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Show .- ; '.M : t . r V f , ; :- : , " . U r j I ' ':'.':7' !'--. : ' ;c s ' - -A 'i ;.;-''T- " i I ;.? ';..-'',. - " " " ' -: ',J-!!:t I ... j I S . - . -..iCvs-"- : . S i Danny Brinkerhoff, Tropic; Steve Barker, Henrieville; "Bay", Raymond Brinkerhoff, Tropic;, "Gus", and Clint Brinkerhoff were among 72 adventurers on annual pack trip, that took in 40 miles this year. We're not certain if the no-name dog went, too. Annual Pack Trip Celebrates 22 Years With 40-Mile Adventure By Ronnie Brinkerhoff Seventy-two fathers and sons gathered early Thursday morning March 23 at the Tropic LDS Ward church parking lot for the annual fathers fa-thers and sons pack trip, the largest group since the event began in 1973. What started out as a scouting scout-ing event 22 years ago now involves in-volves the Tropic, Henrieville and Cannonville Wards, with several participants joining in from Panguitch. Pan-guitch. The group included seasoned cowboys and first-timers, all eager for adventure: 40 miles of some of the most rugged and spectacular country in southeastern Utah. The entourage traveled by four-wheel four-wheel drive trucks and horse trail- ers to Wallace Ott's corrals on Rock Springs Ranch south of Koda- chrome Basin State Park. There they unloaded their horses and proceeded pro-ceeded on horseback across the top of Rock Springs, dropping down into Johnson's Hole, a wide canyon with towering white cliffs. The group followed the canyon to the Pahrcah River and to what is called Lone Rock, a large jutting boulder which sits in the middle of the creek bed. Names, carved long ago by cowboys and old timers passing tlirough decorated its surface. Following the Pahrcah, they stopped at Cracksprings. Several younger members of the group were excited to sec their greatgrandfather's great-grandfather's names, wr-tten some 75 years earlier in axle grease on a ledge. Moving on, they followed the same route used by ranchers and sheepmen to get in to their herds during winter months when the i snows were too deep in the higher country. After a quick lunch below Cracksprings, the group saddled up and rode on toward Mollie's (See Annual Pack Trip Celebrates 22 Years on Page 2A) Annual Trip Cites 22 Years From Page 1 Nipple. At the bottom of a trail that leads on to Deer Trails, they dismounted dis-mounted and led their horses up the steep, winding slick rock. Cherokee, Chero-kee, Skyler Syrett's horse, lost its footing and rolled down a 10-foot embankment, giving everyone a start. Cherokee was uninjured, but later, a second horse, a palomino filly owned by Mondell Syrett died, apparently with colic. The group arrived two hours later at Mollie's Nipple where camping gear and supplies had been hauled by vehicles into camp via U.S. 89 through Kanab. The weary riders relished a dinner of hamburgers ham-burgers and baked beans and quickly settled down for the night. Wind whipped against the tents as a light snow covered the sleeping camp. Next morning, Lucky Cox was first to arise, feeding the horses. After a hearty breakfast, the adventurers adven-turers saddled up and rode down to Kitchen Canyon. First stop was the Monkey. House. An earlier settler had built the house against a huge rock which some say resembled a baboon's head. Others claim the owner actually owned a monkey, hence Monkey House. The adventurers split, some rode to Starlight Cave to observe Indian pictographs and others visited "old Man Kitchen's" homestead, where the chimneys and walls made from the canyon's red rocks still stand. The second group visited a cave which "Dutch" Brinkerhoff, a Tropic resident now deceased, named the "Relief Society Gathering Place." Here Indian women of years ago ground their corn on a large flat table rock while they visited with one another. From here, the valley below lay open, the view panoramic and open to the watchful eye. Back at camp, the group enjoyed a delicious meal of Dutch oven mutton, potatoes and baked beans. Satisfied and happy, they gathered closely around a large campfire to listen to stories related by Stan Mecham and Charlie Francisco long into the night as snow fell lightly on them. Early after breakfast on Saturday morning , they broke camp and started the cold trip toward to-ward home . Back at Lone Rock, they took a different route, continuing continu-ing up the Pahreah River for four miles, criss-crossing the river 52 times before coming to Dry Valley. At noontime, Martin Ramsay and Franz Shakespear, spotting a large rat's of cottonwood twigs, set it on fire to warm up the chilled travelers. Everyone drew close to visit and eat lunch. Bishop Lonnie Pollock of the Tropic LDS Ward quipped, "What if the rat comes out of his hole?" to the laughter of the group. Suddenly, out of the fire came a huge smoking rat, running straight toward Vance "Jake" Pollock who screamed and took off running into the creek bed. The rat merely chuckled and crawled into another hole to cool off. The group arrived back in Tropic tired, sunburned, cold, glad to be home, but excited for next year's spring adventure. r'M'aaiiti!", n.,, ,.., i - |