Above: Banister Ruin in the morning light.

Grand Gulch and Bullet Canyon was lined on both sides by high cliff walls, with almost every south facing alcove hosting an Indian ruin and some rock art.  We visited Banister Ruin, Long Ruin, Two Story Ruin, Jailhouse Ruin, and Perfect Kiva, and numerous smaller unmarked and unnamed ruins.   Many ruins were small food storage sites called granaries, built up with rocks and mortar, with a small door opening which could be sealed shut with a square stone door.  If the door was sealed up with a square rock and mud, the granary would be deer proof, mouse proof, and insect proof.

The ruins were abandoned in 1300 AD en masse, as the inhabitants migrated to other areas.  Judging by the present availability of water, climate change must have been a reason for the migration.  The inhabitants are called Anazasi, and their descendents are the modern Zuni, Hopi, and Pueblo Indians.  The Navahos and Apaches appeared in the area around 1000 AD, and appear to have traded with the Anazasi, and sometimes conflicted with the Anazasi.  The Anazasi farmed corn, squash, and beans, and cooked in clay pots.  Corn cobs and stone flour grinders are present at many of the ruins.  In 200 BC beans were introduced to the area, which added a much needed protein source.  In 200 AD the technology of clay pots replaced the pitch coated woven baskets that were used to heat water.  The earlier culture was called the Basketmaker Culture, and their baskets and art was superior to the later Anazasi culture. The combination of beans and clay pots allowed the Anazasi’s food to be utilized more efficiently, which could have led to an increase in health and a population growth.

During our trip, water was present in shallow pools, often film covered and stinky, or else in natural cisterns in holes carved in solid rock in the stream bed.  There were a few flowing water springs, and we never appreciated having clean water so much until we had to drink some of the stank water.  Water sources were located miles apart.  Compared to the clear mountain streams we are used to in Idaho, we would call these springs “mud holes,” but when there is no other water they looked pretty good.

A funny thing was that some of the dwellings were obviously in strong defensive positions, and could not be reached without a ladder or ropes.  However, many of the granaries were visible from the valley floor and easily reachable by foot.  They would be very vulnerable to raiders.  My own theory is that the granaries were built and filled to support the mass migration of the Anazazi out of the entire area.  They had no pack animals, and could only take what they could carry, and they had many miles to travel, with people of their culture spread over the whole area.  If the granaries were stocked with food and supplies, they could be used by Anazazi from other regions as they passed through toward their distant destination.

The main point to note about buying equipment for your Scout is to not rush out and buy a lot of the wrong types of equipment. What I place as important goals in this effort is

1. buying the right equipment, so that the parent doesn’t have to turn around and buy another piece of equipment unnecessarily.  The goal is to buy the right equipment the first time

2. buying light and compact equipment, in order to keep a young scout’s pack weight down, and so the gear fits in a small pack

3. buying only the necessary equipment, and delay buying the extra stuff

Sleeping Bag:

If there is one piece of equipment that a parent should try to get right to first time, that is the scout’s sleeping bag. When your son starts scouting he might be a small guy of 11 years old and may weight less than eighty pounds. It is incredible how these boys grow during the next four of five years.  The right sleeping bag will serve his needs throughout his scouting years and into his adult life.  The alternative is to buy several bags as he grows.  Of course the first method is way cheaper.

To make a long story short, I would recommend that you buy a 15-25° sleeping bag with down insulation, in a mummy shape, in an adult size. It should weigh less than three pounds, or even less than 2.5 pounds.  Such a sleeping bag can be found for not much more than $100.  As of this writing, a great deal is a Kelty Cosmic +20 F sleeping bag, for about $115.  It weighs less than 3 pounds.

Another good buy as of this writing is an REI Mojave, for $146, rated at 15 degrees, and weighing less than 3 lbs.  In the photo below, and Mojave has white sides, so it looks more narrow than it is.

