Murdock Mountain Expedition

It’s Hard. After Jeremiah Johnson and my side of the mountain and Red Dawn and Touching the Void; after Dances with Wolves and Wild America with Marty Stouffer and too many movies and TV shows to name. After Aaron Ralston, Scott O'Grady, Les Stroud; after all that it is hard for anyone to just hit the Wilderness without some plans or expectations about how the trip will go and what exactly you will encounter.  

What most of us want from being in the wilderness is adventure. And what exactly is adventure? An unpredictable experience? Managing yourself in a situation that is ultimately beyond your control?

Take JD Buxton. After purchasing a 40 year old Thiokol Spryte, after spending 3 to retrofit and restore life to this dormant beast. He, Jason Richter and I hit the trail for a winter camping trip into the Uintah Mountains.

Any camping trip is going to feel longer than you think it will. You will get tired and you will not be able to find a bed exactly when you are ready to sleep. You won’t be able eat exactly when you get hungry.

Lift riders like to complain about how slow the chairs move or how crowded the lift lines are. What I like most about the backcountry is how long it takes to get anywhere. In the backcountry travel is much slower. And unlike resorts no burgers or hot chocolate will be served. No ski patrol to watch out for your safety. No boundary lines to tell you where the dangers loom. In the backcountry you are largely left alone with your thoughts.

We all have thoughts about where we have been but mostly we just think about the places we where headed.

We camped deep in the backcountry, just below the summit of Murdock Mountain. This was our experiment, our expedition to see if this type of backcountry camping would work.

"God bless this ship and all who travel in her" Jd officially christened this vessel "Ullr"



The Journey Begins

We traveled along the

Mirror Lake Hwy

for about 15 miles until we reached the Pass.



Views from the pass



 

Once we reached the pass we turned of the hwy and headed toward Mount Murdock. We set up camp in a grove of trees just below the summit.

The story goes that [Ullr] was such a cunning wizard that he used a certain bone, which he had marked with awful spells, wherewith to cross the snow, and that by this bone he passed over the snow that barred his way as quickly as by flying.



After we set up camp we decided to go out for a little night exploration.





 

During the night it snowed pretty consistently. The next morning was cold! After breakfast we headed out to the peak of mount Murdock. We made a few runs form there and then headed off to see what else we could find to ski.

"Ullr is such a good ski-runner that no one can rival him. He is beautiful to look at as well and he has all the characteristics of a warrior. It is also good to call on him in duels"



Jd Buxton droppin' it like it's hot. We found a scenic overlook that had some fun cliffs and untracked turns.





Bond & Jd Buxton making fresh turns and turning this wonderland into a playground for big kids.



Bond “Staightnin' the curves. Flatnin’ the hills. Someday the mountain might get 'em, But the law never will. Makin' [his] way. The only way [he] know how.”



"Ullr’s favour shall be upon thee"

(Bond & Jason Richter. Bald Mountain)