 April 2025 Recap!April had a lot of highs and some lows. The month was filled with adventure, crazy weather changes, and unfortunately a cold in between. My body was really pushed this month and I definitely paid for it too. Sometimes, when you mentally don’t want to slow down, your body tells you too which is hard for me. (I’m sure others can relate) This past month, I hiked 10x, backpacked 1 weekend, visited the Grand Tetons and Reflection Canyon, hosted my parents for a week, went to the Red Butte Garden and saw the cherry blossoms at the Utah Capitol Building, and was sick for 1 week. It was a lot but a ton of memories were made at the same time too. I’m ready for more consistent warm weather and to start taking my board out to the lake and reservoirs soon. I definitely miss stand up paddle boarding. I have some goals going into the summer and hoping to do more peaks in Salt Lake City, hike to some cool alpine lakes, and of course do some camping and backpacking trips. I’m ready for a summer filled with new adventures! Let me know what your plans are for the summer months coming up! Xoxo Kimmy
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My 1st Backpacking Adventure: Reflection CanyonI am going to break this adventure up into 4 parts! The drive, trail conditions, our destination, and then the final stretch! So let's dive into it! Part 1: The Drive So let’s start with the drive to the trailhead. You’re probably wondering why would I talk about the drive to the trailhead? Well let me explain something, this isn’t an easy drive so I just want to inform you before you go so you’re prepared and ready. When you split off of route 12 and turn onto hole in the rock road it is a long drive on a dirt road that is not so bad in the beginning but as you progress the road continues to get more bumpy, more rocky, and more twisty and steep. It takes around 55 miles to get to this trail head from Escalante and the dirt road portion is like 50 miles of it! (No joke) As you can see there are some beautiful views along the way, thank goodness, because it helps distract you from all the bumpy terrain you have to drive through. The first half of the drive was not too bad but once we got past hurricane wash trailhead the road turned into a straight on off road, slow crawling drive. There were much more steeper roads and way more rocks to get through. Unfortunately, we got a flat tire on the way there with only 7 miles left to get to the trailhead! Our friends were ahead of us and so I had to flag down this nice group of people to let them tell our friends we had gotten a flat and would be a minute to meet up with them. 45 minutes later and we were back on the road and we slowly crawled our way to the trailhead. With a sense of relief we collected ourselves for the journey and got our selves and our packs ready for the hike. So some takeaways…make sure you have a spare tire or two for this road! Download your maps ahead of time because there is no service out there and honestly we were happy we went with people in case we did get a second flat. This dirt road drive took us 3 hours because of the flat coming in but also on the way out we babied our spare tire like no other since we knew we had to get home on Sunday too. Thank goodness we didn’t get a flat coming out and we made it all the way back home safely. Part 2: The Trail Conditions Well we got through the drive and now we’re on the trail! (Btw make sure to pick up a permit at the hurricane wash trailhead and keep it on you throughout the journey if someone asks for it) I’m gonna talk about the first part of the trail in this post and then the final destination and camp set up on the next. We got our 35-40 lbs. backpacking packs on for this 8 mile one way journey through the desert landscape. The trail is up and down the whole way and moderately challenging just based on the distance and the amount we were carrying. Some people will do this trail in one day (16 miles) but we decided to backpack it and split it up into two so we could enjoy the canyon longer. You’re probably wondering…um Kimmy why are your packs so heavy for just an overnight?! Oh well let me tell you, there is no water source to get to on this trail so we had to pack 8 L each! A Liter is 2.2 lbs. so if you do the math half our pack was just water weight! And yes you want that much because it gets hot out there and there’s like no shade. For the beginning of April it was already hitting the upper 80s so we were sweating a lot more plus we needed water for our meals. Moving along, the trail is very easy to follow up to mile 6 then after that you are traversing and following rock cairns through a wild boulder landscape. Again, it was helpful to have our AllTrails map downloaded before hand just to make sure we were on track since there’s no service out there. I will say the last two miles did feel a bit more difficult because it is much more up and down and navigating through the boulders and we were already tired by then so take your time, stop when you find shade and continue when you’re ready. Part 3: Our Destination-Reflection Canyon THE final destination! Reflection