My regular state liquor/wine store is currently "closed for remodeling" (and what, by the way, is the point of that? People come in, buy booze and leave - it's not like you have to doll the place up or anything) so I had to go to another one, down on 9000 South. When I pulled into the parking lot, I was thrilled to see that Ocean Mart Asian Market was right next door. I'd read about Ocean Mart somewhere but hadn't gotten around to checking it out yet - and here was my chance.
When I walked into the market, I must have looked like Charlie walking into the Wonka chocolate factory - it was awesome. I nearly got whiplash from turning my head left and right to try to take it all in. There's a food stall just as you come in, with those big red ducks hanging up, selling soups and rice dishes and boba drinks, and nice wooden tables and chairs to eat at. The produce section had good looking fruits (I forgot to check out the veggies unfortunately), peaches and plums and citrus, plus lots of ginger and lemongrass and things I couldn't name for the life of me (one thing looked like durian fruit but was about the size of a Corgi dog). A butcher department lined the back wall.
The aisles were stuffed full of just everything. Mangoes and squids in fresh, canned, preserved, dried and fried forms; coconut water, coconut juice, organic coconut juice, coconut juice with pulp, coconut juice with jelly (?), coconut custard; sesame oil, crackers and candy; rice, rice wine vinegar, rice noodles, rice candies, rice puddings; frozen pot-stickers, dumplings, red bean paste steamed buns, black bean paste steamed buns, lotus seed paste steamed buns, red bean ice cream; a whole refrigerator case of tofu (regular, fried, frozen, spiced, sliced, diced and more); a bewildering array of teas, soy sauces, fish sauces, oyster sauces, chile sauces, curries ... I didn't know what most of it was but I absolutely could have filled a grocery cart full of things I wanted to try.
I managed to get out of there with just one package of frozen red bean steamed buns and a tall can of coconut juice (with pulp). I will absolutely be going back there and buying all my soy and fish sauces, curries and pot-stickers there - and I'm so intrigued by all the frozen desserts they had. And to my family in Maine: you are hereby notified that for the next few Christmases your presents will likely mostly consist of exciting and possibly unidentifiable Ocean Mart items. Ocean Mart is fantastic!
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
murdock peak
It's generally pretty hot out here in Utah this time of year, snow and ice in the mountains notwithstanding, so we try to find hikes that are at least partly shaded. Last Saturday took us up to the top of Millcreek Canyon (itself a fairly well-shaded place) and a hike up Murdock Peak. Our go-to hiking book, 60 Hikes within 60 Miles: Salt Lake City, describes it as a moderate, mostly shaded hike to a saddle at the top of the canyon, overlooking Park City on the east side. We did that, then added on a bushwhack to Murdock Peak just for the heck of it.
The Upper Big Water trailhead parking area at the top of Millcreek Canyon is pretty big, but even so we had to park 0.7 miles down the road as that parking area, the lower parking area and the overflow parking were all full. Despite this, we saw hardly any people which led us to believe that there must be lots and lots of other trails up there, enabling the recreating folks to spread out. Although this trail was supposed to be an out-and-back, we managed to make it a loop by ascending on a newer, still under-construction (but really 99% done) trail with nice, soft, packed dirt footing. The trail was in and out of wooded areas and mountain meadows; we saw lots of huge dragonflies and a couple of hummingbirds taking advantage of the wildflowers.
At the saddle, we joined up with the Great Western Trail, a popular mountain-biking trail that we had touched upon last year on our Desolation Lake hike. We took a look out to the east, identifying the town of Park City and Canyons ski resort, before forging our way up the ridgeline, following game trails and bushwhacking through the scrubby growth. We walked along the Canyons ski boundary line, finding a couple of sizable snow patches, before summiting on Murdock Peak.
As we admired the view, we realized we could see the return trail far below us on the upper canyon floor. A clearly defined drainage led down to it through a grove of aspens and we figured that we could easily bushwhack on down. That aspen grove was gorgeous, like a great green cathedral, bright blue sky peeking through the leaves. We easily found our way back to the trail and followed it out, opting for the older, lower trail on the exodus. This trail's footing was slightly less pleasant than our outgoing walk: rocky, muddy and with several creek crossings - which H just tromped right through, enjoying the cool-off.
Speaking of cooling off, when we got back to the car we liberated the cooler and took it down to the banks of the creek for our post-hike beverages. I stuck my feet in the water but had to yank them back out after only twenty seconds - still wicked cold with snowmelt!
Hike statistics: 8.6 miles, approximately 1.4 of which was bushwhacking; 4 hours 16 minutes, including snack and view breaks; beginning elevation 7,052 ft., Murdock Peak summit 9,602 ft., total elevation gain of 2,550 ft.
