As a native
Utahan I have enjoyed the beautiful
back country of this great state, so after all that the hiking trails, rivers, campsites, canyons have given to me it was time to give back. J and I volunteered for a "working" vacation this last weekend. This was a joint project with several groups to rehabilitate and protect one of the great canyons in Cache Valley.
We hiked into the work site with our 40 lb packs. It felt like hiking at a 90 degree angle (I know that is impossible unless you are on a ladder) but it was over 2000 feet in elevation in 4 miles. A very interesting group. We had the 19 year old that wouldn't stop talking about Yellowstone, the Ohio transplant that loves the outdoors, the consultant who has been everywhere and done
everything, the intern, the forest ranger, our fearless conservationist leader and the amazing 80 year old married couple. Who also packed their packs up 2000 ft. I hope I am still on these type of adventures when I am 80. We camped at about 7500 ft. great elevation for temperatures when you are working hard but it is a little cold at night.
The elevation increase in the hike made me jettison any extra weight, including the box wine. I didn't know we were going to have horsemen to haul up the fencing wire, spikes, hammers, and a little water for us, when they arrived the first afternoon the whole group asked them if they could bring us some red wine the next day when they came to pick up the equipment.
The main objective was to build fences and natural barriers to stop off-roaders from venturing in to unauthorized areas and damaging the habitat and building water bars and check dams to help prevent and repair erosion. Some of the most physical work that I have ever done, but well worth it.
At the end of the day the there was supposed to be a big "group hug" dinner with all the diverse, but we didn't have the energy to hike to two miles down for the dutch oven grub. The horsemen came to pick up the tools "sans" wine, no dinner and no wine. We made the best of it, an Asian fusion mixed soup/stew. Great chat around the fire and off to bed under the stars. We realized the importance of our work at 2 am when a group of drunk ATV riders roared up the trail and by our camp, as we hiked out the next morning we saw meadows that they had torn up and the garbage that they left all over the canyon. Hopefully, the work that we did will keep some of that damage from happening in the future.
Well last week on the way back from Red Butte we passed the new location and there was a huge "Now Open" sign so J did a massive U-turn in the crazy Fort Union area and we headed back for a cheese burger with the works sans mustard for me. We met the one of the co-owners who was mortified when our burger was loaded with mustard... so two burgers for the price of one. Without the mustard it was a great burger and the real fresh cut potato fries were pretty damn good too. 
