The Gulch 2010 – Day 0

Who’s Who?

• Reid Priedhorsky – fearless leader (me); Boston.
• Erin Tatge – my lovely wife; Boston.
• Sara Tatge McCarty – Erin’s sister; Crawfordsville, Indiana.
• Kurt Luther – Reid’s friend from grad school; Atlanta.
• Kelly Caine – Kurt’s friend from grad school; Bloomington, Indiana.
• Pete Wiringa – Reid and Russ’ friend from college; Minneapolis.
• Russ Grandgeorge – Reid and Pete’s friend from college; Portland, Oregon.
• Ben Miller – Reid’s friend from grad school; Minneapolis. His name means “one who mills”.

This trip had a peculiarity: Erin, Pete, Russ, Ben, and I would stay out for the full eight days, while Sara, Kurt, and Kelly would hike out on Day 5 to meet certain “real world” obligations.

The first order of business was to get everyone from where they were to fabulous Salt Lake City, Utah.

Erin and I had flown in the night before (it’s hard to get a flight from Boston to points west and arrive before mid-afternoon) and picked up our rental minivan. The morning was spent picking folks up from the airport, having breakfast, shopping, and generally having a good time. Kurt rented a second vehicle, completing our fleet.

After lunch at a rather odd suburban food court near our hotel, we set out for shopping, and then it was time for packing and repacking. It turned out that Kurt would need a different sleeping bag, so he, Kelly and I went on an expedition to REI. Fortunately, this was successful and fairly quick.

We then re-grouped for a pre-trip celebration dinner.

After that, it was early to bed so we could wake early and get on the road.

Please continue reading on Day 1.