Still some snow at Canyons ski resort
The Upper Big Water trailhead parking area at the top of Millcreek Canyon is pretty big, but even so we had to park 0.7 miles down the road as that parking area, the lower parking area and the overflow parking were all full. Despite this, we saw hardly any people which led us to believe that there must be lots and lots of other trails up there, enabling the recreating folks to spread out. Although this trail was supposed to be an out-and-back, we managed to make it a loop by ascending on a newer, still under-construction (but really 99% done) trail with nice, soft, packed dirt footing. The trail was in and out of wooded areas and mountain meadows; we saw lots of huge dragonflies and a couple of hummingbirds taking advantage of the wildflowers.
That's the drainage we bushwhacked through
to reach the trail down below
At the saddle, we joined up with the Great Western Trail, a popular mountain-biking trail that we had touched upon last year on our Desolation Lake hike. We took a look out to the east, identifying the town of Park City and Canyons ski resort, before forging our way up the ridgeline, following game trails and bushwhacking through the scrubby growth. We walked along the Canyons ski boundary line, finding a couple of sizable snow patches, before summiting on Murdock Peak.
Admiring the aspen grove
As we admired the view, we realized we could see the return trail far below us on the upper canyon floor. A clearly defined drainage led down to it through a grove of aspens and we figured that we could easily bushwhack on down. That aspen grove was gorgeous, like a great green cathedral, bright blue sky peeking through the leaves. We easily found our way back to the trail and followed it out, opting for the older, lower trail on the exodus. This trail's footing was slightly less pleasant than our outgoing walk: rocky, muddy and with several creek crossings - which H just tromped right through, enjoying the cool-off.
Speaking of cooling off, when we got back to the car we liberated the cooler and took it down to the banks of the creek for our post-hike beverages. I stuck my feet in the water but had to yank them back out after only twenty seconds - still wicked cold with snowmelt!
Hike statistics: 8.6 miles, approximately 1.4 of which was bushwhacking; 4 hours 16 minutes, including snack and view breaks; beginning elevation 7,052 ft., Murdock Peak summit 9,602 ft., total elevation gain of 2,550 ft.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
alta in july
I had Monday off (recognition of Sunday's Pioneer Day holiday) and decided to take a jaunt up to Cecret Lake to see how dear ol' Alta was faring. There isn't that much snow anymore - well, there's lots more snow than there was last July when H and I went up there - but relatively speaking, there's not too much. There were, however, fairly fresh ski tracks up at the Apron, and the little streams are full to bursting as what snow there still is continues to melt. There are hardly any wildflowers even though this is typically prime time in Albion Basin for wildflowers and the little U.S. Forest Service campground at Albion Basin is still not open, as they continue to clean up from the past winter's snowfall.
Let me give you all a visual to help convey just how much snow there was up at Alta this year. The first picture was taken on April 23, 2011, a week before Alta closed for the season. Note how I'm bent over the trail sign to Cecret Saddle:
This next picture of the Cecret Saddle trail sign was taken on July 25, 2011. That's my hydration pack leaning up against the sign. That pack is 18 inches long.
Let me help you with the math: in the April photo, I was standing on approximately 18 feet of settled snow. It's a wonder that as much of it has melted as it has. My guess is that the snow that is still stacked up in the Apron will be there, still, in the fall when the snow starts falling again. Incredible! (And, in related news, Alta season passes go on sale next Monday!)
Let me give you all a visual to help convey just how much snow there was up at Alta this year. The first picture was taken on April 23, 2011, a week before Alta closed for the season. Note how I'm bent over the trail sign to Cecret Saddle:
This next picture of the Cecret Saddle trail sign was taken on July 25, 2011. That's my hydration pack leaning up against the sign. That pack is 18 inches long.
Let me help you with the math: in the April photo, I was standing on approximately 18 feet of settled snow. It's a wonder that as much of it has melted as it has. My guess is that the snow that is still stacked up in the Apron will be there, still, in the fall when the snow starts falling again. Incredible! (And, in related news, Alta season passes go on sale next Monday!)
Sunday, July 24, 2011
happy pioneer day
It's late but it's been a while since I posted anything, so I'm going to talk about what we did today and save yesterday's hike for later. We learned today that we need to get back into the habit of preparing for weekend activities ahead of time, and not leaving decision-making and organizing until the last minute. We were pretty good about that last summer but for some reason, not so much this year, resulting in late start times, hiking in the heat of the day and missed opportunities picnic pavilion-wise.
