Muddy Creek...

On Tuesday of last week Dan Myers and I went to the San Rafael Reef and did the "Squeeze" which is the first canyon directly southwest of the muddy creek gorge. Part of the stipulation for our trip was speediness, so that we would not be gone from our wives for very long. Therefore we did not take many pictures in the canyon.

However, there were some sweet moments of photographic wonder. Here is a shot of the gorge that I particularly like.
The canyon itself was purely gorgeous, but pictures will have to come some other time.

Spanish Fork Reservoir
~

We went swimming last Friday at a new spot. It's pretty fun. A little crowded and not too big, but the water is wonderfully cold, and deep.

August 5, 2005

I just wanted to say sorry for not having any great adventures to post here since I made this blog. My wife is due in 2 months, and even camping is kinda difficult for her. She is my adventure buddy, so if she doesn't go, I really don't want to either. There has been one exception, where I took Eva and Devin through icebox canyon about a month and a half ago. But other than that, since I've been married to Sierra I haven't gone on any adventure by myself.

I never want to become one of those husbands who ditches his wife and kids for a week to go play with his buddies in some exotic place, and by exotic I mean freezing, snowy, and wonderfully windy. I think if there's an adveture worth having, its worth having with your loved ones.

This doesn't always work though. Sometimes I end up dragging people places that are actually much too difficult for their enjoyment, and thereby ruin the experience for them. And that really ruins the experience for me too. If I take someone to a place that I love, to do something that I love, hoping that they will love it too, it really breaks my heart when they end up not loving it. Its like sharing your testimony with a friend, only to have them later become and anti-mormon.

Now that Sierra is pregnant, I think the likelyhood of this occurence is much stronger than before. So far in our marriage she has been so patient with me and has loved every place I've dragged her...but I need to use discretion.

So I think that if extreme circumstances warrant, I'll take a trip every now and then to some crazy place without my wife. Like in October when Dan comes back from Kiev and we do Heaps Canyon in Zion like crazy fools...! (...just kidding Dan, we can do whatever you want, but I doubt you want to freeze to death in the pitch black of that place...)

Anyhow, excuses aside, expect some cool pics or postings within a week.

Art

My Wife

Here are a few pictures of my wonderful wife Sierra. I argue that she is the most beautiful girl ever. There are some great girls out there, some of which I am priveledged to be friends with and some who are my sisters, but Sierra takes the cake. Tell me if you agree, or in other words, tell me how good your eyesight is. :)

MBHC

I would here like to mention what MBHC stands for. A quick Google search on the internet will give you Miami Behavioral Health Center and Mennonite Brethren something something along with much more. Unfortunately none of these are correct.

The real meaning of the acronym MBHC is "Mount Baker Hard Core"... It refers to a rare breed of human that resides mostly in the vicinity of the North Cascades with some subspecies being migratory for various reasons. And there is also an extremely rare case where individuals are born in entirely different environments, and have possibly never been to the North Cascades, but their DNA code contains all the right elements and its only a matter of time before they develop into a mature specimen.

The first person to categorize the MBHC was definitely not me. I'm not exactly sure how far it goes back. I first heard the expression from my good friend Nathan Walker, and he might know the original source. He might actually be the original source. Others who might know include Pete and Austin Gallant, Kipton Nichols, and Zack Smith.

If you have ever been skiing or snowboarding at the Mount Baker Ski Resort on a very stormy day, just before you headed in early you might have glimpsed through the fog and the wind some lone skier cruising down the steeps. Then the vision passes, the clouds swirl about you, and you remember that you fingertips are in the beginning stages of frostbite, so you head down to the lodge. What you saw up there was an MBHC.

Thriving in condition that most other humans despise, the MBHC come out in the worst of all storms. They are also known for their physical prowess, most of the time being too fast to observe for very long. They climb, snowshoe, mountain bike (ethically), kayak, and of course ski, telemark included. Sometimes there are snowboarders, but those are a select few in that most would-be MBHC snowboarders are seduced by the more punkish crowd that prefer a hamburger in the lodge to an icy blast of sleet on the mountain top. The migrant species are somewhat different, involving activities like canyoneering, surfing, and so forth.

There is much more involved with the MBHC, such as environmental awareness, loyalty to the other MBHC, and a cunning that far surpasses even most physics professors. The underlying foundation is the same in all MBHC. It can even be observed simply in everyday attitude. But for the sake of brevity, let it stand that the name is for real, not just for fun. So now you have somewhat of an idea of what MBHC means.

SIERRA


Here is a shot of my wife and car. Its too bad the mountain in the background is just Timp and not Shuksan or Baker... But the focal point is that beautiful woman in the red sweater. Sierra Rachel Brown. She is one of those rare cases of MBHC that has never actually seen Mount Baker. But nobody worry, the day is fast approaching when she will see that wonderful place and I am confident the urge will hit her like a ton of bricks to head up and go live for two weeks in a snowcave on the slopes of that blessed mountain, and then return many times.

But even if that weren't to happen quite exactly in that manner, I would still love her a ton! And I think the one person in the world who would qualify for an honorary MBHC title would have to be her. Trust me, she is amazing!

DAN MYERS


This is Dan. He is definitely MBHC, but he has yet to come with me on a crazy trip through the North Cascades. There are few guys I know that are as fast, tough, smart, or as cool as this guy right here. And there are definitely none cooler!

TELIA


Here is Sierra's sister Telia, towards the end of Quandary Canyon in the San Rafael Reef in southern Utah. Telia is one tough cookie, and depending on her love of snow, she might very well be another MBHC without even knowing it.

She is posing in this shot, not painfully dangling on the verge of consciousness.

GAYLEEN, MY SISTER

My Bro "P"

Let me just say a little bit about this young gentleman. He is smart, funny, smart, athletic, smart, daring, and did I mention smart? Yeah, well, he is. I hate to admit it, but despite my double major in Math and Physics, Phillip will end up being about 100 times smarter than I am. Luckily I'm still faster and stronger than he is...wink, wink:) However, something that might interests the ladies in him over me is the fact that he's still single...Haha! Here are a few more pictures:

THE BIG W

RANDOM PICTURES

Here are some pictures I like, and that either my wife
or I took with our own camera.

The butterfly was in rock canyon, along with the waterflow, which is Rock Canyon Creek at a raging torrent of 10 cfs.








The sunset is at a friends cabin at
Brighton.

Then comes me in the famous
“kitchen” trying to get past a
pretty tough overhang. It certainly
feels great to wonder
how your wife is belaying you
while taking your picture.



My two brothers are in the next
picture, Wayne and Phillip
(P for short, who is the creator
of the sting of pearls…)




The Manti Temple is really pretty,
especially when its over-exposed.
But hey, won’t that pretty much be
what the celestial kingdom is like
anyway?




Finally comes Baptist Draw in the San Rafael Reef,
and Bridal Veil falls, up Provo Canyon.

Enjoy!

me


Here is me in Japan, teaching them how to "grass sled" MBHC style. Yes, that is a necktie, and no, that isn't a fake shot. I really am getting about 10 feet of air. A Nihonjin friend of mine tried the same thing and sliced a 6 inch gash in the top of his hand. Ganbatte Ishida Choro!

advice...

if you end up in some motel in boise, do your best...