Above Right:  Kelty Cosmic 20 Degree, $115, <3 lbs

Above Left: REI Mojave, 15 degree, $146

Instead of this option, many Scout parents buy a bag rated to a much lower temperature, thinking they are doing the Scout a favor by providing him with extra ability to sleep warm in colder conditions. Actually that is not doing the Scout a favor, because a sleeping bag which is rated for 0°, for instance, can only be used in the winter season, and is much bulkier than a bag rated at 15°-25°  . What the Scout needs for three seasons of hiking (in Idaho) is a bag rated at about from 15° – 25° or even 30°.   My own down bag is rated at 30°, even though nights in the Idaho mountains often get down to the mid-20s. In those situations I put on other clothing to carry me through the night. A sleeping bag rated at 25° to 30° is advantageous for me as well as for the Scout because this keeps the sleeping bag light and makes it able to be stuffed into a smaller volume.

Other sleeping bags which the scout parent might buy could be slightly cheaper, but the new parent will soon find such bags to be totally inadequate.  The bags to avoid will be sleeping bags which weigh more than 3 pounds, bags which use synthetic insulation, bags with a rectangular shape, bags made of flannel, camo colored, military bags, and bags which cannot be stuffed but must be rolled.  The bag you buy should be stuffable into a stuff sack as big as a volley ball, or a small watermelon, or 6″ x 14″.

Types of Bags to Avoid:

Certain sources are good places to get a high-quality sleeping bags, and certain places are just about guaranteed to provide you with a bag you will be unhappy with. Stores such as REI, REI outlet (online), Idaho Mountain Touring, and GoLite are generally places to get good sleeping bags. Brands which are good values in sleeping bag include REI, North Face, Kelty, Mountain Hardware, Sierra Designs, Montbell, and Marmot. Top ranked bags include Western Mountaineering and Feathered Friends, but these are likely out of the price range for scouts, and other brands are almost as good and quite a bit cheaper.

Stores which I guarantee you will sell you a bag you will not be happy with are Cabella’s, Sports Authority, Sportsman’s Warehouse, Walmart, Costco, and Army Navy Surplus.  Brands to avoid include brands such as SlumberJack, Coleman, Cabella’s, and Camp Trails.

The best way to pick up good value in sleeping bags is to buy them on sale, buy them at the REI garage sales, or in certain cases used bags through eBay or craigslist.com if you know what you’re buying. If in doubt about a bag on ebay or craigslist, email one of the Troop 100 Assistant Scoutmaster who do a lot of backpacking.

The REI garage sales are particularly promising but you still have to know the brands of bags that you want to look at, and you have to check the temperature ratings of the bags that you find. The REI garage sales are for REI members only, and it is worth buying the $15 membership just to go to the garage sales. In the garage sales items which have been returned from customers are resold at 50% or more discount. Often they have been returned because they have a hole in them or some other minor defect. A hole in a down bag is inevitable in the life of the bag, and can easily be fixed with duct tape, or a special tape for rip stop nylon, which is very similar to scotch tape.

Golite has great values and have an online outlet as well as a local store.  The online Golite store is at www.golite.com, and a “clearance closet”  with especially good deals is at http://www.golite.com/Clearance.aspx.

Backpacks

Another piece of gear to think about getting for your Scout is a backpack. One option to try before you buy your Scout a backpack is to borrow one of the troop’s backpacks.  We have several very small external frame backpacks which are a good fit for young Scouts including 11 year olds.

In the world of backpacks, there are internal frame packs and external frame packs. The external frame packs are an older style of pack and they are somewhat out of style, but they are very functional to have advantages over internal frame packs.  An advantage of external frame packs is that bulky items can be lashed to the outside of these packs.  Therefore if the Scout’s sleeping bag, sleeping pad, or any other piece of equipment are large and bulky or just can’t fit inside the pack, they can be lashed to the outside of an external frame pack. Of course the scouts will see that the older scouts have internal frame packs, and they will want an internal frame pack. I would encourage you to have your Scout go on a few Scout trips with a borrowed external frame pack from the troop until he gets gear which will fit in an internal frame pack.

It’s just about inevitable that your Scout will start with a small size pack, and in a few years he will need a medium-size pack, and then in another year or two he will need an adult size pack. My suggestion is to use a small external frame pack first, and the troop has a few that are available for loan.

