Barely two weeks after youth conference, we saddled up one Wednesday afternoon and got out of Dodge for our second annual Big Questions camp. Six priests, two adults, two more guest adults, and two 10-11 year olds.
We went up the Mirror Lake highway to Sulphur Campground. Same place as last year. Probably even the same bull moose as last year. Went right through our camp.
Campfires were a big part of the camp. Here, Hunter shows us his award-winning perfectly golden-brown marshmallow.
The first day we headed for the high ground. Bald Mountain stands 11,952 feet above mean sea level. Going to the top was like walking up stairs for an hour and a half. Very uneven and rocky stairs. Miah, who nearly destroyed his foot 20 weeks ago went up on crutches. This made it very hard for anyone else to properly complain about the hike.
At the top, the boys were drawn to the edge.
They stayed there long enough to get thoroughly burned in the thin air.
Many attempts were made to fashion cairns tall enough to get to an even 12,000 feet.
Then there were the boulder caves to be explored. You can't tell, but all five boys are behind Clark in the hole to his left.
After the hike to the peak, we decided to cool off in the Upper Provo Falls. This turned out to be mostly hiking around in the water barefooted.
This is not as close to the falls as it looks, but I'm totally going to blackmail him with this picture. His parents would be mortified.
They also found more high spots, and got more sunburned.
One of the key objectives of the trip was to have the boys plan the menu, plan the shopping list, complete with quantities, plan the gear and utensils, prepare and cook the meals and clean up. It worked great. It took us a couple of hour-long sessions to plan the menus, and another session and three orders of cheese fries to plan the shopping list, but they did it and they got it.
The second day we spent fishing. We did not really spend it catching, but we spent it fishing. When anyone asked me if I had any luck I always said I did. With that vista, I was not lying, even though catches were few.
Jaxson felt the same way.
Cooking was coached ably by Miah, and the meals were excellent, proving Terisa's theory that when the food is good, the activity cannot fail. Did you know that 4 pounds of bacon is barely enough to feed 12 people? Even with hash browns, eggs, sausage and pancakes? Fact.
Mouths were stuffed. Stomachs were full. Campers were sated.
One of our key activities was to have campfire activities and talk about important stuff. Favorite scriptures, favorite scriptural characters, Big Questions. Some of them philosophical, some practical.
On the way home Saturday we stopped at the Kamas fish hatchery and got a tour of the facilities that produce a million planter fish every year. Pretty impressive. We asked for samples. They declined.
We ended on Saturday with bacon burgers from the Uinta Grille in Kamas. But you already know what that looks like. Another fun time, another return with all limbs and digits intact. Success!
Which was fortunate, because when I got home, out-of-towners were already gathering for Part 3, Grace's baptism.
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