Snow Ultimate!

I wanted to play ultimate at least one more time before the snow hit and so we set a date. That morning we wake up to a good 8 or 9 inches of powder. But instead of canceling we say "Why not?" By the time we were done, we had a 10 foot tall snowman standing watch over the frisbee fields.We had so much fun that day, we decided to do it again next chance we got.

Angel's Landing October 2007

October brought another trip to Zions, this time to hike Angel's Landing. We stayed a couple of nights at my friend Anthony's condo in Saint George and then made a day trip to Zions. The hike was not as tough as I thought it would be and I enjoyed spending time with my friends climbing and exploring.



















This is a wonderful image to have in your head just before climbing up steep rocks. Like watching airplanes crash just before your seat is called for boarding.


Finally at the top, we were able to rest and enjoy the warm sun and cool breeze. The chipmunks were everywhere waiting to grab what they could from the trail snacks.

Grand Canyon July 2007

Several friends from my ward and I made a trip to the Havasupai Indian Reservation in the Grand Canyon this summer. It was an awesome trip. You hike 10 miles in and 10 miles out carrying everything you need for camping.


The morning of the second day we were awakened by local Indians warning us of an incoming flash flood which would wipe out our camp site so we quickly moved all our tents and stuff up onto the rocks at the base of the canyon walls. The floods came, slowly but surely and turned our gorgeous blue water to an opaque liquid chocolate for the rest of the trip.
















Here is a before and after shot of some of the falls near our campsite.



The second night the rains came and some of us had to abandon our wet tents for a dry cave that was just near our camp, about 30 feet up the canyon wall face. We took refuge there for the night and the next day when the blistering heat rolled in.


Despite all the "Man vs Wild" experiences, we still found plenty of time to climb, explore caves, and swim, even in the chocolate water.

Family Trip to Chicago July 2007

It all started with Melanie's family going and before long it ballooned into all the siblings going to see my sister Nadine in Chicago. We did all sorts of things ranging from bike rides, zoo trips, ferris wheels, mini golf, crashing the new batman movie set, hailing cabs, boat rides, going to a Cubs game, and lots of walking! We all made the trip except for Curtis' family and my parents. since my mom is recovering from a hip replacement.Since I was in charge of steering one of these things, I found a way to make it more like a bumper car experience, not to everyone's amusement.

This is everyone who made the trip, standing in front of the famous metallic bean near Millennium Park.

Ward BBQ and Frisbee April 2007

This is Nate, Joe, and me after an intense game of frisbee just before our ward closing social BBQ. I am in such a good ward, why move?

After eating, we took flight off the swings.

Quick Trip to Portland March 2007

I managed to join the family for a little less than 48 hours at my sister Melanie's place in Tualatin. We played pong, 4-square, jump rope, catch, and had great fun in that little space of time. In the shot on the left, we have pulled up chairs in the garage with juice boxes in hand to watch Brett and Jason go at it in pong.

My First Car

While Brett was in Taiwan for 7 months I was able to look after and use his Acura. For the first time I decided to cover a car with liability insurance only and for the first time in 14 years, I had an accident on some black ice coming back from snowboarding. What a coincidence! A month after paying a pretty penny to fix his car, Brett returns and reclaims it.

So finally I am in a position where I both need and can afford a car for myself. After a few weeks of research and test driving I settled on a charcoal '03 Accord EX with all the trimmings. It's a nice ride and I've finally moved up on the social ladder and have joined the world of car owners!

San Diego December 2006

Nothing like a 70 degree Christmas holiday! My parents, Nadine, Jeremy, Andrew and I were able to go to San Diego to visit my Aunt Celia in her new house in Bonita, just outside of downtown San Diego. Her house is beautifully decorated and furnished. Celia had her piano tuned and the boys gave their all singing 'O Holy Night.' It was quite the performance! We ate well and I was surprised that her cats didn't cause my allergies to act up.

We were able to play frisbee at the beach and visit the harbor, the famous Hotel Del Coronado, and Cape Cabrillo. We also stopped by the house where I was raised and the hospital where I was born.

Elevation!!

We finished out the hockey season 12-0 winning our last game 17-3. It was such a fun season but not too challenging so next month we move up and play in the top division.

Thanksgiving in Chicago

This year, Jeremy, Andrew, and I were able to join my sister Nadine in her downtown apartment in Chicago for Thanksgiving. We had a relaxing time cooking, eating, playing games, watching football, and visting the Windy City.

Roller Hockey League

This is Team Elevation! We are 3-0 to start off the season and play every Wednesday night. Don't worry mom, you can see I am holding a helmet with a face cage.