For instance, this morning (Sunday) I announced that although I would like to go MTBing, I was leery of falling on my still-present bruises so perhaps we could do something else. H suggested going to "the beach" (which means finding a reservoir or lake where we can swim/fish/sit and watch the water/etc.) and I suggested a hike. So then we flailed around far too long before not coming up with a hike we wanted to do - despite the fact that just yesterday we were marveling at all the hiking in the area we have yet to do. We decided to skip the hike and go to the beach instead. Somehow, we managed to load up the car and hit the road within twenty minutes of making that decision, but then we had to stop and get sandwiches from Subway, and then we had to go have breakfast at the Cottonwood Cafe where we totally looked like tourists, reading our guidebooks and Gazetteer, trying to figure out what reservoir we wanted to visit.
We settled on the Jordanelle Reservoir State Park, on the far side of Park City, the largest in the area and very popular. The Jordanelle has two areas and we decided to try Rock Cliff because it was less developed and certain to be less busy. Rock Cliff is in the narrow arm of the reservoir, more wetlands than open water. We saw numerous osprey and sandhill cranes but what we didn't see were any covered picnic pavilions and since the morning was quickly running into noontime, we knew we needed shade. So off we went to Hailstone, the more developed Jordanelle S.P. campground. Hailstone has a sandy beach and a marina and a restaurant and over 200 RV/tent campsites and lots and lots of picnic pavilions ... all of which were full, of course. We drove through, realized that we'd like to come back (and rent a party boat!) but early next time.*
We ended up at Rockport State Park, on a smaller reservoir in Wanship. We'd gone there once last year and ended up sitting at the same covered picnic table. The reservoir was pretty busy with powerboats, jetskis, small sailboats and catamarans; folks were fishing and swimming and floating around, enjoying the sunshiny day (temperatures were in the very pleasant mid-80s). We'd remembered to bring our swimsuits and ventured in for a dip; although the top six inches were pleasant, the water got cold quickly and neither of us stayed in too long. H got out his fishing gear and cast from the shore for some time as well - got his very first Utah fish too, a nice little bass!
We stayed at Rockport for about five hours, finally dragging ourselves away and back to the hot (96 F) Salt Lake Valley. Now the sun is down and the lunatic neighbors have begun lighting off their fireworks. B is doing remarkably well (she takes her Benadryl with peanut butter) but I'll be glad when fireworks season is over in the next day or two.
* Oh, and were we ever happy to have our state park pass what with these failed attempts!
For instance, this morning (Sunday) I announced that although I would like to go MTBing, I was leery of falling on my still-present bruises so perhaps we could do something else. H suggested going to "the beach" (which means finding a reservoir or lake where we can swim/fish/sit and watch the water/etc.) and I suggested a hike. So then we flailed around far too long before not coming up with a hike we wanted to do - despite the fact that just yesterday we were marveling at all the hiking in the area we have yet to do. We decided to skip the hike and go to the beach instead. Somehow, we managed to load up the car and hit the road within twenty minutes of making that decision, but then we had to stop and get sandwiches from Subway, and then we had to go have breakfast at the Cottonwood Cafe where we totally looked like tourists, reading our guidebooks and Gazetteer, trying to figure out what reservoir we wanted to visit.
We settled on the Jordanelle Reservoir State Park, on the far side of Park City, the largest in the area and very popular. The Jordanelle has two areas and we decided to try Rock Cliff because it was less developed and certain to be less busy. Rock Cliff is in the narrow arm of the reservoir, more wetlands than open water. We saw numerous osprey and sandhill cranes but what we didn't see were any covered picnic pavilions and since the morning was quickly running into noontime, we knew we needed shade. So off we went to Hailstone, the more developed Jordanelle S.P. campground. Hailstone has a sandy beach and a marina and a restaurant and over 200 RV/tent campsites and lots and lots of picnic pavilions ... all of which were full, of course. We drove through, realized that we'd like to come back (and rent a party boat!) but early next time.*
We ended up at Rockport State Park, on a smaller reservoir in Wanship. We'd gone there once last year and ended up sitting at the same covered picnic table. The reservoir was pretty busy with powerboats, jetskis, small sailboats and catamarans; folks were fishing and swimming and floating around, enjoying the sunshiny day (temperatures were in the very pleasant mid-80s). We'd remembered to bring our swimsuits and ventured in for a dip; although the top six inches were pleasant, the water got cold quickly and neither of us stayed in too long. H got out his fishing gear and cast from the shore for some time as well - got his very first Utah fish too, a nice little bass!
The one that didn't get away!
We stayed at Rockport for about five hours, finally dragging ourselves away and back to the hot (96 F) Salt Lake Valley. Now the sun is down and the lunatic neighbors have begun lighting off their fireworks. B is doing remarkably well (she takes her Benadryl with peanut butter) but I'll be glad when fireworks season is over in the next day or two.
