, near Tusher Tunnel. We found that there were quite a few recreational trailers parked out along the road. We ventured pretty far out, and tried to get away from neighbors. And there, we set camp. 

We had a pretty good view of nobody...just the way we like it. 

That afternoon it was raining a bit, but we wanted to explore some rock formations nearby. So, we took off for a fun, relaxing afternoon hike. Naturally, we took a "in-case-they-find-our-bodies-later-here's-what-we-used-to-look-like" photo: 

We look pretty good for a bunch of old dudes. 

Even stormy, the Moab landscape is picturesque. 

After our refreshing 5-ish mile hike, we withdrew to the tent before the real storm began. The boys were a little camera shy in the tent though. 

The morning broke, and the storm was gone. So beautiful. 

We started our morning searching for fossils. There's a guided fossil tour. I must say, it was a little slow. it turns out fossils are kind of old, and they just don't move that fast. But, cleverly utilizing the signs, we managed to find a few. 

After the dinos, we made for Fischer Tower, on recommendation from one of the best Moab guides in the world, Keith Hillman. 

There we found an amazing out-and-back hike that treated the eyes the entire time. 

From way up here, you all look like ants! What grandeur.

From beneath the rock, a shadow figure emerges... Oh, it's Kolby, rugged as usual.

This shot is from the end of the trail in, looking back across the towers at whose feet we had hiked. It's tough to get perspective from right under the towers, but this photo manages to give some scale. 

And, there's no way I'd waste the sponsorship product placement moment at the overlook. So, Dr. Pepper, call me to get the address to send your endorsement checks. 

Got a selfie of the boys at the overlook at Fischer. 

On the way back, we took a shot of the Fischer hair pin, it looks awesome here. Imagine how amazing it is in person. 

We escaped Fischer Tower trail just as a notorious Moab desert storm was rolling in. We looked back over the trail from which we'd just come...and soon to be enveloped in desert rain.

It was early afternoon by the time we were back and fed from Fischer. And since we're no pansy crew, we decided there was yet another hike in us, so we headed to Delicate.

Here's a couple of shots that we snagged along the way: 

It was a great trip. I haven't been camping with my brethren in years, and it was never self directed. Now, we went as long as we wanted, hiked as far as we wished, and took in as much as we could. By the end, heads clear and hearts open, we headed for home, inspired.