       Jim Shaver, 11 years old with small external frame pack

   Jim at 12 years old , with internal frame pack , an REI Rising Star

     Jim at 13 years old, on Sawtooth Slowpoke

         Jim at 14, in the Wind River Rang, with a women’s size M internal frame pack, (His Mom’s) by Gregory

     Jim at 15, still with the Gregory pack, in the White Clouds of Idaho

Next get a medium sized internal frame pack, and next get an adult size internal frame pack. With packs what is important it that his pack fits his frame.

In sizing a backpack it does not matter how long his legs are. The size of the pack is determined by the distance between his shoulders and his hip bones. When the shoulder straps are tightened to fit on the Scouts shoulders, the waist belt of the pack should rest above his hip bones, so that when the waist belt is tightened he can take some of the weight off his shoulders.

Boots:

The next major piece of equipment is boots.  Unfortunately, the scout years are years when a youth’s feet are growing pretty fast.  I would recommend not buying a good pair of above-the-ankle hiking boots during these years.  The Scout doesn’t weigh much, and therefore needs less ankle support than a larger person.  A lot of running or walking shoes will serve for hiking in these years.

The REI garage sale has lots and lots of lightly used boots and shoes for sale, and it would be worth while to check those out for youth hiking boots.

Clothing:

After boots, the next urgent thing to buy is appropriate clothing, including rain gear.  Hiking and backpacking clothing has a common theme, and that is NO COTTON.  Wet cotton dries very slowly if at all, and it sucks the heat out of the wearer.  Loss of body heat is what people lost in the mountains die of, and cotton clothing is a great contributor to that statistic.  The clothing that is needed is listed below.

Surprisingly, that is all the clothes a scout should ever have on a backpack.  Anything added to that list is just adding weight to his pack.  On a cold night he will be wearing all of that gear.  On a longer backpack he can wash a set of socks, underwear and t shirt every day, and hang if off the pack to dry.  Washing is by swishing in soap and water in a zip lock bag, but really scouts are rarely interested in changing clothes, much less washing clothes.

Sleeping pad:

This is another absolutely necessary piece of gear, right up there with clothing and sleeping bag.  However, the scout doesn’t need an expensive piece for this pad.  A $5 blue foam pad from Walmart is sufficient.  A scout only weighs 80 pounds, so he doesn’t need the thickness of padding that an adult needs.  A foam pad is fine until he does enough backpacking that he knows he will continue it, and can justify the expense of a deluxe pad.

When he is ready for a nicer pad, a Big Agnes Air Core inflatable one is a great one for $80, or the deluxe one right now is the NeoAire by Thermarest.  Those cost $150 full price, but can sometimes be found at REI garage sales for less than $40.  Those often have holes in them, which can be easily patched.

Cooking Gear:

My, how new scouts love those metal mess kits!  What he should have is simple: a plastic cup, a plastic bowl, and a plastic spoon.  Mark the cup with indicators for portions of a cup, and make it a measuring cup.   For a water container, a bottled water plastic bottle is best, or something like a GatorAid bottle. Nalgene bottles are durable, but heavier than something like a pop bottle.

Don’t get these for your Scout: mess kit, utensil kit, metal cup:

Knife: Scouts love big knives, but a smallish lockback is the safest and most versatile.  The tiny Swiss Army Classic is also good, because it has scissors. A big survival knife is totally not needed on any backpack.  All a scout will use a knife for is to open food containers, or maybe to clean a fish.

Flashlights:

The smaller the flashlight, the better.  All one needs is enough light to find a piece of gear in the pack or tent, or find your way along a dark trail.  An LED flashlight that takes one AAA battery is perfect for the task, and highly recommended.  If there is a possibility of hiking at night, an LED headlamp is recommended.  I love my Petzl Zipka, shown below, which uses 3 AAA batteries.  A photon LED light would also work, as long as the battery is strong.  Some of those tiny lights make it difficult to change the battery.  An LED hat is a good option for scouts to try.