* Oh, and were we ever happy to have our state park pass what with these failed attempts!
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
bruised and battered but unbowed
On Sunday we threw the MTBs in the truck and drove up to Snowbasin. It's been ages since we've been up there - probably since we skied there in March 2010. As we pulled into the parking lot, I realized that I'd forgotten how gorgeous it is up there. It definitely wins the prize for being the best looking ski resort in the summer season, with the lush green trails running up to the cliffs high overhead, plus the lodges are so beautiful and well-kept that you feel like you're in a luxury hotel, not a ski lodge. The temperature was perfect too: a balmy 71 under bright blue skies.
Idyllic spot for a MTB ride
Snowbasin has a lot going on the summertime: gondola rides and mid-mountain dining, disc golf, cookouts and free concerts, hiking and MTBing trails. You don't have to pay to ride their trails (only if you want to take your bike up on the lift) and there's even a regularly scheduled shuttlebus to bring you back to the main lodge if you end up at the bottom of one trail, far down the access road. We picked up a trail map and determined that the green trails would be best for me: lower Needles, Last Chance Trail and the Green Pond Loop, all winding up and down through the rolling hills beneath the peaks.
Foot down but upright, so call it a win
The trails here are awesome - which is not to say that I didn't struggle, because I did, on the switchbacks and on the hills where the trail surface was rocky. I've learned that a big part of my problem is just going too slowly up (or down) the rocky bits and then just falling over, unable to get my feet uncleated in time. I stopping counting the fall-overs after six and while I'm scratched up pretty good now and will have some spectacular bruises later, I didn't really get hurt. Plus I'm sort of used to falling over now and am not afraid of it any more. H had a couple of fall-overs too - going too slowly because he was waiting for me - and gouged his right shin pretty well. After that I told him it was okay if he rode ahead at his own pace as long as he'd wait for me at the trail junctions. (I have a whistle in case I fall and get hurt and need him to come back for me.)
Poor H's leg!
But let me get back to how awesome the Snowbasin singletrack is! None of what we rode was ever too steep; much of the trail surface was lovely hard-pack which is a dream to ride on; and the views are phenomenal, both east over the rolling green hills and west to the cliffs towering over the ski resort. H in particular did great, riding up and down and over absolutely everything ... except one bridge that was just pallets stapled together. In all, we rode for 2 hours 40 minutes - well, that was my time, as H could have finished up 25 minutes sooner had he not been waiting for me.
View to the west
After we got back to the truck and changed out of our dirty, sweaty, bloody MTBing clothes, we sauntered on over to the Snowbasin patio where there was a barbecue (bacon cheeseburger and pulled pork sandwich) and beer (Uinta Cutthroat pale ale) for purchase and consumption with a live band, Shades of Grey. We sat under an umbrella, eating, drinking and listening, surrounded by tons of other like-minded folks out enjoying the day. It was an outstanding finish to an outstanding day - and, coupled with our hike to White Pine Lake the day before, an outstanding weekend all the way around. We just love it out here!
P.S. While we listened to the band, we used H's phone to watch the last twenty minutes of the US v. Japan women's World Cup final. What a heartbreaker!
Sunday, July 17, 2011
beating the heat
Just under a year ago, we hiked up to White Pine Lake in Little Cottonwood Canyon. You can read about that hike here - and you really should, because we went back up to White Pine Lake this past Saturday what a difference almost a year makes. I mean, almost a year and 200 inches more snowfall than last winter. The first part of the trail was exactly the same: steady and not too steep, rocky underfoot, largely shaded under a cloudless, sunny sky. It was quite a bit wetter, however, with creeks and springs overflowing and using the jeep road trail as their streambed. It had been a tough winter up there too as there were lots of trees down, many across the trail.
When we reached the meadow - which at our last visit was verdant and filled to bursting with wildflowers - it all changed to being completely under multiple feet of snow. Lots and lots of snow. We couldn't see the trail but enough folks had gone up previously that we were able to follow their tracks, winding our way across snow bridges over roaring streams and up through the evergreen forests. We came out into the glacial bowl, where in non-snow-covered times switchbacks wind their way up to the lake, and immediately decided that we could cut some distance off this hike by climbing up the steep slope directly under the dam instead of trying to find those switchbacks. The slope was quite steep and as we didn't have crampons or YakTrax, we had to stomp footholds in the snow. (Note to self: buy another pair of YakTrax.)
We finally clambered up onto top of the dam at the end of the lake - and then nearly were blown right back off again, it was so windy. Also: the lake was almost completely frozen over and H noted that he was glad he hadn't bothered to bring his fishing pole. We found a somewhat sheltered spot and hunkered down to eat our apples and granola bars, marveling at just how frickin' much snow was up there. Totally different scene from almost a year ago.
