Living Earl: Ruth Lake

One of my finer qualities is that I am perpetually late. It doesn't matter really what it is, if I plan to be there at a certain time I am 15 minutes late. I think the only things I am ever on time to are bike races and work... most of the time. Throwing my gear in the back of the truck I made the rounds picking up our crew and we made our way to the Uintas. It was Robbie, Brett, Eric, and Sara, who would accompany me on this trip. The destination was Ruth Lake situated about a mile off of the Mirror Lake Highway.

Packing in was made more eventful thanks to Robbie and his thousand pound 7 man springbar tent. I ended up carrying it after deciding that having two people take a handle isn't very "efficient" on a single track trail. It was a short walk to where we set up camp. I threw up my hammock and everyone got their tent situation squared away before we headed up for some climbing.

The Uintas provided some amazing views and some awesome rock. I can't pick out any route in particular that was my favorite because they all were fun. Even the easy routes were the type that just made me feel glad to be able to call this great sport a hobby. As dusk drew on we decided to head back to camp. I guess I took some magical shortcut through time because I left last and made it back first. I even had time to try to make it look like I had been there forever.

Mosquitoes are ever present in the Uintas. Living in a fog of "OFF" and smoke from the fire are the only ways to find sanctuary from the little suckers around dusk. They didn't make using the rest room that comfortable either... if you notice me scratching my butt the next few days you will know why.

Before I knew it the campfire talk was done and I was in my hammock looking up at a cloudless sky full of stars (this may very well be the first trip this year it didn't rain on). It was a comfortable night with only a few interludes spurred by bugs doing fly by's. I felt as annoyed as the guy on "Top Gun" that spilled his coffee when Maverick buzzed the tower. I wish I felt satisfied when I killed a mosquitoe... I feel a little better when I catch them about to bite me, but if you catch them in the act and you smash them its your blood that comes out and then you still get the itch so there is no real satisfaction. Those blue bug lights are the only real way I feel satisfied watching them die... is that weird?

Awaking to Eric and Sara making a fire to get breakfast going I struggled free from my sleeping bag and sat down to make a bowl of dinosaur egg oatmeal... it has eggs in it that turn into dinosaurs when you add water.

The Climbing was insanely good. I loved every second of it. Eric had a strong day throwing up this awesome 5.11 that had some way fun moves. We all climbed, froze in the shade, and cooked in the sun. Eric had a pretty big fall when leading that 11. The trip was a success, and once we had our fill of climbing we packed up and made the short hike out. I was once again accompanied by the tent made of lead. The only damper on the trip was that we didn't really notice the toll booth on the side of the road and we ended up with a 75 dollar ticket. sucks. That will hurt my already thin wallet... but I suppose you can't put a price on fun.