First Aid Items:

Each scout should have basic first aid gear, especially articles for treating blisters and small scrapes and cuts. The items listed below are from the BSA Handbook, pg 289

Moleskin, 3”x 6”

6 Bandaids

Rubber gloves

2 sterile gauze pads, 3”x3”

Small (1/2 motel size) bar of soap

small roll of adhesive tape

small tube antiseptic

small scissors

pencil and paper

eye protection

butterfly bandages

Pack Cover:

Packs may need to be outside the tent overnight, and might be subjected to rain.  They also might be worn while hiking during rain.  Being able to cover the packs for rain protection is thus essential.  A purpose made sylnylon rain cover is one way to accomplish this, or a large garbage bag also works.

Personal Hygiene Kit

Tooth brush

Tooth paste (baking soda preferred because it doesn’t have a scent to attract bears)

Wet Wipes Disposable Facecloth, pack of 12

Hand sanitizer, sample size bottle

Toilet paper in zip lock bag

Dental Floss

Camp Soap, liquid. in small container, for washing clothes and bathing

Survival gear

Compass, Map

 Waterproof matches

Small mirror for signalling

Whistle

Fire starting steel

Cigarette lighter

Mosquito repellant

Sun block

Head net for bugs in summer months

Tents:

A scout who is excited about backpacking might want to get his own tent so that he can feel like he is one of the big boys and has his own gear. The troop provides tents, so buying a scout tent is really not necessary.  He does not need a tent until he is going on non-scouting backpacks with his friends.  When you do decide to buy the scout a tent, he should buy one which is as lightweight as possible and which fits two people. Having a two-man tent is much more practical than having a one man tent or a bivvy sack.  If he buys a two-man tent he should try to get one that weighs less than 3 pounds. In many current designs of tents, lightness of weight is achieved by having a low profile and by using a single wall made of Sylnylon fabric. Look at tents that are available on the tarptent.com website.  These single wall tents have floors, zip up mesh walls to keep bugs out, and do fine in rain, wind, and light snow. Generally, these tents are no more expensive than larger and heavier tents.

Good brands of tents to buy include Tarptent, REI, Mountain Hardware, North face, GoLite, and MSR.

Stoves:

This could be one of the last pieces of gear the scout buys, because the troop has stoves that scouts can use.  For adults I would recommend a Caldera Cone alcohol stove, but for scouts I would recommend a Giga Power canister stove, or the old standby the MSR Pocket Rocket.  If the food plan is to just boil water, the JetBoil is fast and fuel efficient.

Water Filter:

The troop supplies water filters, so this is another piece of gear the purchase of which can be delayed.  When it is time to buy one, a PUR type filter works fine.

Places to look for deals on backpacking gear include:

REI outlet

Golight clearance closet

Backpackinglight.com gear swap

ebay.com

Sport Chalet (find deals via Google search for Brand and model)

campsaver

Sierra Trading Post

Campsaver

steepandcheap.com

CLean Snipe
Dept of Goods

use rebate sites too (mr rebates, etc)

use coupons (retail-me-not, etc)

Golite model yr clearance around Dec-Jan

The first photo shows the site they picked to build the hut, with some advantageous structure in the form of a downed tree suspended about waist high above the ground.

AFter establishing a ridgeline they started adding ribs which defined the structure.

After making a skeleton of a structure, they put what plastic bags they had on the branches, to keep some of the debris from falling through.  Then they started covering the structure with debris such as grass, twigs, and pine needles.

After the structure was built and covered, they gathered wood for a fire at the front of the shelter, with a reflector which directed heat into the interior of the shelter.

