We had a vacation planned for early July. It became our fourth or fifth one canceled due to COVID… I’ve kind of lost track. Although the original outing was impossible, we didn’t throw in the trip towel. We believed we were entirely capable of coming up with an acceptable alternative. Our acceptable alternative turned out to be much more than satisfactory.

To pick a location for our altered excursion, Jason and I did a deep dive into all the home rentals in the state. Being open to even the obscurest areas gave us plenty of interesting options. A charming cabin was available at a place called Eagle Point. We didn’t let the fact that we had never heard of Eagle Point stop of us from reserving that sucker.

Eagle Point is in Fishlake National Forest. It’s at an elevation of 10,400 feet, keeping it almost 20 degrees cooler than our nape of the woods. In the middle of a hot July, we welcomed that negative 20. We also welcomed Eagle Point’s people deficiency.

On our first day in the area, Jason and I hiked to Delano Peak. Delano Peak is the highest point in the Tushar Mountains, Utah’s third-tallest mountain range after the Uintas and La Sals. It isn’t a typical 12,000-foot+ summit. In our experience, mountains that lofty are usually nothing but massive piles of rock near their tops. Delano was a rolling, grassy contrast. Hardy wildflowers in two dozen varieties colored the hillsides almost up to its pinnacle. However, it was also extremely windy. I had to wear three jackets at the summit. Good thing I am generally overly prepared. In addition to being blown about, Jason and I both got elevation sickness at Delano’s apex in the form of a bad headache that centered around our left temples. Maybe we are getting old, but I’d like to think it had more to do with us being substantially elevated than moderately outdated.

Before I move onto another subject, I believe the trail to Delano Peak deserves a few sentences of its own. This path gains 1,650 feet in 1.5 miles. That’s one foot up for every five feet forward. It’s the kind of steep that gives you grief in both directions. Maybe that’s why we saw more mountain goats than people along route. One human and his canine companion were the only non-hoofed creatures we came across.

My sister and her family joined us the next day. We rented two RZRs, one named Nightwing and the other Martian Manhunter. During the morning, we used our superhero RZRs to access the Lake Stream Trail. We hiked four miles roundtrip to enjoy superb outlooks on Mount Holly and Lake Peak. The path faded into oblivion in some places, discernible only by the occasional marking post. At one point, we completely lost the trail and ended scaling up a long, sheer hillside without it. That may not have been an entirely great idea, but we managed to gracelessly triumph. We encountered 33 different species of resilient wildflower on this hike, many of them diminutive, and zero people.

That afternoon, we maneuvered the RZRs through the Paiute ATV Trail, a system of paths that spans hundreds of miles and is rated one of the top five ATV trails in the United States. Unfortunately, we picked an access point without consulting our map. Had we done so, we might have noticed the section we were headed for was marked “steep, rough, and rocky.” We may have also seen this warning, “Use extreme caution when on these routes.” For RZR novices such as ourselves, no amount of caution could have made up for our deficit of skills. I think that segment took 20 years off some members of our group while others nearly wet themselves. There was some discussion whether we should continue up Sawmill Ridge on Paiute after our rough start. Trail won over road. Fortunately, the rest of our drive was more about the scenery than the obstacles. We made it past Mud Lake to a windy ridge affording fantastic views of Mount Belknap and Mount Baldy.

The rest of our hours were filled with air hockey and ping pong tournaments, along with old 80s movies. Before heading home the next day, we spent a couple hours at Puffer Lake allowing the fishing inclined to reel away.

Most years, Jason and I travel so much our vacations become a bit of a hectic blur. On some occasions, they’ve become two parts enjoyment and one part exhaustion. In contrast, each trip we’ve taken during COVID has taken on all the significance of salvation. Eagle Point will always be part of the squishy space in my heart.

Jason’s family typically does a camping excursion at least once every summer. We try to join them if it works out. When they took a trip to Strawberry Reservoir in late June, it did. Despite this being a camping outing, it did not actually entail any camping for Jason and me. However, it did involve playing Cards Against Humanity in fake British accents while an inviting fire warmed up backsides, hiking on unoccupied trails, and driving across scenic mountainsides in a UTV. So, I think we still deserve a tiny bit of outdoor cred.

First and foremost, let me address how this trip became camping in name only. While the rest of the group camped at Strawberry Reservoir, one of Utah’s most popular fishing spots, we had no desire to do any angling. Therefore, we opted to spend a couple nights at Daniels Summit Lodge instead. This lodge is only 15 minutes from Strawberry, which made it too convenient to ignore as a potential sleeping location.

Being lodgers instead of campers didn’t prevent us from visiting the group’s fire for a game of Cards Against Humanity, which we played on multiple tables to allow for social distancing. We incorporated phony accents into this already ludicrous game. Somehow, I won. Yup, my mind is as warped as a funhouse mirror.

On one day of our stay, Jason and I rented a four-seat RZR. Different portions of Jason’s family took turns occupying our backseat. We did loops that took us from forest service roads to narrower rocky routes. What could be more macho than cruising ATV roads in a rugged RZR? How about moving a giant pine tree that fell across the path just minutes before you arrived? That’s right, my tiny biceps are bigger on the inside. Yeah, okay, so I helped marginally, and Jason did most of the heavy lifting. But hey, lifting logs is one of the few ways men can prove their usefulness.

The blasts that brought down that tree were relentless that entire afternoon. They blew between 20 and over 30 MPH for hours. They assaulted Daniels Summit with micro gusts above 80 MPH. That didn’t stop us from riding our UTV to the top of Strawberry Peak, an isolated summit with an elevation of 9,714 feet. With commanding views of the Wasatch Range from Mount Timpanogos all the way to Mount Nebo, this was one of the highlights of our drive.

Not camping while on this camping trip proved wiser than Jason and I have the years to expect. Although it was nearly July, winter made a temporary comeback during our stay. At Daniels Summit, the temperatures plunged from the high 70s down to the low 30s. Having walls made out of something other than nylon proved quite advantageous.

If a little 80 MPH wind couldn’t impede us, neither could some nearly freezing temperatures. After things got chilly, we hiked both the Heber Valley Overlook and Donkey Ridge Trails in the Dutch Hollow portion of Wasatch Mountain State Park, which add up to about four miles. Thanks to the threat of rain and the unusual temperatures, we saw exactly two hikers and one biker during our whole afternoon spent on these popular trails. I’m not sure why the cooler weather scared away others; I’d take having to wear two jackets any day over wanting to peel back a layer of my skin to cool down.

That is the complete story of our card playing, tree dragging, peak parking, trail riding, wind bracing, path climbing, dog days freezing, no-camping camping trip.