Antelope Island - Frary Peak

Memorial Day, 2011

Woke up to a dusting of snow on the back lawn.  Ah yes, the Spring of 2011 will be remembered, for how late the winter ran and how much precip we received.

Went to Antelope Island and took the trusty Canon with me.  It was a great day, both for hiking to the top of the island, and for taking photos.  Lots of sun & clouds, which means great lighting situations for landscape photography.

Great, great view from the top of Antelope, Frary Peak. 

Here's a view from the Frary Peak trail looking northwest toward Buffalo Point, with Fremont Island in the background:
 

Looking south from Frary Peak toward Tooele:

Downtown SLC, with a cloud-shrouded Wasatch behind:

Buffalo Point, Fremont Island and Promontory Point, with a squal brewing:

Looking west over Elephant Head, with the Lakeside Mountains in the background:

Looking east toward Bountiful, Pyramid Peak, and Black Mountain (to the left) and part of City Creek canyon (to the right):

Grandeur Peak - Salt Lake County

I want to get to the top of some higher mountains this year, so I've been hiking a fair amount, getting in shape, and needed a "shake down" hike to build up my endurance.  Grandeur Peak lies between Parleys Canyon and Millcreek Canyon in the Wasatch on the east side of Salt Lake County.  It tops out at 8300 feet, so that was a decent workout. 

You'd think that by May, you could count on decent weather.  Well, this hike started with some rain, and by the time I got to the summit I was waist deep in snow drifts.  Definitely worth the view at the top, but I took the western route down, and my "wheels" were NOT happy with me by the time I got down to Wasatch Drive.  It's about 3000 feet of vertical, since I started in Rattlesnake Gulch about 2 miles up Millcreek.

The weather ws really lousy on the hike up, so I didn't take any photos, but on the top it cleared up and I got a few decent pix.

Looking west down I-80 as it heads toward the north end of the Oquirrh Mountains with the southern tip of the Great Salt Lake & Stansbury Island, with the Cedar Mountains and Skull Valley in the distance:

Looking north, you can see the Radar towers at Francis Peak above Farmington in the middle in the distance:

Downtown SLC, with Antelope Island in the distance, and Lakeside Mountains and even Carrington Island in the far distance on the right:

Oquirrh Mountains, Kennecott smokestack (ahhhh, industry!), the GSL, Tooele Valley, Stansbury Mountains, Skull Valley and Cedar Mountains in the distance.  To the left you can see the "C" on the mountain for Cyprus Highschool:

Looking south, along the western slope on the way down, Mount Olympus makes it known it is 1400 feet taller (at 9700 feet MSL), with an abrupt granite north wall:

Looking northwest, the ridgeline headed down, with Rice Eccles Stadium, the Utah State Capitol, LDS Hospital and Antelope Island in the distance:

Another shot of Olympus. 













Grouse:

Last shot of SLC, with Antelope Island in the background:

Salt Lake City - north foothills

People who live in Utah are incredibly fortunate to have so many outdoor recreational opportunities, so close by.  I took a little hike after work one day last fall, from a trailhead in North Salt Lake, following a pipeline that ended up on the flat area north of Ensign Peak and the radio towers that dot the skyline of the foothills north of SLC.

What a nice view of SLC & City Creek canyon.

City Creek canyon, facing east:

City Creek canyon, facing south, with eastern SLC and the SL County stretch of the Wasatch in the background:

Rice-Eccles Stadium, home of the Utah Utes!:

University of Utah, part of Mt Olympus, Twin Peaks & Lone Peak in the distance:

North foothills, part of SLC & Draper Ridge:

finding lost Polynesian "cousins"

Aout 15 years ago there were some Tongans going through our modest, east side Salt Lake county neighborhood, looking for yard work. Well, it just so happened I had a dead tree that needed to be felled and disposed of, so a business deal was struck.

Unable to just let these gentlemen do their work, I had to endulge my appetite for learning about other cultures and converse with them, ask about their backgrounds, etc. It turns out these were three 40-something brothers engaged in the enterprise, all with distinctly non-Polynesian names.

"My name is John Johansson. This is my brother Hans and my udder bruddah is Otto."

I knew there had to be an interesting story here, so I (diplomatically) pressed for more information: how did they end up with northern european names?

"Our grand fahdah, he from Sveeden"

Well, my grandfather happens to be from Sweden, so we had something in common, might actually be distantly related, a bond was formed with these unlikely 'relatives'. "We're cousins!" exclaimed "Taki" (Doug, in Tongan, as his name is actually John Douglas Johansson). And so began my experience into Tongan culture, language, friendships. It has been absolutely fascinating and enlightening.

I'm firmly of the belief that no single people have a monopoly on truth, virture & enlightenment, and my experience with the Tongan people certainly validates that view. There are many, many things about Tongan culture we can learn from, take a page (or three or eleven) from the Polynesian book of life to add to our understanding of living, values, perspective on life, etc.

Over the course of the new few days, as my tree job was mixed in with their other priorities, I was able to connect & learn a few things from these Tongans, to the point where they told me about a herbal drink they imbide in, several times a week, a big part of their culture.

"You should come to our house & drink kava with us."

No way I was going to turn down this offer. No way...

Malo e lelei

Or, "congratulations on being well", in Tongan, a polynesian language.

This insomnia-driven first post may not be expansive, extensive, witty or particularly enlightened, but it is a first post. :)

Working in health care, I see a lot of folks who are struggling. I find inspiration in their fortitude & resolve, and, of course, a tempering & perspective reset of my own plight & struggles. What the hell is this thing called life. Purpose, background, direction, epilogue?

In the same month / week / day, life can be joyous, amusing, inspiring, eminently savory.

Mou no'fua - see you all later