canyon is beyond breathtaking and really these photos just don’t do justice. It really is one of those places you need to see in person to fully experience it. You can see the boulder terrain we had to cover in some of the photos and then boom before you know it you come up to the canyon. But before me made it, we decided to set up camp first. We scouted around for a while since we needed to find a place that had some shelter from the wind. I had heard the winds were gnarly there but I didn’t realize how strong they really could be. I would say we would get up to 30 mph wind gusts or more at times. We found a spot that we thought was enclosed enough so we started to put our tent up and bam! Before you know it, our tent poles snapped from one big gust of wind. Nick and I looked at each other and if the flat tire wasn’t enough, the tent was now the cherry on top! We scrambled to take it down and find a new spot that had more protection. We went a little further out and finally found a spot of trees that were giving us much better protection from the wind and we set up camp there. I would say it was about .3 miles away from the canyon overlook. Luckily I had some medical tape in our first aid kit so we used that to fix our tent poles and I am happy to say the tent held up throughout the night! (We also found some big rocks around to help keep our tents secure too, so use what you can in the environment you’re in) After we set up, we decided to head over to the main event and take lots of photos and video plus we had our dinner on the cliff edge and watched the sunset! It was probably the best dinner view I’ve ever had. We really lucked out because the sky turned orange, pink, and purple. Plus the swirly clouds made it even more magical. It really made you forget about all the challenges you faced today go away! (Aweee) After the sun set, we packed up and headed back to camp for the night. We slept pretty good considering the conditions and wind still buzzing around us. Part 4: The Final Stretch Back Home We got up around 6 am, quickly got ready and made our way back to the canyon overlook for sunrise. Again the beautiful clouds were there and the colors were just so magical. We soaked in the sunrise for a good hour before heading back to camp to pack up and head out. We were all feeling a bit sore and tired but we made the trek back successfully! It felt a bit easier with less lbs. to carry back but the heat was definitely harsher coming back. We had no blockage from the sun whereas Saturday we had some cloud coverage come and go to help. (On the trek back I ran into a snake too which freaked me out but luckily it wasn’t a rattle snake! Phew!) We finally got back to the parking lot and made the drive back, like I said before we were nervous with our spare tire on the truck but we took our time even more on the way back and successfully made it home in one piece. For my first backpacking trip, I gotta say this definitely was a big one to tackle. As we were driving back my husband said, “I see a trend in you this year with putting us through the challenges” and all I could say back was “whelp we moved here to challenge ourselves and experience new things, so here's to getting stronger!” Would you add this trip to your backpacking bucket list?! Let me know! Xoxo Kimmy Our Grand Canyon Adventure!Overall Experience: THE Grand Canyon trip! And let me just say what a wild weekend!!! Between the gnarly weather, rv problems, rough driving conditions, and long hikes; this trip was truly an adventure. Nick and I didn’t realize that the south rim is at 7,000 elevation! Which meant we had to stop more along the way to fill up on gas since we were climbing with our rv the whole time and when we got to Trailer Village RV Park in the national park the weather was pure snow and ice coming down! Just when I thought going south for my birthday would be smart; it was worse conditions than where we came from. We have lots of stories from this trip but let’s just say we made it in one piece, had to deal with a lot of rv problems but eventually solved them all throughout the weekend, and still had a great time hiking on top and throughout the canyon with our friends and pups! I will say I did really love seeing the grand canyon in the snow and I couldn’t believe how much wildlife we saw too! It was a great birthday trip that I’ll never forget and I’m so grateful my friends from AZ were able to join even with the harsh conditions they had to endure to get there too! Overall, I do recommend going to the Grand Canyon, just be aware of the weather conditions, pack all essential gear to be on the safe side, and honestly it was nice going during the off season since it was less crowded! Listed below are the trails we completed so make sure to add these ones to your itinery. Upper South Rim trails and Ohh Ahh Point: Since you know we had a gnarly night with horrible weather and rough driving conditions we ended up sticking to the rim trails at the Grand Canyon National Park for the first two days. The rim trails allowed us to bring our pups on the trail which was fun! Normally, you can’t