Bucket List

Being an avid back packer, fly fisher, and climber, there are several things on my bucket list. Maybe by writing them down here, I may be held to getting a few of them crossed off.

Fly fish Patagonia
Fly fish New Zealand
Backpack the entire Continental Divide Trail (even if I have to do it in stages)
Climb El Capitan
Climb The Grand Teton (no, I've never bagged that peak)
Go after steelhead in British Columbia
Fly fish for bonefish, tarpon and redfish
I'd put down a trip up Everest, but I have to be somewhat realistic with this list

Lastly, I think the biggest thing on my list is to just be happy and enjoy life whether I'm half way through a pitch on the Nose of El Cap, double hauling to bonefish on the Florida flats, or sleeping under the stars somewhere between Canada and Mexico.

White Pine Lake

This weekend I escaped to White Pine Lake in the mountains east of Logan. I think I needed this trip more than I needed the City of Rocks trip last weekend. I know I came back a lot more invigorated.
I'd only been to the lake once. It sits in a bowl about four miles north of Tony Grove Lake, and about 6 miles west of the main highway in Logan Canyon. Two mountains sit directly to the north (Mt. Gog) and south (Mt. Magog) of the lake, connected by an arc-shaped band of cliffs. Here's what the area looks like from Google Earth:

I left the parking lot at Tony Grove lake at about 6:45 a.m. yesterday, and arrived at the lake at about 8:38 a.m. I spent the day fishing, and totally getting skunked, napping, meditating, and photographing and just enjoying the gorgeous place I was in.
There were a lot more people and campsites there than I had thought there were, and hoped there would be (people have to camp in established camp sites at the lake). For much of the day yesterday I had to deal with hearing people in the campsite next to me shout at their dog, and other people who didn't know how to build a proper fire, and then put someone's fire out who left it smoldering and smoking. But after about 2 or 3, there were only 3 other groups beside myself, and it got a lot quieter and I was able to enjoy some silence. Once the light got half way decent I got my camera out and made some photographs:

I have to wonder if these cliffs have ever been climbed. There were about four or five real nice looking lines, with a lot of variety in the moves to get up the rock. The photograph doesn't really do them justice, but I had to photograph them anyways.

Mt Magog:

I like to photograph my camp sites when I'm out on the trail, and this time I thought it would be fun to make a self portrait out of it:

All in all, it was a great 29 hours in the woods that I wish hadn't had to end.