We didn't linger at the lake because I didn't want to get chilled from the wind, and glissaded right back down the way we came. I am getting better at glissading but I can confirm that snowplowing sans skis is not that effective. Walking out on the snow was pretty enjoyable, actually, because we made great time - half striding, half sliding - and the snow surface was very gentle on our knees.
When we got back to the car, we changed into dry clothes and kept driving up the canyon to Snowbird for some free folk/bluegrass at their Mountain Music Festival. We found a table in the shade, drank some PBRs and inhaled a can of Pringles (since we were craving salt), and agreed that the hike to White Pine Lake is at the top of our favorites list, whether it's covered in wildflowers or buried in snow.
H crossing the meadow
When we reached the meadow - which at our last visit was verdant and filled to bursting with wildflowers - it all changed to being completely under multiple feet of snow. Lots and lots of snow. We couldn't see the trail but enough folks had gone up previously that we were able to follow their tracks, winding our way across snow bridges over roaring streams and up through the evergreen forests. We came out into the glacial bowl, where in non-snow-covered times switchbacks wind their way up to the lake, and immediately decided that we could cut some distance off this hike by climbing up the steep slope directly under the dam instead of trying to find those switchbacks. The slope was quite steep and as we didn't have crampons or YakTrax, we had to stomp footholds in the snow. (Note to self: buy another pair of YakTrax.)
Less than ideal fishin' conditions
We finally clambered up onto top of the dam at the end of the lake - and then nearly were blown right back off again, it was so windy. Also: the lake was almost completely frozen over and H noted that he was glad he hadn't bothered to bring his fishing pole. We found a somewhat sheltered spot and hunkered down to eat our apples and granola bars, marveling at just how frickin' much snow was up there. Totally different scene from almost a year ago.
Action shot! Note how I'm not falling
We didn't linger at the lake because I didn't want to get chilled from the wind, and glissaded right back down the way we came. I am getting better at glissading but I can confirm that snowplowing sans skis is not that effective. Walking out on the snow was pretty enjoyable, actually, because we made great time - half striding, half sliding - and the snow surface was very gentle on our knees.
That's at least seven feet of snow in them thar hills
When we got back to the car, we changed into dry clothes and kept driving up the canyon to Snowbird for some free folk/bluegrass at their Mountain Music Festival. We found a table in the shade, drank some PBRs and inhaled a can of Pringles (since we were craving salt), and agreed that the hike to White Pine Lake is at the top of our favorites list, whether it's covered in wildflowers or buried in snow.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
promises promises
I know it's been a while since I posted anything - hang with me for one day more. We did a great hike today ... I'm just too tired to post about it now. (Not that the homemade melon daiquiris are having anything to do with that.) Plus I think we're going MTBing tomorrow so there will be new content soon for sure.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
rest day
Sunday morning, the day after the hill climb, we'd planned to go MTBing as it has been a while since we've done that. But H went out for a quick road ride and came back with fatigued legs, and suggested that maybe we should go find a state park reservoir for a "beach day" instead of hiking or biking. Now, I love hiking and MTBing but I am also very much in favor of sitting in the sun by the water, reading.
So we went to East Canyon State Park, out there in the middle of the rolling hills of Morgan County. We got there before noon and were able to lay claim to a still-empty picnic pavilion with a nice view of the reservoir. It was clear and sunny with a nice breeze and lots of people were out and about at the park: swimming, boating, fishing, jet-skiing. Although there were lots of folks around, it was still really peaceful; the pavilions are not right on top of each other and there's plenty of lawn for frisbee, whiffleball, etc.
Not that we did any of that. H did bring his fishing pole (it was a little too busy/breezy for fishing) but we just put out our chairs facing the reservoir and read, stopping only to eat lunch, grab a cold beer or watch the entertaining little Uinta ground squirrels (a/k/a "potguts") boldly scurrying around, looking for handouts.
The clouds slowly accumulated throughout the afternoon, as the weather report had warned they would, and by 3:30 p.m., the wind had picked up and the lightning that had been flashing above the distant hills was flashing above us. First we had pea-sized hail, then it rained, then both rain and hail. We watched it for a while, then gathered our things and made a dash for the truck. Even though the weather was moving through pretty quickly, the temperature had plummeted to 59 and we decided we'd had enough for one day. It was probably the right call, seeing how the clouds continued all the way back home, as did the rain, even though the temperatures came back up to around 80. That's okay: the ground can use the rain, just as we used our rest day - sometimes you just need to sit.
