Mike and Sarah: big springs and beyond

this weekend, we finally made it up big springs (on the south fork of the provo river) and even further! we've been on this trail many times before: searching for lost snowshoes, cross country skiing on valentines and other occasions, and for other jaunts in our single days (like the night i tried to see if i was brave enough to camp solo). but we've never made it to the official "big springs". we finally made it there and the springs were pretty small, but pretty with nearby waterfalls. we continued past the springs for many a mile more to camp for the night and then on to the saddle between cascade and provo peak (the two big mountain peaks right behind our house). we were pleasantly suprised by the trail and where we ended up. we also learned a lot about the mountains in the area from seeing all the trails f mike has the hankering to go back soon on a cross country ski trip and again next summer to summit cascade (a long time goal of ours).

grumpy hunter mike

(oh yeah, we don't just wear these stylish vests for fun...it was the first day of deer hunt, like last year's fall hike with the radmalls)

happy hiking mike

the fall leaves were gone at this altitude,
but there were plenty of beautiful pine trees and tree skeletons

a little bit of spying on the hunters we encountered
(we didn't see a single deer, good luck dudes)

enjoying lunch on the summit
(thanks to the handy dandy jetboil)
also note my new hightop trekking boots
(they looked even more hard core when actually laced up and when worn with shorts)
and, what you can't see are the many beetles that
decided to make me their perch while I sat there
(i think I ended up taking five home, it was a lucky spot for an entomologist)