bring your dogs into a lot of national parks so this was nice that we were able to do this. The rim trails are paved and easily accessible for all ages and all hiking ability. You get great panorama views of the Grand Canyon and you can get a good amount of mileage in on this trail. It was around 12-13 miles total to do the whole south rim at the top overlooking into the canyon. After our friends departed, Nick and I squeezed ooh ahh point in at the end of my birthday on Sunday. I really wanted to get into the canyon so we strapped on our spikes and did a quick hike to ooh ahh point off the south kaibab trail. This was only a 2 mile hike so it wasn’t too bad after already hiking 6 miles that morning. The rim trails are great but once you actually get inside the canyon it really changes perspectives and you seriously feel like an ant. The canyon is so massive and so deep! It has sooo many layers and it was amazing to see. We were super excited that the next day we were going deep into the canyon to fully experience which I’ll share on my next post. *Note if you do go to the Grand Canyon when there’s snow and ice please please please bring spikes to throw on! You can’t believe the amount of people we saw going into the canyon without them and they had no grip, kept sliding around, and or even falling over! And let me tell you, there’s no railings in there! So be smart and safe yall and or just stick to the rim trails if you don’t have spikes!* Ooh ahh point was a great trail if you want something easy and actually a trail that takes you into the canyon. Just remember to bring the right gear with you. These hikes were great and fun to do that were more easy and yet had amazing views of the canyon so add them to your list if you plan to go there soon! Bright Angel Trail to South Kaibab Trail: Nick and I wanted to really explore the canyon before leaving the next day so we decided to do the Bright angel trail. Which is normally a 16 mile trail that goes out and back but unfortunately we ran into a hiccup….Construction! Say what?! In the canyon?! Yes! They had multiple trails closed off which meant we had to take the detour route which actually was nice too and made it a loop trail. We took bright angel trail to east tonto trail to south Kaibab trail. This ended up being around 16 miles and just under 4500 elevation gain. We went from ice/snow to muddy conditions to dry desert, and right at the end we got 30 mph winds! It was a wild ride weather wise. Luckily we had all the right gear with us because the amount of tourists we saw without it was nail biting and made us so anxious at the top because everyone was slipping and sliding on the ice! (And let me tell you there aren’t any railings in the canyon!) We did this trail in 7 hours and I will say though the views were incredible! We even saw a long horn sheep too! This was definitely a tough trail for us and we were sore for a couple of days afterwards but to really get a great understanding of this canyon I'm so glad we knocked this one out! So what's it going to be? Are you willing to take on the Grand Canyon and add it to your list of trips?! XOXO Kimmy March 2025 Recap!Birthday month was a success!! Woo Hoo!! I told my friends the one big thing I wanted to do this month was go on a winter wonderland adventure and boy did they pull through for me! While I was looking back at my March photos, I realized how many new places I went, how many new activities I tried, and how many new people I met this month! It truly was an adventure full birthday month and I couldn’t be more grateful. I completed 3 snowshoe hikes, 10 hikes, and 1 cross country ski. I also traveled to the Grand Canyon in Arizona where I celebrated my birthday with friends, and met some new ladies on our group hikes! It was a jam packed month! I definitely got all my birthday wishes come true and more all in 1 month! Now spring is here and our weather has been up and down and everywhere in between but I do have a lot of exciting plans for April already that I can’t wait to share with you. I’ll be going back to some familiar places and doing brand new things I’ve never done before! (Really getting out of my comfort zone but when an opportunity presents itself to you, you jump on it and say YES!) I hope you had a fabulous March and I hope you’re starting to plan for your spring and summer adventures coming up! xoxo Kimmy Do You Know What Skijoring Is?!In February, Nick and I attended our first skijoring event in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah! This event was free to watch and attend and it had great booths, kids activities, line dancing, food trucks, the main event skijoring of course, and a great DJ to keep it upbeat and lively! But what is skijoring?! Skijoring is a winter sport where a skier or snowboarder is pulled by a horse, dog, or motorized vehicle. The word "skijoring" comes from the Norwegian word skikjøring, meaning "ski driving." (Sounds crazy right!) Well the event we attended, the athletes were pulled behind a horse. The skiers and snowboarders had to hold onto a rope and go through obstacles and jumps along the way. They are