So we went to East Canyon State Park, out there in the middle of the rolling hills of Morgan County. We got there before noon and were able to lay claim to a still-empty picnic pavilion with a nice view of the reservoir. It was clear and sunny with a nice breeze and lots of people were out and about at the park: swimming, boating, fishing, jet-skiing. Although there were lots of folks around, it was still really peaceful; the pavilions are not right on top of each other and there's plenty of lawn for frisbee, whiffleball, etc.
Not that we did any of that. H did bring his fishing pole (it was a little too busy/breezy for fishing) but we just put out our chairs facing the reservoir and read, stopping only to eat lunch, grab a cold beer or watch the entertaining little Uinta ground squirrels (a/k/a "potguts") boldly scurrying around, looking for handouts.
The clouds slowly accumulated throughout the afternoon, as the weather report had warned they would, and by 3:30 p.m., the wind had picked up and the lightning that had been flashing above the distant hills was flashing above us. First we had pea-sized hail, then it rained, then both rain and hail. We watched it for a while, then gathered our things and made a dash for the truck. Even though the weather was moving through pretty quickly, the temperature had plummeted to 59 and we decided we'd had enough for one day. It was probably the right call, seeing how the clouds continued all the way back home, as did the rain, even though the temperatures came back up to around 80. That's okay: the ground can use the rain, just as we used our rest day - sometimes you just need to sit.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
porcupine hill climb
H signed up for the 2011 Porcupine Hill Climb two days before the actual event. The Hill Climb is a race up Big Cottonwood Canyon, from the Porcupine to Brighton Ski Resort, to raise money for the Huntsman Cancer Foundation. Despite not having trained, he wanted to do the race in honor of a friend of his who was a cyclist, who was with H on a MTBing trip in Moab years ago (H's first trip to Utah) and who recently died from skin cancer. The climb is 14.7 miles with an elevation of about 3,800 feet.* That's a dang long hill to ride up.
His group ("Citizens," the non-licensed racers) were to start at 7:30 a.m.. We got there early so H could warm up, and he did laps while I wandered around, drinking my coffee and watching all the other cyclists. Right on time they were off and heading up the canyon. The start was a little confused - the cyclists started in the Canyon Inn parking lot and had to do an immediate hard right turn onto the road up the canyon; it would have been simpler if they'd been started on the road itself - but once they started, the mass of bicyclists spread out quickly. I gave them fifteen minutes and then hopped in the car, driving carefully up the canyon past the laboring cyclists.
Unfortunately, the places I chose to stop were right after quite steep stretches and the first time H was so focused on his pedaling that he didn't even see me. My second stop was at Solitude, right before the road got really steep. H still looked strong, although he admitted to me afterwards that he was really hating it right about there.
I leapfrogged the cyclists, stopping a couple of times on the canyon road to applaud and take photos.
The finish was in the Brighton parking lot (and a slight uphill finish after a short flat teaser). H crossed the line in 1 h. 28 m., finishing 14th out of 30 in his age group and clearly in the top half of the Citizen group (the official results are still not posted anywhere we've been able to find them). We watched the rest of his group come in and then the first few finishers of the licensed racers before heading back down the canyon.
Back at the Porcupine, there was brunch for everyone (even those of us who didn't race) and the awards ceremony. When we learned that the top three finishers each got a free growler from the Porcupine, filled with whatever beer you want, we realized that if H does this hill climb again next year, he's going to have ride faster and get himself on that podium!
* H would like to point out that his race was approximately three times longer than my recent Millcreek race, plus all uphill as opposed to my all downhill. He's clearly way more badass than I am.
Pre-start
His group ("Citizens," the non-licensed racers) were to start at 7:30 a.m.. We got there early so H could warm up, and he did laps while I wandered around, drinking my coffee and watching all the other cyclists. Right on time they were off and heading up the canyon. The start was a little confused - the cyclists started in the Canyon Inn parking lot and had to do an immediate hard right turn onto the road up the canyon; it would have been simpler if they'd been started on the road itself - but once they started, the mass of bicyclists spread out quickly. I gave them fifteen minutes and then hopped in the car, driving carefully up the canyon past the laboring cyclists.
Unfortunately, the places I chose to stop were right after quite steep stretches and the first time H was so focused on his pedaling that he didn't even see me. My second stop was at Solitude, right before the road got really steep. H still looked strong, although he admitted to me afterwards that he was really hating it right about there.
Focused
I leapfrogged the cyclists, stopping a couple of times on the canyon road to applaud and take photos.
The finish was in the Brighton parking lot (and a slight uphill finish after a short flat teaser). H crossed the line in 1 h. 28 m., finishing 14th out of 30 in his age group and clearly in the top half of the Citizen group (the official results are still not posted anywhere we've been able to find them). We watched the rest of his group come in and then the first few finishers of the licensed racers before heading back down the canyon.
