But something went terribly wrong Wednesday when the 40-year-old father of six from Draper hit the trail in the Lakeside mountain range.
Concerned family contacted authorities when Adamson, an experienced outdoorsman, failed to return home from a hike he'd navigated alone before. More than 70 volunteers joined a 28-person county search and rescue team to hunt for the missing man on Friday and Saturday.
Those efforts culminated Saturday, when a family friend found Adamson's body at the bottom of a cliff about 11 a.m., said Tooele County Sheriff Frank Park. Investigators believe Adamson died from injuries after he fell off a cliff, Park said.
It was a gut-wrenching discovery for those who knew Adamson, an outdoor enthusiast who was pursuing an engineering degree from Brigham Young University while managing a Draper-based toy company with family.
Adamson's 19-year-old son Riley had departed to Stockholm, Sweden on Monday to start a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said Adamson's mother-in-law, Mary Jo Hansen.
The boy had called his father from the airport in Sweden and Adamson was sad he'd somehow missed the call on his cell phone. So Adamson went to do what always cheered him up: hiking.
"He was missing Riley and said 'I'm going to hike in my favorite place'," Hansen said.
Adamson's family reported him missing after they went looking for him and found his car near the Marble Head Mine area, just northwest of Delle and along the western edge of the Great Salt Lake. The man had sent his wife Marcie a text message Wednesday saying he was going hiking in the area where his body was found, Park said.
The man's death is shocking for family who marveled at Adamson's expertise on the trails.
"He does this all the time. He's always out hiking," said Adamson's brother, Don Adamson of Cottonwood Heights.
"I never wanted to go with him. He was so fast at hiking he'd leave me in the dust."
Besides enjoying the outdoors, Adamson loved spending time with his children, said Don Adamson, who called his brother a "great dad." Adamson worked at the family business, Glow-Tec, a manufacturer of Play-Doh-like products for children and was also enrolled at BYU, his brother said.
Adamson is survived by daughters Natalie, 17; Amy 10; Rachelle, 8; Melissa, 6; and a son, Jeremy, 13; in addition to his son Riley and wife Marcie.
