Thanks Guys! I always thought I was just weird for using UTM. At my job we have to use the lat and long with the decimal instead of feet and inches, but, I've always been more comfortable with UTM when hiking.

Sounds like Fred Blackburn's "Outdoor Mueseum" in Grand Gulch. Many of the items that he's found in there have been left by him. Well hidden, often in a baggie with a note to enjoy it and then return it to it's hiding place. You can find some of them, but you won't find them walking down the trails ...

I notice most people use the lat and longotude settings on their GPS, but, I've always found the UTM numbers easier to find my location on a map. Can someone explain the advantages of using the lat/longs over the UTM? Many of the compasses come with the UTM grids on the surrounding plate anymore for...

We were discussing that same issue and what was planned for the collection and storage of it. They are scheduled to be receiving the large amount of items confiscated in the raids around Blanding two years ago. What is expected to come from the FBI is expected to fill the storage they have. If you e...

I will get the links posted ASAP. And thanks for the heads up on the museum at Silver City. We try to hit them everywhere we can. Unfortunately, some of the best are in Chicago and New York. They have the greatest collections of Anasazi items, but much is in storage and is unavailable for viewing.

Yuo may want to read the book "Man Corn" by University of Northern Arizona professor Christy Turner. His area of expertise for the last 40 years is the violence and evidence of cannabilsim in the Southwest. The majority of cannabilsim seemed to show up after the advent of the Chaco culture. However ...

Just wanted to get the word out. I'm not sure how many have visited the Edge of the Cedaes museum in Blanding, Utah, but, it has made the short list of parks to be closed in Utah. This museum has one of the best collections of Anasazi pottery in the country. It houses most of the items that come out...

We've been using the MSR miniworks for about 3 years now. We typically use it for about four weeks a year, for groups of two to five at a time. We're still on the original filter and its a breeze to use in my opinion. If you lightly clean the filter on a regular basis, you should have no problems. I...

:y: My wife has tried to dehydrate probably everything. With usually pretty good results. However a word of caution: Do Not, and I do mean, Do Not dehydrate meatballs for your spaghetti! You could put them in water today to start rehydrating with the plan to eat them for Christmas dinner in 2012 and...

How were the ground conditions? Snow on the mesa tops? Just getting ready to go in a few weeks.

Thanks everyone for all the good ideas! I guess we'll need to spend some Quality time at REI now. That always ends up costing me a lot more than I had planned! There's just way too many neat things one of us thinks we Have to Have before the next trip. I do appreciate all the good ideas.

:wrt: Sandals might be the way to go! Has anyone tried those shoes with the individual toes in then? I found some tracks in a canyon of some, they looked like a barefoot until you looked closely and saw the sole indentations. I've seen them in the hiking shoe displays. We also had heard about Superf...

Tried that too. Very short, toes aren't hitting the ends of her boots. She went up a half size in boots to increase the space in the toe box, with no change in the results. Tried boot socks, thin socks and two layers with the same results. She has a very high arch. Would inserts help?

I'm not sure how to start this, but, every time we go hiking in the canyons of Utah, my wife ends up with very sore big toes. The nails will eventually turn black, like they were hit with a hammer. She's tried different boots, boot sizes, and socks. She will buy a pair of boots and wear them for mon...

Just got back. They got some vey heavy rains in Owl Canyon, most of the trail was washed out for the first couple miles, water every where! No one in the canyon but us.

Looks like they've got a flash flood watch out through Thursday evening. We're heading out Friday for 9 days. We always go in March, so its always been cool in the past. Oh well, a bad day on the trail beats a great day at work! After reading a post about reading materials, has anyone read much of C...

Thanks. It looked like some storms recently, but they can be so localized you never know. We went in this spring at Collins the week after you guys. Were able to go North all the way to Bullet before the snow got too deep. But talk about water! Polly's was like an oasis.

We're heading back down to Cedar Mesa at the end of September to hike the fish/owl canyon loop. Is anyone familiar with the water situation in those canyons? In the past we've always done Grand Gulch or the Comb, and just aren't to familiar as to what to expect as far as availabilty.