Back at the Porcupine, there was brunch for everyone (even those of us who didn't race) and the awards ceremony. When we learned that the top three finishers each got a free growler from the Porcupine, filled with whatever beer you want, we realized that if H does this hill climb again next year, he's going to have ride faster and get himself on that podium!
* H would like to point out that his race was approximately three times longer than my recent Millcreek race, plus all uphill as opposed to my all downhill. He's clearly way more badass than I am.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
july fourth weekend
We had a houseguest over the holiday weekend: R, one of H’s longest-running friends whose wife and kids were out of town. His request list included: beer and Crown burgers. We thought we could probably hook him up.
We picked him up at the airport Friday night and then proceeded to stay up way too late catching up as it had been about five years since we’d gotten together. Saturday morning arrived bright and sunny, so we packed up some hiking gear and headed off to the Silver Fork for a late breakfast. We timed it just perfectly too, managing a table outside on the deck with only a three minute wait to be seated. This was the first time we’d been out on the deck – every other time we’ve been to the Silver Fork it’s just been too chilly – and it was pretty fabulous, sitting in the sun, under an umbrella, surrounded by the mountains.
After breakfast we drove to Millcreek Canyon. R had asked us to take it easy on him hiking-wise so H picked out a gentle 5+ mile round-trip that was fairly well shaded: Desolation Trail to the SLC overlook, a pretty busy trail due to its location in heavily-visited Millcreek Canyon. We managed to perch out on some rocks at the overlook all by ourselves for a while, however, enjoying the views. On the return trip, we were grateful for as much shade as there was as it was getting hot (would end up being low 90s in the valley that day) and once down, grabbed the requisite cooler from the car and headed for some rocks along the cool and rushing Mill Creek. We weren’t the only ones who had that idea: in addition to the oodles of picnickers enjoying the grounds, I spotted my very first in-the-wild rattlesnake when I disturbed him from his spot in the shady undergrowth. First I saw the motion as he moved off the path; then I heard the telltale rattle; then I decided to take another path! We soaked our feet in the frigid creek waters while “enjoying” a PBR, then headed off to Crown Burger for lunch – which, I believe, was everything R had hoped it would be. Next was a brief respite at home, to clean up before we went to the cooler mountain air of Snowbird for their free Saturday evening concert: Guns, Girls and Glory. The last thing we managed to squeeze in was a trip to the Cotton Bottom for more burgers – garlic this time.
Us guys at the SLC overlook on Desolation Trail
Sunday was hot-hot-hot (high 90s) and since we didn't get up at the crack of early, we decided hiking was probably not a good idea. So after breakfast in town at The Other Place (we opted not to wait in line at Ruth's for two hours, if you can imagine), we cruised on up to Park City, hoping that it might be a little cooler up there. It was slightly cooler, in the low 90s. Park Silly, the every-Sunday street fair and farmers' market on Main Street, was in full swing and we wandered about, listening to the live reggae, goggling at the people, going in and out of art galleries and, of course, the No-Name Saloon. When we were done with Park City, we headed home, stopping in at the Porcupine first (since no houseguest is allowed to stay with us without a trip to the Porcupine). The remainder of the evening was spent on our front patio, relishing the cooler air and watching the fireworks go off all around us. (In Utah, you're allowed to buy your own fireworks and shoot them off from like July 1 through July 26. The dog is not happy about it.)
R headed home Monday morning, after threatening to possibly come back again this summer for a camping or MTBing trip. That's always a good sign, we think, when someone wants to come back.
Monday, July 4, 2011
round valley mtb
A week ago Sunday (yes, still trying to catch up on the posts), we loaded the MTBs in the truck, swung by the Cottonwood Heights Cafe for breakfast and drove out to Park City in the hopes that we might find some MTB trails out there that wouldn't crush my spirit. [Note: not that I'm discouraged, mind you, I'm just tired of pushing my bike up all the steep, long hills on the Wasatch Front.] Park City has a fabulous system of MTB trails: well-marked, mapped out and nicely maintained. The ski mountains have some lunatic single track that I will never in a million years attempt. We headed to the Round Valley trails instead.
We parked in town and rode a rail trail out to Quinn's Junction trailhead; if you don't want to ride on a paved bike path from town, you can just park out at Quinn's. From there, we jumped on some wonderful trails: gravel jeep roads, grassy double track, hard-packed single track. We were away from the Wasatch Mountains a bit, riding through the rolling foothills, and that made all the difference for me. I was able to ride up the hills - even uphill around corners, with H's coaching - and I even passed some people! There's a whole maze of trails out there, everything interconnecting, so we rode around and around, taking different trails each time. We did end up on a few that were more technical, with steeper and loose descents, and I'm still not good at that. But we ended up riding for nearly 2.5 hours until my little legs pooped out, and it was so much fun the whole time. I gained a ton of confidence and can't wait to go back and do it again. Really, really fun.