all competing for the fastest time and extra points for amazing tricks off the jumps! There were both female and male athletes that participated in the event and all of them were amazing! The crowd got to choose the winner but it was just so amazing to see all these athletes perform. (This is not your normal sporting event haha!) If you’re up to see a different type of rodeo this winter, check out a skijoring event near you. There are lots of cities in Utah that put on this event and I would highly recommend attending. I'm sure other states put on this event as well since it is becoming very popular. The vibes are great, the fashion is fabulous, and the energy is high! So dust off those cowboy boots and hat, and hop over to your local skijoring event! XOXO Kimmy February 2025 Recap!Another quick month again filled with friends, adventures, and winter activities! This month was a blast of energy and I was all about it. Like I said last month, winter has a new meaning and appreciation for me and I love it! This past month, I had a friend come visit us for 4 days, we soaked in a natural hot spring, I snowshoed 5x, hiked 10x, skied 2x (Nick has been dealing with a bad back so we had to put this on hold for awhile), and we saw our first skijoring event in downtown Salt Lake City, UT. February was filled with fun new activities and I was so happy to share these moments with my spouse, friends, and pups! I even learned how to waterproof my gear this month and I learned when to use spikes vs. snowshoes which I wrote about in the blog under the "Gear" section. I hope your February was just as fun as mine, and I hope during these winter months you can find the joy in the cold air and snow. My advice for these months is to try something new, start a new hobby, and invite your friends to join in and you'll see how magical winter really is! XOXO Kimmy January 2025 Recap!Happy New Year! Wow, what a month! And let me just clarify, I have never said this about January before (sorry I'm not sorry)! January has always been that long month that is cold, gray, and honestly a bit depressing. I usually want January to go by as fast as possible, but now that I live in a state that is full of life in the winter my perspective has totally changed. I've never been so busy in winter and I'm not mad about it at all! Utah has offered us skiing, snowshoeing, snow tubing, winter hiking, hot springs, and soon I am going to try xc skiing. Every week, Nick and I have been doing something so fun, active, and NEW! We have been learning and experiencing all that winter has to offer and we couldn't be more thrilled. We can see why certain people are winter lovers over summer now. This past month, I completed 12 hikes, skied 3 times, snow tubbed once, and visited a hot spring! I almost forgot to mention but some of the hikes I went on led to some of the most beautiful frozen waterfalls I have ever witnessed! This month will definitely be remembered and I can't wait to keep these activities up next month. I hope the new year has been a great start for you too! Get out and explore your surrounding area and try something new this year. Make some goals and go after it. Recreate responsibly and leave no trace. You got this! XOXO Kimmy  Review of Loyd Park in Grand Prairie, TXLocation: Grand Prairie, Texas off of Joe Pool Lake Lodging Options: Campsites, Yurts, Cabins, or Lodge On-Site Attractions: Boat Ramp and Dock, Beaches, Fishing areas, Hiking and Biking Trails, Equestrian Trails, Watercraft rentals, and Playground Amenities: Bathrooms, Showers, Charcoal grills, Fire rings, Concrete Pads, Picnic Pavilions, Water, 30-amp and 50-amp service, Full hook-up sites, Free Wi-Fi, Camp store, and Golf cart rentals Fees: Check the park website for all the different fees for entry and accommodations (loydpark.com) Personal Notes: If you live in the DFW area and are looking for a great little getaway, Loyd Park is a wonderful option. We camped at Loyd Park for a weekend and we were really impressed by all the amenities. The campsites were well kept, spacious, cozy, and had all the amenities and hook ups that we needed. We enjoyed hiking the Joe Pool Lake Trail, kayaking on Joe Pool Lake, and hanging at our campsite with our friends. The only downfalls I had about this park is that I could hear a lot of car traffic from the highways, and there was a lot of light pollution since it's still in the DFW area. Overall, I was very happy that it was so close to home and still felt like a great weekend out in the woods! I would recommend checking out this park and adding it to your bucket list for places to camp in DFW. *Check out my pictures below from our weekend camping trip at Loyd Park!* Top 10 Hikes in Dallas-Fort WorthIf you know the Dallas-Fort Worth area, you know we don't have any mountains or canyons, or crazy elevation changes that make for an epic hike. It was a challenge at first to find any hikes I really liked, but when I stepped out of the downtown just a little bit I found some favorite hikes that I still continue to go to today. Most people that live in this area will tell you to go to White Rock Lake, Arbor Hills Nature Preserve, or Trinity skyline trail but there are way better trails than those! Here are my favorite DFW hikes that have great views, they are not paved, and can be challenging based on the distance. 