Beus Canyon Hike - July 10th

The troop met at 6:30 for a hike up Beus Canyon. Six scouts plus a friend came - not sure where the other eight scouts are this trip. We had some scouts who didn't make the Malen's peak hike, so this was a challenging hike. We had two dads come with us, Bret Olsen and Bentley McEntyre, along with Dave Tyler, our scouting representative. We started hiking at 7:10 and brother Tyler and McEntyre, along with Erik were out ahead heading for the top. The other six scouts made it about 2 - 2 1/2 miles up and then headed back. I was ahead of the middle group, trying to motivate them to come ahead, but they couldn't do it. They saw the leaders way up above on the trail and it was just too hard looking, so they turned around. I decided to hike on and go to the summit. I arrived at the summit just as the first group was heading down. We spoke for a moment and they were off. I struggled up the last few hundred feet to get to the top, almost fainting as I climbed. I reached the top and took in the view. I visited with another hiker, who was the son of Mr. Allred, who usedto teach at South Weber Elementary. Off the top, I found a shady place on the cut road and made my submarine sandwich, with chips and drink. Then I headed down about 1:30. I ran out of water near the headwaters of Birch Creek, so I filled up my Camelback and had enough for the hike down. It was hot and I would have struggled without the water. I should have had my water pump or some fresh pills for disinfecting. We'll see if I got my water from a pure source or not. I arrived home around 5 pm. I suspect all the others made it home, in that none of them were waiting for this old scoutmaster. No rattlesnakes on the trail, just wildflowers. The breeze was blowing and it kept things a little cool but it was a hot hike down. Later I found out the Mike Woolsey would have loved to have hiked to the summit. I should have stayed with the scouts and let him go ahead. We need to discuss who wants to absolutely go and who doesn't mind hanging back. Lessons learned. Also, two camelbacks is not too much on this long hike in July. Earlier in the year may be easier on the water usage. A pump would solve a lot of problems.