The Caldera Cone:  This is an alcohol stove, with a conical windscreen on which the pot sits.  The stove is directly below the pot, and the fuel efficiency and heating is improved by the stove being shielded from the wind, and the hot air and flame of the stove being forced along the pot sides.  Its main strengths are being totally silent when cooking, stability, immunity from wind problems, reliability and suitability for all seasons, for a variety of cooking situations.  For instance, we cooked pizza from scratch, toasted bagels, made biscuits, and dishes of pasta, couscous, and rice.

stove plus windscreen, in a plastic screw together tube: 5.4 oz

Evernew 1.9 L titanium pot (to compare with the Jetboil, the pot has to be included) 9.7 oz

fuel taken plus container weight:  21 oz (including 3 oz extra for cushion)

Total weight, stove, pot and fuel, at start of trip: 36.1 oz

Total weight, stove pot and fuel, at end of trip: 18.1 oz

Note: we had 3 oz of fuel left over.

The Caldera Cone and the 1.9 L Evernew pot was a great combination for this trip, for cooking for 2 hikers.  It was quiet, hassle free, fool proof, did well in wind, and cooked a variety of foods, including baking pizza from scratch, bisquits, frying bagels for breakfast, and it could cook a few fish, although we didn’t use it for that because we I talked my son into bringing a bigger frying pan for cooking fish.  The Caldera has the capability of using wood for fuel, which is a good backup if you run out of fuel.

Compared to the Jetboil, the Caldera was 8 oz heavier at the start of the trip, and 2 oz lighter at the end of the trip, due to the weight of the empty gas canister of the Jetboil.  If a crew took an additional small fuel canister for backup for the JetBoil, the Caldera would be the lighter stove setup.  The Caldera was just a hair lighter than a Pocket Rocket setup if used with the same pot.  The Caldera was definitely slower to boil water, but much more versatile at cooking a variety of foods.  The Jetboil is hard to beat for just boiling water.  The fuel weight shown for the Caldera stove is the fuel to just boil water, so it could be compared straight across with the other stoves.  For a menu that included baking, toasting bagels for breakfast, cooking pasta and rice, we used 27 oz of fuel, with 3 oz left over.

All in all, my preference remains the Caldera stove and windscreen.  The JetBoil is actually lighter for this length of a trip, and boils water faster, but is less flexible for different types of cooking. Like any canister stove, it would work less well in the winter, whereas the Caldera works fine at subzero temperatures.  The canister stoves suffered some problems that would not likely ever be a problem with the Caldera.  We had one canister stove tip over with a full pot of boiling water, an indication of their top heavy nature.  We had one canister stove left with the valve not fully closed, and the canister of fuel drained out.  We had one night when a canister stove was totally inoperable due to wind.  All of these situations are just not a problem for the Caldera.

Jet Boil: this is a stove system with a fuel canister, a stove base, and an insulated pot.  It is relatively quiet, super fuel efficient, does well in the wind, and for this length of trip was the lightest combination.  It produces a point source of heat under a tall and narrow insulated pot (the model used on this trip anyway), so it is optimized for boiling water.  It would not do well making cobbler, cooking fish, using with an Outback over, or doing anything except boiling water.  Like any canister stove, it would not do well in winter conditions.

weight of stove plus pot: 15.2 oz

wt. of fuel taken plus container weight: 13 oz (one 220 g fuel canister)

Total weight, stove, pot and fuel, at start of trip: 28.2

total weight, stove, pot and empty fuel canister at end of trip: 20.2 oz (weight of empty fuel container = 5.6 oz)

The JetBoil is an efficient and light weight stove, and with one fuel canister was the lightest combination for this length of trip, cooking for two people.  It is a specialist tool, and is great at boiling water, not cooking pasta, cobbler, biscuits, or trout.  It is fairly quiet, and as reliable as any canister stove.  If you are just boiling water, this stove can’t be beat for weight and speed.  It is very fuel efficient, which allows it to use the fewest fuel canisters for this length of trip.

Pocket Rocket: this is a canister stove with a tiny and light stove that fits on a standard fuel canister.  We had two Pocket Rockets setups, one using 1 large fuel canister and one small canister of fuel, and one with a single canister of fuel.  A single canister of fuel proved to be insufficient, and one large and one small canister was probably the perfect amount of fuel.  Unfortunately, one of the Pocket Rocket teams had a valve that wasn’t fully shut off, and lost a large canister of fuel.  The other Pocket Rocket crew found that one canister of fuel was insufficient, so there was a shortage of fuel toward the end of the trip.  With 4 teams using canister stoves, the canisters could be shifted around to cover the shortages nicely.  A Pocket Rocket tipped over with boiling water.  One has to be careful with these stoves.  There is a 3 legged base for the large canisters that makes any canister stove more stable.  One of the PRs was unable to operate one night due to wind, but that was mainly an experience problem, because a windbreak can usually be found.  The Pocket Rocket is fast to light, and fast to boil water, and not too loud.

