BYU vs TCU Game

Courtney and I went to the BYU/TCU game on October 24, 2009. I was very excited for the game. Honestly, I thought the outcome would be a little better........I wasnt expecting a blowout. TCU outplayed BYU in every facet of the game! Dang! It was still a fun time!


Before the game, we went to Legacy Hall in the new Student Athlete Building on campus. I liked this Heisman display for Ty Detmer
Pregame snap of the Cougar outside of Lavell Edward Stadium.

Close up of Ty's prize.

Standing by Ryan Denney's jersey on display. He and I were mission companions in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He is a big guy.......6'7"...............lets just say I always felt safe out in the streets with Ryan.

The weather before and during the game was crazy. Dark clouds swirled all around us during the game. This is Provo Peak to the east.

Mt Timpanogos to the north.

Very cool atmosphere !!

Cache Peak, ID

I had a fun hike this last weekend, Friday, October 16, 2009. I climbed Cache Peak, located in Southern Idaho. It is the tallest peak south of the Snake River in Idaho, standing at 10,339 ft. I have wanted to climb this mountain for a long time. I decided to do a solo climb. Honestly, I was pretty apprehensive about going by myself........getting stuck, mountain lions, turning an ankle, etc. To my luck, everything turned out okay. It was a very nice fall day.....sunny as ever, hardly any breeze. I decided to take the southwest route, following the description given at http://www.idahosummits.com/cache/cache.htm . Most people try to climb Mt Independence on the same day as Cache. Due to time constraints, I decided to just do Cache. I plan to return to climb Independence....in fact, I would like to approach it via the Independence Lakes trail to the north.

Trailhead was easy to find. The roads getting to the trailhead were very muddy, due to melting snow. I almost got stuck in a giant puddle. I hiked up this rangers trail to start. Very nice trail.

It wasnt long before I was hiking in snow.

This is a good picture of saddle between Independence (left) and Cache (right).

Another view of Cache

I loved this part of the hike. This is peering down into one of Independence lakes.

Once I got to the saddle area, the snow got deeper. I was wishing I would have packed my snowshoes.

It was awesome to finally see the cairn on top.

Getting closer.

In plain view now!

View from the summit. You can just see the tip of Independence.

Loved this view. City of Rocks to the south.

Mt Harrison/ Pomerelle area to the North

Looking directly east.

Summit shot by the cairn.

I really enjoyed the hike. It wasnt hard at all. The trail head is at roughly 8400 ft. The elevation gain is just under 2000 ft. From car to car, it took a little over 3 hours round trip.

It wasnt the same going by myself. It is so much more fun to share something like this with other people!!

Ben Lomond- May 2009

I went on an awesome hike with Michael Monson, my old roommate from BYU, and his friend, Dave Fawcett. We hiked to the top of Ben Lomond Peak, UT. I have always had an admiration for this mountain. My parents both grew up in the Pleasant View/North Ogden area. During family reunions at the Barker Family Park, I remebering seeing BL and thinking how awesome it is. One summer, my Aunt Mary Ann used to take us to the top of the Pole Patch and we would ride out bikes back down to their home in PV. I remember seeing the gullies on the south side of the mountain and wondering what it be like to climb.

Mike, Dave, and I met at the Fred Meyer parking lot in Ogden and traveled up to the trailhead near North Ogden Park (I think that is what it is called). Very nice trail! The switchbacks at the beginning seem to take a while to traverse, especially coming down.


This first picture is at near 7200 ft. Looking south toward Big Pine resevoir.

Ogden Valley from the Summit

Summit Marker

Mike and Dave on the Summit

Willard Peak to the North

It was a wonderful trip. I treated myself to some Taco Time afterwards and then made the trek back to Rupert.