Watch out for that number 10! All the guys on the team are people I know from either the Business College or from playing roller hockey in Alpine all these years. We decided it would be fun to get matching jerseys with our names and numbers on it and I went with my birth month. This Fall I am also doing BYU intramural frisbee and flag football and we are undefeated in those as well. It's going to be a fun Fall!

Hike to Desolation Lake Sep 2006

Here I am hiking up a trail with Bridget and Ellie (Brad took the picture) that leads to Lake Desolation in the Big Cottonwood Canyon. Fall colors can now be seen and everything was covered in frost when we woke up. Summer is coming to an end.

Friends Together

We got together for my friend Rachel's last night with us and went to town with a polaroid camera. These are some of my closest friends here in my ward. Starting with me going clockwise is Brad, Rachel, Chas, Anthony, Bridget, JC, and Ellie.

Broken Knee Mended

In late 2004, I had a collision while playing ultimate frisbee which broke the top of my tibia midair. The break was nasty because of its proximity to the joint. I was taken directly to the hospital where a plate and six screws were inserted to hold my knee together. In July of 2006, I finally had the surgery to remove the hardware putting an end to the two year ordeal.

The Narrows of Zions National Park August 2006

Left to right is Bridget, me, Ellie, Mike, Rachel, and Chas. Zions offers free shuttle rides up and down the canyon to its 3 million visitors each year. Right after this shot I realized I didn't have my keys on me so we had to get off and backtrack, finding them in the grass near where we parked, phew!



The most famous hike in Zions, the Narrows is a trail mostly in the water fighting a current as you make your way through the spectacular canyon full of photo opportunities. Blisters soon set in and the sun was scarce due to the depth of the canyon.

We found several opportunities to play in the water. Just before turning around we found a place where we could jump off a rock into a deep pool. We got quite chilly because the sun had no chance of reaching us.

Hike to Red Pine Lakes and White Baldy Mountain July 2006

This is yet another hike this summer up the Little Cottonwood Canyon. I set off with Mike, this time with no water filter and a little later than planned. We planned on getting to the lakes and then possible going to the summit of the mountain that overlooks them.





Once you reach the first lake, the trail disappears and the rest of the hike mostly consists of scrambling up large chunks of granite.










It was getting late in the day and we were quickly running out of water but we were determined to make it to the summit, so we did.







A nice view of the Red Pine Lakes from the summit of White Baldy. With the sun getting low in the sky and only half a liter of water we started the hike back down. It was completely dark by the time we reached the car. We had a real sense of overcoming as we made our own trail to the summit and survived despite the lack of water and light.

Mount Timpanogos July 2006

This hike up Mount Timpanogos was a bigger undertaking because we planned to camp near the summit. We packed food, wood (they told us we wouldn't find any), and sleeping gear and set out to conquer the famous mountain. Our packs weighed about 30 lbs each. On this trip were me, Mike, and his friend Josh.




Half way up, we got off the trail and had to try to find it again. We wound up at the edge of a rock that dropped straight down to a subglacial river. You can see the waterfall and pool behind the wall of ice.





With the summit in sight, we found a quiet spot by Hidden Lake, a lake that can't be seen from the trail until it is passed. We knew about it and knew most didn't so this was our destination. The lake is fed by a glacier that dips down into it and slowly melts. It turns out there was plenty of wood at this spot so we carried extra weight for nothing. I didn't sleep very well because I was borderline chilled and didn't have a good mat. But we made it through the night.

The next day, we stashed our things and made the trek up to the summit. To get down you can slide down a glacier which feeds into the more well known Emerald Lake. From the summit both Emerald Lake and Hidden Lake are easily seen, as is the whole of Utah Valley.




On the highest parts of the mountain we spotted several mountain sheep. This was a mother with a kid nearby and this was as close as we could get to any of them. They make confident leaps from cliff to cliff that would stop humans in their tracks. A simple slip up would be a long painful fall.

Hike up Big Cottonwood Canyon July 2006

I've done a lot of hiking this summer mostly with my friend Mike whom I met at the LDS Business College and with whom I play hockey. On this trip up the canyon my friend Ellie joined us. When you do a day hike in the dry heat of the Wasatch Front water is an issue because you don't want to run out deep in the mountains. Fortunately Mike had a portable water filter which allowed us to have drinkable water whenever we found a stream.


This particular hike didn't lead to anything spectacular. After half a day, we sat down, enjoyed a few MRE's (Meals Ready to Eat) which we heated with Mike's portable stove and then doctored some blisters before heading back down the trail. I'm wiping sweat off my face and Ellie is doctoring her foot. It was so hot that I was determined that the next hike would at least end with a lake.