Afterwards, we drove the truck up to Deer Valley and had a beer whilst watching the mountains. A guy on a BMW motorcycle, on 50-day road trip to celebrate his 50th birthday, with his MTB mounted on a bike rack!!), stopped and talked with us for a bit before jumping on his MTB and pedaling off into the mountains. And we watched him ride off, another happy MTBer enjoying what the Wasatch Back has to offer folks on two wheels. Awesome day.
We parked in town and rode a rail trail out to Quinn's Junction trailhead; if you don't want to ride on a paved bike path from town, you can just park out at Quinn's. From there, we jumped on some wonderful trails: gravel jeep roads, grassy double track, hard-packed single track. We were away from the Wasatch Mountains a bit, riding through the rolling foothills, and that made all the difference for me. I was able to ride up the hills - even uphill around corners, with H's coaching - and I even passed some people! There's a whole maze of trails out there, everything interconnecting, so we rode around and around, taking different trails each time. We did end up on a few that were more technical, with steeper and loose descents, and I'm still not good at that. But we ended up riding for nearly 2.5 hours until my little legs pooped out, and it was so much fun the whole time. I gained a ton of confidence and can't wait to go back and do it again. Really, really fun.
Afterwards, we drove the truck up to Deer Valley and had a beer whilst watching the mountains. A guy on a BMW motorcycle, on 50-day road trip to celebrate his 50th birthday, with his MTB mounted on a bike rack!!), stopped and talked with us for a bit before jumping on his MTB and pedaling off into the mountains. And we watched him ride off, another happy MTBer enjoying what the Wasatch Back has to offer folks on two wheels. Awesome day.
You don't see that everyday: MTB on a motorcycle
Saturday, July 2, 2011
what a difference a year makes
After Paul left us to go back east, the weather turned clear and sunny and hot (80s-90s). On Saturday, after H went for a long road ride and I weeded and chatted with a neighbor, we decided to escape the heat and go for a hike. Since we weren't getting started until after 12noon, we wanted someplace close - which meant Millcreek, Big Cottonwood or Little Cottonwood Canyons - and we wanted someplace that maybe didn't have too much snow.
We decided to do the hike to Lake Blanche (and Florence and Lilian) again, in Big Cottonwood Canyon. This was H's second time and my third time up there, as we'd both done this hike last October (click through here for a description of the hike and autumn photos) and I'd done it last June (the same weekend even) with some work friends. It's still beautiful, still steep and still popular; with our late start, however, we came across more folks coming down than going up.
The stream alongside the trail was cranking, fed with the snowmelt in the warm temperatures. Even so, we hit snow at around 8,100 feet and walked the rest of the way up to the still mostly frozen lakes on the white stuff. It was pretty well compacted and not too slushy so the walking was actually pretty easy. Going down was even more fun as we got to do some glissading - in my case, only when no one was around to see me flailing like a pig on ice.
You can see from the photos here how much snow is still up there. Last June, there was only a little in the shady crevices, and if you click through to the post on this hike from last October, you can see what the scenery looks like without the white blanket. They say that the flood threat this year is going to continue longer than normal due to the excess snow. It's all got to go somewhere and that somewhere is downstream.
H heading up, with the Sundial behind him
We decided to do the hike to Lake Blanche (and Florence and Lilian) again, in Big Cottonwood Canyon. This was H's second time and my third time up there, as we'd both done this hike last October (click through here for a description of the hike and autumn photos) and I'd done it last June (the same weekend even) with some work friends. It's still beautiful, still steep and still popular; with our late start, however, we came across more folks coming down than going up.
Lakes Florence and Lilian still in their winter garb
The stream alongside the trail was cranking, fed with the snowmelt in the warm temperatures. Even so, we hit snow at around 8,100 feet and walked the rest of the way up to the still mostly frozen lakes on the white stuff. It was pretty well compacted and not too slushy so the walking was actually pretty easy. Going down was even more fun as we got to do some glissading - in my case, only when no one was around to see me flailing like a pig on ice.
Note the concentration
You can see from the photos here how much snow is still up there. Last June, there was only a little in the shady crevices, and if you click through to the post on this hike from last October, you can see what the scenery looks like without the white blanket. They say that the flood threat this year is going to continue longer than normal due to the excess snow. It's all got to go somewhere and that somewhere is downstream.
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