The weight for the PR is based on one large and one small canister of fuel, which would probably be ideal for an 8 day trip.  The Evernew 1.9 L pot is used for the weight calculation, to make the weight comparison with the Caldera closer.  The Pocket Rocket setup was right in the ball park with the Caldera as far as weight goes.  With the same pot as the Caldera, the PR was 3 oz lighter at the start of the trip, and 4 oz heavier at the end.  The weights were too close to haggle about.

Wt of stove plus plastic case: 3.9 oz

Evernew 1.9 L titanium pot:  9.7 oz (to compare with the Jetboil, a pot has to be included.  The Evernew was used to make a straight across comparison with the Caldera setup.  Gary’s pot was smaller and only weighed 4 oz)

fuel taken plus container weight:  one large and one small canister: 19.5 oz full, 8.6 oz for empty canisters

Total weight, stove, pot and fuel, at start of trip:  33.1 oz

Total weight, stove pot and fuel, at end of trip: 22.2 oz

This is Kevin at Edna Lake in the Sawtooths, with his new Flash 65.  The Flash 65 was given the Backpacker Magazine 2009 Editor’s Choice award, and was noted in the April 2011 issue as one of “the best values ever”.  I have to agree.

Mine weighs 3 lb 2 oz, which is more than 3 pounds lighter than my previous pack.  At 65 liters it easily handles gear and food for an 8 day backpack, and is super roomy for a weekend trip.  It has a big pocket on the top flap, a big scoop pocket on the back which can hold a snow shovel or lunch food, elastic mesh side pockets for things like water bottle, tent poles, fishing poles, stove fuel, bear spray, or other things too long to go in the pack, that you don’t want in the pack, or things that need to be readily accessible.

The shoulder straps and waist belt are comfortable, and substantial but not overpadded.  There is a small pocket on one of the waist belt straps for small items like sunblock, chap stick, sunglasses, etc.  The accessible pockets are handy, because the main compartment has no dividers and has access only from the top.  If this is required to keep the weight down, that is fine and I got used to not getting into the main compartment very often during the day.

There are lashing points all over the pack, so like Gary Fujino above, you can attach something to the bottom of the pack, or attach camp shoes to the back of the pack, or strap down a rain coat or jacket.

The one thing that keeps this from being the perfect pack is that the top flap does not turn into a day pack.  This defect can be easily remedied by bringing a strap or two to allow the top flap to be carried over the shoulder or with a strap around the waist .  The pack comes in S, M and L, and I would highly recommend this pack for up to 8 day trips.

The one below is a dog collar sturdy enough to hold any dog!

This is the view looking back down the valley as one nears the lake.  The trail is unmaintained, and uphill, but at 3.5 miles its not very far to hike in.

This is the first view you see of the lake.  There is a waterfall that comes down the cliff on the opposite side of the lake, and another waterfall where the inlet to the lake cascades down from the basin above.

Jim and Kenna tuck into some pudding packs.  Those looked pretty good!

Bob and Tuckie relaxing around the fire in the evening.

Here is the crew on this trip: me, Dave Litster, Dallon Litster, Jun Campion, Kenna Nowak, Jim Shaver and Tuckie Shaver and Ginger the Wonderdog.

These are gooseberries, which are the same genus (Ribes) as currants.  If the plants have spines they are gooseberries, if not they are currants.  These are tart berries, getting a little sweeter as they get very ripe.  They are wonderful to munch on, and the spines look a lot worse than they are.

This is Twinberry, Lanicera involurata, which is related to honeysuckle.  The berries are edible but taste bitter.

