In His Head

The Pick Up

The thing Kobae dislikes the most is to be picked up. Despite that he has chosen the same dead end canyon five days in a row where pickup is the only option.

Always Looking for Shade

Moab Rim Trail

Tom got a little beat up today. Step after step up, then down, relentless, hard to recover balance or breath, all the while with a steep angled slope to the right.

Ibuprofen, Hike, Shade, Hike, Shade.....

Hiking the Red Rock

Base Camp 2007 - 2014

Go Pro Down

Go Away Monkey

When Tom moved to Base Camp he hated doing the Lockhart Basin trail. The night before he would do water drops on Lockhart he always had trouble sleeping knowing the challenge facing him come morning. It's probably his favorite trail now. Lockhart has been replaced with one spot on Cliffhanger. Five or so years ago, the last time Tom rode Cliffhanger, on the return he crashed hard on a difficult uphill breaking his sun glasses, taking a cut to his nose, and various other scrapes and bruises. Tom made it up on the second attempt but he wondered did he pick the wrong line, is his skill level diminishing, or perhaps his judgment as to his abilities and line is gone. The monkey has been on his back for a long time. Five years older Tom feels like he's a better rider than when he got here. Today he'll find out.

Cliffhanger

I Think I'm Gonna Die

Sunday with Kobae

Kobae takes shade breaks. When there isn't any shade, he makes some. Ibuprofen is becoming Tom's close friend.In every canyon there is a dominant lizard with the best view and the most protection. In this one it's a Side-blotched. Kobae on the move. In a colony of red ants, in a footprint, crossing a twig, Tom finds a yellow ant.

You're Killing Me, Again

It's In His Head

Five or six years ago on a hike to the Wind Caves, Kobae turned down a dead end canyon. There, towards the back, he found a fascination with a hill and ever since, on nearly every trip to the Wind Caves, Kobae has to turn down this dead end canyon and contemplate trying to climb it. Today, was no exception. Reaching the site Tom finds another rock that has changed. Linny and Tom used to sit on this rock and wait for Kobae to come try and climb his hill until a large part of the canyon fell and crushed the rock.

Chicken Corner

Looking across the canyon from Chicken Corner the reflection of a vehicle and Thelma and Louis Point. Then a few minutes later hiking around in the rocks, Tom finds this.

Hiking in the Rain, Again

In the first picture Kobae and Tom pass a rock that Linny and Tom use to wait under for Kobae to catch up. One day returning to Base Camp they noticed it had split clean and collapsed. Kobae takes a nap at the Arrowhead factory. When Kobae wakes up Tom explains to him there's a storm coming and they have to go and despite it being one of those rare times when Kobae appears to be cooperating it's a rare day when you're hiking with Kobae that you outrun anything. The storm catches them about a mile from Base Camp and you see Kobae's tracks deepen in the sand as the rain comes down.

Going Home and Hummingbird Moth

As Kobae heads home in the rainstorm to the left side of the video a determined Sphinx moth struggles to get it's proboscis in the flower of the Desert Willow. When they do this their head gently bump against the flowers stamen's and collect pollen. Moving on to the next flower it will fall off and pollination occurs.

Hiking in the Rain

You're Killing Me

Hiking with Kobae

Tom hasn't gotten much sleep from his rain delayed drive but looking out the window it's a nice cool day and the Man is trying to get through the gate so apparently it's time to go hiking.

The Journey

Wednesday evening guests have departed. Linny and Tom have returned from their hike with Kobae and it's the time of the year Tom dislikes the most. Time to take Linny back to Salt Lake for the school year. Normally the round trip takes ten hours but when Tom returns to Hunter Creek at 4:30am it's flooded. The water is ripping, three to four feet deep, and twenty feet across. Tom returns to Moab and visits four touring companies to see if anybody has a jet boat going down the river that can drop him off. There's nobody. Tom heads to the Pot Ash boat ramp to see if he can catch a private ride down and finds 15 guys preparing to depart but after an hour or two they are still preparing to depart. By then it's been five hours since rain and Tom decodes he has a decent chance of getting across the creeks. He passes thru Hunter easily, has a few issues in Kane Creek but eventually gets across and returns to Base Camp sixteen hours after he left.

Boat Dock

Four guests are checking out on Wednesday and returning to town by Tag A Long jet boat. With a cool day coming the mosquitoes will be hovering in the tamarisk. Tom kayaks down to insure the water is deep enough at the boat dock to pull a jet boat up. That way guests can stay in the shelter of the boat house if need be.

The Island

On Tuesday Tom takes a quick trip around the island to check and see if a severe eddy he got sucked into a few weeks ago is still there and it is gone. Then Tom checks out where the channel to the river is.

The River

Bettina, Albert, Max, and Linny enjoy the water.

Kobae Eats, Moon Rises, Sun Sets

Hurrah

Last winter a herding dog got left behind when the cowboys moved on. Linny and Tom would take food down to the former cowboy camp and feed him each day. Then for a few days there were no tracks and Linny and Tom ceased their journey. A week later Hurrah showed up eating food off the Base Camp front porch. He disappeared shortly after that but a couple months ago four or five nights in a row the entire cat food bowl would be gone when morning came. Hiking with Kobae yesterday Tom found one of the bowls by the drop off to the river which is the last place he saw Hurrah. Strange goings on but it seems that as of a few months ago anyway Hurrah was still out there.

High Hopes

A Side-blotched lizard with big breakfast plans.

Hiking with the Man

Seems like it takes Kobae a little longer every year before he's ready to go hiking and this year he strung it all the way out to August, but hiking we went. For the last few days he's had that far off look in his eye. As he walks across the driveway to come to the porch to eat he stares down the driveway as if it's calling him, much the way Tom feels about the beach right now.

Other Side of Hurrah

Two disc golfers really wanted to play the Base Camp disc course but they couldn't get up Hurrah in their passenger car so they parked on the other side and walked the five miles to Base Camp. Worthy of a free ride back. At sunset this is the other side of Hurrah looking into Kane Creek Canyon.

Whenever Possible

This is how Tom tries to finish the evening.