1. North Shore Trail Location: Flower Mound, Texas Trail Type: Loop Distance: Up to 18 miles Difficulty: Moderate to Hard Activities: Hiking and Mountain biking Attractions: Lake views, wildlife, forest views, marina views, Texas wildflowers and foliage, camping *Dogs are allowed but must be kept on a leash at all times.* 2. Marion Sansom Park Location: Fort Worth, Texas Trail Type: Loop Distance: Varying distances based on which trails you do Difficulty: Moderate Activities: Hiking and Mountain biking Attractions: Waterfall, wildlife, forest views, lake views, Texas wildflowers and foliage *Dogs are allowed but must be kept on a leash at all times* 3. Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge (There is a small fee to go here) Location: Fort Worth, Texas Trail Type: Out and Back and Loop Distance: Varying distances based on which trails you do Difficulty: Easy to Moderate Activities: Hiking Attractions: Lake view, wildlife, forest views, historical markers, nature center, Texas wildflowers and foliage *Dogs are allowed but must be kept on a leash at all times* 4. Horseshoe Trail Location: Grapevine, Texas Trail Type: Loop Distance: 4.4 miles Difficulty: Easy to Moderate Activities: Hiking and Mountain Biking Attractions: Lake views, forest views, wildlife, Texas wildflowers and foliage *Dogs are allowed but must be kept on a leash at all times* 5. Eagle Mountain Lake Park Trail Location: Fort Worth, Texas Trail Type: Loop Distance: 7.5 miles Difficulty: Moderate Activities: Hiking and Mountain Biking Attractions: Lake views, wildlife, forest views, Texas wildflowers and foliage *No Dogs allowed* 6. Pilot Knoll Trail Location: Argyle, Texas Trail Type: Out and Back Distance: 7.9 miles Difficulty: Moderate Activities: Hiking and Horseback riding Attractions: Wildlife, lake views, Old Alton bridge, forest views, ponds, Texas wildflowers and foliage, camping *Dogs are allowed but must be kept on a leash at all times* 7. Cedar Ridge Preserve Location: Cedar Ridge, Texas Trail Type: Loop Distance: Varying distances based on the trails you go on Difficulty: Moderate Activities: Hiking Attractions: Wildlife, pond view, forest views, Texas wildflowers and foliage *Dogs are allowed but must be kept on a leash at all times* 8. Erwin Park Full Loop Location: McKinney, Texas Trail Type: Loop Distance: 8.9 miles Difficulty: Moderate Activities: Hiking and Mountain Biking Attractions: Wildlife, pond views, prairie views, forest views, Texas wildflowers and foliage, camping *Dogs are allowed but must be kept on a leash at all times* 9. Clear Creek Wetlands and Prairie Trail Location: Denton, Texas Trail Type: Loop Distance: Varying distances based on the trails you go on Difficulty: Easy to Moderate Activities: Hiking Attractions: Wildlife, pond views, prairie views, forest views, river views, Texas wildflowers and foliage 10. Llela Nature Preserve (There is a small fee to go here) Location: Lewisville, Texas Trail Type: Loop Distance: Varying distances based on the trails you go on Difficulty: Easy Activities: Hiking Attractions: Wildlife, pond views, forest views, prairie views, river views, Texas wildflowers and foliage, great area to photograph wildlife, landscape, and foliage, visitor center, camping *Dogs are allowed but must be kept on a leash* Also, all of these hikes are kid friendly and since most are by the water you could even do kayaking, stand up paddle boarding, boating, or fishing! These are my favorite hikes in DFW that I keep going back to over and over again throughout the year! To help you book mark these trails, I recommend downloading the "AllTrails" app. It can help give you directions to the trail, read up on reviews, see photos of the trail, show you weather conditions, trail type, gps map while you hike, and bonus it's FREE to download. I know there are other apps like this, but this is my preferred one that I use every time I go out on a hike. Happy hiking y'all! Photos from the top 10 DFW Hikes Leave No Trace 7 PrinciplesIf you are in the hiking and camping world, you probably have heard of the "Leave No Trace 7 Principles" that every person should follow to protect our environment and show respect to others. If you are new to these principles, keep these in the back of your mind to follow every time you go into the outdoors. You will have a much more pleasurable experience, and it will keep you coming back for more. I wanted to start with these principles because not everyone follows them, but it really makes a huge difference if you do and it helps preserve our beautiful parks and recreational sites for generations to enjoy. So here are the "Leave No Trace 7 Principles" to apply to your hiking and camping guides. 1. Plan ahead and be prepared
Sources: Leave No Trace Seven Principles © 1999 by the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics: https://www.nps.gov/index.htm |
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