Friday was a gorgeous day with a clear blue sky. I drove up Big Cottonwood Canyon just as dawn was breaking, and snowshoed up Guardsman's Pass to check out conditions for a winter camp with some scouts next weekend. I brought a shovel and a handsaw(to cut out blocks of snow), and dug a decent snow cave in 45 minutes. The temperature was 20 degrees. If I had not already committed to taking some boys up to Crystal Hot Springs that night, I may have been tempted to spend the night in the snow cave, but that will have to wait until next weekend. On the way down the Canyon, I stopped by Silver Fork Lodge and warmed up by the wood fire as I sipped a cup of hot chocolate and ate a delicious cinnamon roll; a great way to spend a Friday morning!