This is another gooseberry, also called Bristly Black Currant.  These are very good.

The fourth conspicuous berry we saw on this trip was soapberry, Sheperdia canadensis.  These berries have a bitter taste, but get better as they get ripe and after a few frosts.  They can be used to make pemmican. When whipped with a whisk they form a foam called Indian Ice Cream, which is much improved by adding sugar.

Above, Rubus idaeus, raspberry, edible and tasty

Elderberry,genus Sambucus, and  the seeds contain hydrocyanic acid, and cause diarrhea and nausea if eaten in quantity.

I think this is Baneberry, Actaea rubra, and the berries are poisonous.

Below is the gang, 5 adults and 6 youths.

We started at 4th of July Lake, with camp sites at

Washtington Lake

Chamberlain Basin

Hatchet Lake in the Boulder Chain Lakes

Hummock Lake in the upper Boulder Chain Lakes

and from there we hiked out via Quiet Lake and 4 Lakes Basin to Born Lakes

Our group had some fantastic mountain experience, and our campfires had some interesting and entertaining stories.  Josh, 2nd from left, is a Marine who was in Saudi, Jordan, and other places in the Middle East, as a trainer to their marines, and has lots of great stories from Marine days.

Gary, far right, did a lot of rock climbing in So Cal and Yosemite.  He climbed the Nose route on El Cap in Yosemite, hiked the John Muir Trail, and has lots of rock and peak climbing and backpacking experience.

Kevin, 2nd from right, did the John Muir Trail in a 27 day trip at when he was 15, did many 9 day hikes in the Sierra, and joined me on our Sawtooth Slowpoke and Wind River hikes.

Dave, who joined us after this picture was taken, has climbed a lot of Colorado 14ers and has done a lot of backpacks in the West.

My lovely wife Tuckie (in the photo above) hiked in with us to Washington Lake, then headed out and spent some time with friends in Ketchum.

This is a view of Castle Peak as we head into Chamberlain Basin for our 2nd night’s camp.

Above is a view of Castle Peak from our camp at the first big lake in Chamberlain Basin.  I had to admit I could not think of a better camp site, or a better view from a campsite.  Kane Lake in the Pioneers, Sawtooth Lake in the Sawtooths, Alice Lake in the Sawtooths, Titcombe Basin in the Winds are all good, but this view and campsite were right up there.

Four of our party climbed this side of Castle: Gary, Dave, Malcolm, and Nick.  Another group of our youths went around the lakes dispersing illegal fire pits, as part of Jim’s Eagle Project.  Kevin caught a lot of fish at the upper Chamberlain basin, mostly due to persistence on a windy day.  He and Josh “saw” a 26″ fish.  Yeah, right.

Above is a view of the East side of Castle Peak, as we headed to Big Boulder Chain Lakes. We camped at Hatchet Lake, and the next day headed up to the upper lakes of the chain.  Hummock Lake was another standout lake, and all the lakes had good fishing, but the fish were generally small.

Above is a view of Hummock Lake, where we had a layover day.  Even prettier lakes were those at higher elevations, and the next one, Scoop Lake, had a good campsite at the inlet.

Shown above is Lonesome Lake, the highest lake in the Boulder Chain Lakes, at 10,435.  It didn’t have ice on the water, but the slopes above the lake were all snow covered, in late August.  Its been a late season this year.

Above are Dave, Tomio, Gary, and Kade, on a day hike to Lonesome lake, and Hidden lake for fishing.

Above is a typical grouping around a campfire, this one at Hummock Lake.

Here are the boys as we rested at Scree Lake, before heading to Quiet Lake and the Four Lakes Basin.

Above, Quiet Lake.

Above, some of the lakes of the 4 Lakes Basin, from the pass above them.

We took a tough route to get down to Born Lakes, but Kevin and Josh had gone via the shorter Devils Staircase route, and had saved a campsite for the whole group.  One of the Born Lakes is above.

The mountain scenery was fine, but what really inspired the troops for the last few days of the trip was a vision of the hamburgers at the Bridge Grill in Lower Stanley.  It was as good as we imagined it.