The Fourth II

Rested up, Kurt and I packed up and met our friends the Winder's and the Bergam's to set off on our new adventure:

backpacking Y mountain! Here we see the hopeful and somewhat naive travelers as they begin this epic journey.

About halfway up the Y trail I discovered that my inhaler was completely empty and Tiffany, my friend-in-asthma, didn't have hers. This was a daunting beginning, but it was overcast (which helps with keeping the heat down, which in turn helps with the asthma) and we decided to press on without.

My asthma, though very bad lately, was nice and not-so-bad for this hike and so I made it to the top of the Y (first time, I've always stopped at the bottom of the Y). I felt triumphant.

Photo op!

We continued on past the Y into unknown territory

...and continued on so more...

And found a nice lookout spot ripe for picture taking! Plus, we were all suckin' wind and feelin' the 20+ pound (girls)

and 40+ pound (boys) packs on our backs.

We were not the only ones enjoying the scenery and taking advantage of it.

Finally, a beautiful sight came into view... We decided it was a meadow worthy to be our sleeping quarters for the night.

Tiffany and Greg set up camp.

So did Jen and Evan.

Kurt was really thirsty and very glad to have this water.

Home sweet tent.

Then, settled in Greg started the fire.

And Kurt cooked delicious chili with rice, hamburger, and cheese. After it got dark, we set off once more for the main event:

Watching Fire of Stadium fireworks at the top of Y Mount! It took about 30 minutes to get up there and at first as we trekked through stinging nettles and over rocks and roots, we each wondered (to ourselves) if we really wanted to hike all the way to the top. We wondered if it would be worth the extra effort that night and soreness the next day. Two words: it was. There were two beautifully weathered logs on the very top of the mountain that made perfect seating to watch the best fireworks display in Utah. They were big, beautiful, and loud. We could see all the way from Santaquin to Draper. It was pretty amazing.

Look at the amazement on our faces!

With sadness we left the beautiful view and started our trek back down, until we remembered what awaited us back at the meadow: s'mores (courtesy of Tiff and Greg)!! What a way to end an amazing July 4th!

Waiting for my mallow to be flamin', then I'll put it on the graham.

Somewhere along the way, Kurt turned into a thug.

But a sweet thug. The next morning, I woke up to these. :)

There's my sweet thuggin' husband. Up bright and early.

We ate oatmeal and poptarts for breakfast (courtesy of Evan and Jen).

And then it was time to leave. July 5th was much sunnier than July 4th and so I was able to see just how beautiful and green our meadow was.

Tiff and Greg packin' up.

Evan and Jen already packed up. That was fast!

One last picture... because my jacket matched the meadow.

And then Kurt turned into a Boy Scout.

As we left, we turned and looked back the way we'd come...

We felt like macho persons (politically correct) as we got back to our cars! 'Twas a successful trip!!