By Giovanni Botta
Photo Courtesy of Tally Reynolds
Writer Tally Reynolds and myself, Giovanni Botta, had made plans for Spring Break that involved first traveling up north to Tooele for rock climbing then south to Escalante to camp on the desert. With us were our partners and Snow College students, Caitlynn Lyman and Archer Loertscher.
On the Friday that Spring Break began, we left for Tooele with plans on hiking and rock climbing in the area. It was quickly realized that these plans would fall through, however. As the weather was by no means favorable. Being, for the most part, snowed in, other ways of entertainment had to be found. This included card games, video games, and socializing with the family of Tally Reynolds who had been kind enough to let our group stay with them for the weekend.
While quiet, the weekend was still enjoyable and made a good enough start to the Spring Break. Our departure from Tooele led to Ephraim for a day to avoid driving five straight hours.
The next day the trip to Escalante was made where two more Snow Students joined us for camping. These being Chasey and Capri Lyman. It was dark by the time the campsite was found which made setting up fairly difficult but it was done. Despite the bitter cold and limited water, the desert was fun and filled with adventure. No buildings or roads were visible from the camp. One could walk for a long time without coming across anything besides massive rock formations.
The group made its way to said rock formations and found many arrowheads and moqui marbles along the way. Both nights there were spent by the fire avoiding the harsh cold of the desert night and making food that would keep us warm. One night was a mix of vegetables and ground beef wrapped in tin foil and cooked by the fire. The mistake was made of not wrapping them thoroughly so some became a little charred. The next night was the favorite of the group once it was made. It involved Snowdrift mutton in a Dutch oven over the fire and cooking in its own fat. Loertscher and I likely ate four pounds between the two of us.
An attempted second trip was made while in Escalante; which involved the group attempting to backpack to and camp by Escalante river. Unfortunately and comically, the group found itself about three miles off course and on the wrong side of a mountain. This ended in Lyman's mother picking the group up and driving us back to her house. This event wrapped up the trip and the drive back to Ephraim was made the next day. Tired and happy to shower and relax, Spring Break calmly winded down.