MADFOG

04/28/2023

03/02/2023

These little Scandanavian gummies have earned a permanent place in our packs. Why? Let us count the ways.

11/02/2022

Awesomely gruesome.

There are countless ways to meet your end in the great outdoors. These are ten of the most unpleasant, ignominious, and terrifying ways to go.

03/28/2022

Happy MADFOG birthday to Frank Prince, who has been on more adventures with us than any other human being. To infinity and beyond!

03/08/2022

Tony Vienna, veteran of The Subway slot canyon in Zion National Park and Bear’s Ears National Monument. Tony has morphed from business partner to trusted adventure partner and now watches over the old guy when we travel together. Strong, resourceful and ready to tackle any challenge and solve any problem…

03/08/2022

Almost done with the MADFOG Mug Shots collection…

03/06/2022

Matt Olson in a quiet moment on the Green River. Matt and his buddies took MADFOG to a new level of crazy and the rowdy fun resulted in the loss of 50% of the group’s cellphones, which were useless along the river anyway. Right after the trip, the west side of Labyrinth Canyon was designated as a wilderness area.

03/06/2022

And then, that canoe trip down the Green River where these guys cooked the most incredible meals and served me from a well-stocked bar every night. Even though the winds blew us back upstream most of the time, and we got a good dose of rain and snow, it was an epic adventure through Labyrinth Canyon.

03/06/2022

Eric Stashak, high above Moab during a side excursion in an ATV. All three of my companions took the wheel, and it felt very much like a rerun of Smokey and the bandit…

03/06/2022

After 20 years, I’ve acquired a rogues gallery of guys who have gone on adventures with me. So, I decided to create the MADFOG MUG SHOTS to celebrate the great companions along the way. Not complete yet, but interesting….

12/02/2021

Working on several exciting trips to the outback in 2022.

More Bear’s Ears - Collins Canyon to Grand Gulch and The Narrows….maybe entire Grand Gulch.

Horseshoe Canyon in Canyonlands area..above The Maze…

Maybe another Subway trip in Zion National Park.

Possible 2nd trip to Neon Canyon in Grand Staircase/Escalante National Monument.

Secret Native American site in Utah…reconnaissance only.

Keet Seel if it ever opens up again.

Yet another Green River rafting trip.

Possible San Juan River Rafting trip/pack raft/option

Possible Domingues Escalante National Conservation Area

Chaco Canyon

Some other high point near Telluride.

With over 20 alumni members, I know there are plenty of victims out there to join me as these trips develop into reality.

11/04/2021

Happy Birthday to Madfoggian Scott Levy, who now is a fully vested member due to having achieved the age of 50 today. This is the MADFOG milestone. Scott earned Associate Status in MADFOG after joining founder Ken Mitchell on a trip with their wives through Desolation Canyon on the Green River in Utah. Scott survived a wildly scary small plane ride over the Desolation Canyon Wilderness, a crazy bumpy landing on a dirt airstrip on top of a plateau, numerous rapids, crazy windstorms, unseasonably cold temperatures, a crushing slow motion raft crash and overall the worst weather I’ve seen in Utah in 50 years. For the entire trip, this guy had a smile on his face and kept coming back for more.

Scott is now the President of the South Carolina Chapter of MADFOG, and serves along with his wife Lori, President of the Women’s Auxiliary. Some time soon, we’ll all be exploring Congaree National Park, as soon as we can figure out where the heck it is.

MADFOG is an equal opportunity adventure travel site.

10/08/2021

Grateful to hear this as I’m actually in Bear’s Ears today hiking with friends today. We left The Maze in Canyonlands late yesterday and my companions were eager for a quick tour.

President Joe Biden on Friday announced the expansion of three national monuments — Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante, and Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine — in a move that restored protections that had been undone by then-President Donald Trump.

10/08/2021

Now in Bear's Ears. MADFOG means improv....why we are here is a convergence of bad road and whimsy.

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10/07/2021

We're out!

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10/07/2021

Tonlghis camp

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10/06/2021

Almost at the Harvest Scene.

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10/06/2021

On trail

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10/06/2021

Counting stars at 5 in the morning. Lost track at 4 million. Today is Trail Day. Look up Harvest Scene in The Maze. Heading there and beyond. Back to bed

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10/06/2021

At The Maze enjoying a rare Utah rain

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10/05/2021

Heading off road

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10/02/2021

Testing

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10/02/2021

Testing this location service...

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09/26/2021

One of my favorite ManCave items is an old time school map of Utah that pulls down and then rolls up to the ceiling. The second photo is where MADFOG is going next…The Maze District of Canyonlands National Park in between the Colorado and Dirty Devil Rivers. On the far right you can see the Green River where it connects to the Colorado….I’ve run this entire section in two memorable trips….one freezing cold and one scorching hot. I must be weather challenged!

08/14/2021

A 50 year reunion with my high school backpacking buddy, Stan Rowland. He was awarded MADFOG status due to age and his exhibition of true grit on a recent backpacking trip to the San Rafael Swell.

08/14/2021

The newest MADFOG member, Andrew Hartsel, has Associate status due to his not reaching the age of 50 yet. His relentless scramble up the rotten rock of Mount Sneffels earned him his membership. Sneffels is one of the harder 14ers in Colorado. A true beat down for both of us…

08/14/2021

Nostalgia hurts sometimes. The first time I climbed Angel’s Landing, more than 40 years ago, I was the only person on the rock. I’ve climbed it a number of times since then, no longer in solitude and with more and more people each time. Social media crushed Angel’s Landing, bringing crowds so heavy it is now unsafe. They are talking about a reservation system and a quota to protect the public.

My mind still carries the vision of my first time on the rock, alone and mesmerized by the panorama of sandstone surrounding me.

I’ll never go back. It hurts too much.

07/10/2021

I was actually here on a MADFOG trip. It was a brief diversion on a rest day. Finally, something older than me!

This trembling giant is a beauty to behold.

05/01/2021

MADFOG LITE 2002…took a group of Dallas friends to Zion National Park for several days of hiking and sightseeing. In a strange twist of fate, we’ll all be living in Fort Collins by the end of the year..Melinda Northrup arrived last year and Bill and Becky Cullinan are moving here this summer. Becky and I did the West Rim Trail high above Zion and climbed Angel’s Landing on the way down from Lava Point. Almost 20 years ago, Zion was a much different place. It breaks my spirit to see it overrun today.