You’re familiar with the saying, “Don’t take for granted
what you have today because tomorrow it just might not be there.” Sadly, we were about to experience this adage
first hand. Little did we know that five
days after hiking Sandstone Mountain, with Tom and “The Crew,” we would be
mourning the loss of our hiking buddy, Chipper, to an inoperable blockage.
How is it possible that such an active athletic young boy
could be gone so quickly? I guess you
can understand that as we reminisce on this Sunday afternoon hike, our hearts break
as we are reminded that this would be our last adventure with him. When we look out our home office window and see
Sandstone Mountain it will always hold a special place in our hearts for it is
here we would share our last hike with our beloved dog!
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| Fresh snow on the Pine Valley Mountains make for a nice contrast against the red rocks |
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| Our plan is to head for the saddle, directly above Tom's head |
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| So far, so good |
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| Fun rocks to see along the way |
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It was a pretty steep and rocky
Tom led the way with Chipper on his tail |
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Cool rock
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| Fun shapes |
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| So many interesting rocks |
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At the saddle and getting ready to make our final push to the summit
(It looks worse than it really was . . . actually, it was fairly easy just weaving in and out of boulders)
As you can see, Chipper really liked to hike . . . he always amazed us with his athleticism! |
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Notice Chipper . . . he liked to follow right behind Tom . . . like a shadow . . .
"Hey, this guy knows where we're going!" |
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| Taking a breather . . . we're almost there! |
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Up on top
Chipper enjoyed a much needed drink of water . . . boy, could the dog drink! |
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The views from the top were amazing in every direction
(Looking west toward Leeds and the Pine Valley Mountains)
Notice Chipper munching on ice from a frozen pool of water |
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| Looking east toward Zion and LaVerkin |
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| Interesting designs in the sandstone |
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On the way down we decided to make a loop and look for Regal Arch
It took some searching, but we found it . . . a little underwhelming! |
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A bittersweet picture!
Heading back to the trailhead with Chipper leading the way . . .
So long Chipper Boy! |
