we like to hike with mike

Another sunny Sunday, another hike with Captain Mike.  We weren't sure we were going to get this one in, what with the snowstorm that had the SLC weathermen all wound up.  But the snowstorm didn't drop very much in the valley or on the Park City side of the Wasatch (altho' the canyons/mountains were rumored to have gotten ten inches), so after a confirmatory phone call from the captain, off to Park City we went.  The start temperature was around 21 but once we were in the sun, it was a much warmer 21 than we expected.

This time, because of the potential for deep canyon snow, we hiked right from Mike's backyard.  His house is in a subdivision on the other side of the valley from Park City, with a spectacular view of the three ski resorts, and his property backs up to these rolling foothills.  He routinely gets deer, moose and elk traipsing through his yard - and snacking on his shrubs - so it's still pretty undeveloped back in there, although some seasonal cabins are starting to crop up in the hills and once those get a foothold, it won't be long until the fulltime houses come in.  But a large chunk of the hills has been set aside as open land for the hikers, mountain bikers and horseback riders, and the hills are networked with wonderful single-track trails.

Mike's charming corgi, Dudley, came with us, keeping up remarkably well on those short little 8.5 year-old legs of his during the entire 4-hour trek.  We didn't gain a ton of elevation but we definitely covered some ground, first heading up the drainage behind Mike's house, the creek choked by numerous beaver dams.  Then we went up and around a couple of ridges, claiming great views of the valley.  We also spotted a small herd of about seven elk on the neighboring ridge.  They were extremely shy and didn't stick around long, but H did manage to squeeze off a couple of photos and in one, you can actually sort of tell it's an elk.

Mike knows these hills by heart and he and Dudley go out into them nearly every day.  They're great trails for mountain biking too - smooth and solid, not snarled with roots and slippery with loose rock - and I started jonesing for a bike right away.  We donated my 25 year old, hard-nose/hard-tail Gary Fisher mountain bike to charity before we left Maine and I am psyched to get something with suspension as I hear that it's a much more pleasant way to ride.

Our walk ended with a stroll along some backyard pastureland containing horses, donkeys and a herd of adorable, long-lashed llamas.  After that pleasant outing, there was nothing left to do but pull out some lawn chairs into the driveway and have a couple of beers in the chilly sunshine.  Very excellent indeed.