Geocaching

This week, Jeff and I started getting into geocaching. For those of you who don't know, geocaching is basically like a global treasure hunt. You can go to http://www.geocaching.com/, set up a free account, and start searching for GPS caches anywhere in the world. Some are really small, others are larger. In certain caches you can leave items or swap them for something else. All of them should have a log book where you can leave your name and date of when it was found. The idea is to do it discreetly and find as many as you can/want. There's even an awesome app for your iPhone/iPod/iPad that's excellent! Pretty sweet. Like I said, Jeff and I went out and found 4 in Farmington, and then I took Jeremy out with me on Saturday and we found two more by my house. It was really fun! I highly recommend getting into it. Look for us under "theBRIGADE" user name! Here's some pics of our findings:

**WARNING: MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!**



Flag Rock

Today in Utah is the observed holiday of the 24th of July (since the 24th fell on a Sunday), my boss is out of town for the week, and Jeff is back from China which means... Perfect conditions to hike to Flag Rock in F-town! We left his house and started down the street and stopped at Woodland Park to look for a Geocache on the way and admire how the raspberry patch is coming on.

Hawk Rock

We made it up to the trail head and hiked up to the fire break road and took a breather and enjoyed the view. Further up the trail, we passed "Hawk Rock" which is freaking awesome! From there it was a pretty good climb with a lot of switchbacks, but we made it in good time. It was really muggy out today with the cloudy skies threatening rain, but once we got to the top and felt the wind blowing it felt amazing! And the view was breathtaking to be sure.

It was pretty cool to spend this Pioneer Day up here and catch a glimpse of what the valley looks like, similar to what the pioneers did when the came into the area over 100 years ago. That's one thing I really love about Utah is the rich pioneer heritage and that they still honor those people today. Pretty cool. (And who doesn't love another day of fireworks?!)

We hiked back down and found some ripe black berries near a stream that made for a nice treat on the way home. It was really great to be back on the trail with Jeff again. Feels good to get theBRIGADE back together. Awesome day!

theBREAKDOWN

As part of theBRIGADE crew's efforts for constant progression and innovation, we've created a new blog site for those interested in camping, backpacking, and improving their outdoor experience. We call it: theBREAKDOWN. The purpose of theBREAKDOWN is to share our insights and experiences on anything from gear to locations and everything in between. Jeff, Paul, and Jake will be updating the site soon with product reviews and photos, as well as contact info for any questions or thoughts you might have. We're excited to take this next step and hope you'll enjoy it as well! To get to theBREAKDOWN, click here or go to the following address:

http://www.tb-thebreakdown.blogspot.com/