It was the hottest weekend of the year with temperatures reaching up to 113 degrees in Zion, so we decided to flee the scene and spend the weekend in our favorite spot, Great Basin. We were meeting Uncle Paul up there, so it was sure to be a fun time. This would be Conrad's first camping trip and thus we were nervous for how it would go down with a 7 month old kid. We drove up first to pick the campsite. We chose to camp in Upper Lehman Creek, so the kids did not have to deal with the effects of the altitude as having a small child, it was impossible for us to figure out how they were feeling.
We got there early in the morning and drove around until we found the perfect site. I picked it out and Jacqueline was unsure about it at first, but after a while, she determined that it was probably the best spot. We had a creek running in the back of the campsite to keep the beer cold and some shade built in to fight the heat. It definitely was not as hot here as it would have been in Zion, but it was not cool. Getting camp set up took some time, but we found a shady spot to put the tent. Then the four of us went for a short hike up the Lehman Creek Trail.
We could not be too ambitious as we let Zyla walk. She did pretty well moving uphill for a time, but got easily distracted and thus we did not make it incredibly far. Still it was good to do a little bit of hiking. When we got back, it was not long before Uncle Paul showed up. He brought his dog Flynn. The kids were excited to see Flynn and we had a fun evening hanging out at camp. The kids did pretty well sleeping with Conrad being in the Pea Pod for the first time. All in all, a decent night's sleep considering the conditions.
The next morning, we got going semi early which was good. Our goal was to go out to the National Forest and hike the Hendry's Creek trail. This was a trail that went to the top of Mt. Moriah, a mountain that I anxiously wanted to climb. It would not happen on this trip, unfortunately, but this was a good trail because of Flynn since he could not hike in the National Park. It was disappointing to not get to spend our days hiking in Great Basin since we loved the alpine nature of the hiking, but it was good to try another area. From the beginning, though, we knew that this was not the right trail to choose for a day like today.
The oppressive heat was bearing down on us in this open, exposed trail. The heat was overwhelming. All parties involved made a good effort to continue moving through the heat, but at every creek crossing, Flynn had to stop to get water. By the time that we made it to the trees and greenery of the hike, it was now time to turn around as the heat had taken its toll on all of us. To top it all off, the hike had a large amount of poison ivy growing all over. We did our best to keep ourselves, the kids and doggy Flynn from touching it, but it added another element of risk to an already heat exhausting hike.
We did get some lunch under a shady tree and then headed back to the trailhead. It was not the greatest choice of hikes, but still I was happy to be there and glad that we experienced what the trail was like. We made it back to camp and the cold beer really was refreshing. We did our best to keep our kids cool until it was time for bed. Just around dark, our friend Dan came by who worked at Great Basin. We spent the evening hanging out and playing Catan. Dan seemed to show up at just the right time as everyone was getting a little grumpy with one another. He brought a renewed enthusiasm to the group and it made for a fun evening. The next morning, it was up early and driving back to Zion and the overwhelming heat, feeling happy that we got the family out for an enjoyable weekend camping.
