This isn't a real post - year-end is always busy for me at work and that, plus general pandemic fun, is making me totally zone out in the evenings, unable to form coherent thoughts, much less posts - but on this sixth day of Christmas, I give to you our new Christmas tradition: Bloody Marys from scratch. We got a hankering for them and then cobbled them together from whatever we had in the fridge. And they were really quite good:
Posts about our long holiday weekend in Moab coming soon!
Sunday was cloudy but not as cold. H went up skiing again and reported that it wasn't quite as crowded either. At 8:15, he was parked in the front row at Wildcat base, but all the way down at the far end of the parking lot, basically at the Peruvian. This time he went straight to Supreme and did three runs there before it got busy: Challenger was a bad idea (rock hard and skied off), as was Upper Big Dipper; Three Bears is still full of rocks. He gave the Ballroom a go as well, and regretted it as well too - none of this is surprising and fairly typical for early season skiing. Although it doesn't seem all that early, does it, with Christmas just days away.
Down in the valley, Milton (who seems confused to have me home but not H and who alternately sleeps on our bed, ignoring me, or is my shadow and entirely underfoot) and I had our list of things to do. After our walk, I cleaned two bathrooms, vacuumed and swiffered, did two loads of laundry.
For more fun, I made a rustic loaf - olive oil bread - and chana masala for dinner. Both recipes are again from Isa Does It because when we were down in Moab last weekend, I read that cookbook cover to cover and marked all the recipes I wanted to try. Fair warning: you may be seeing a lot of food photos here this winter.
Back in SLC for the week, where we got a decent snowstorm that gave Alta around 28" (YTD total: 110"). This got all the locals excited about skiing, which filled up the available parking by 9:30 a.m. on Saturday in both Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons. H got up to Wildcat Base at 8:10 and reported that the parking lot was half full with more than an hour until chairs would be loaded; it would fill by 9:10. Traffic was heavy but not stop-and-go until Snowbird. Because of COVID precautions, the lift lines were slow (twenty minutes per run) and he didn't even try Supreme because the lines were so long. Conditions were better than his first outing of the year but certainly not that good: firm and fast. He finished up at 1:10 and headed down the canyon, well ahead of the red snake that was reported later. When he got home, he shook his head and said that if things were as busy and slow now, he couldn't imagine what Christmas week was going to be like. I guess we'll find out.
While H was getting his ski on, Milton and I were keeping busy. We did our three mile walk (sunny but chilly in the high 20s F), then a couple of quick errands. Once home and cleaned up, I went through a box of my old paperwork that we'd found in a closet (college transcripts, bank statements from the early 2000s). Gosh I'm glad we moved that out here eleven years ago!
Then I decorated our little Christmas tree/holiday ornament display system - which took me all of twenty-six minutes - and made a batch of turmeric chai and a pineapple upside-down cake. It has been ages since I had one of those cakes and when my brother's family sent me a new cookbook, Isa Does It, and I found that recipe, I knew I had to make it. It's very easy to make, vegan and turned out pretty tasty (although it didn't rise much because I didn't take into account the effect of higher altitude has on baking). I will definitely be trying it again, next time with half the leavening agent.
The days they pass so quickly ... here it already is, late Wednesday night, and I haven't posted since Friday. To be fair, there isn't all that much to post about so this will have to bridge the gap until the coming weekend. We did go down to Moab last weekend, leaving mid-afternoon on Friday, driving through some flurries through the Spanish Fork/Price canyon, and then arriving in Moab in the chilly evening. No traffic back-ups this time: we must officially be in the slow season.
Henry had to keep available for a work project all Saturday, so Milton and I were left to our own devices. We had driven down in the truck, and I don't like driving the truck all that much, so we opted for a hike along the Pipe Dream trail since we didn't have to drive to any trailheads, just walked down to Jackson Street and picked up the trail there.
There was a storm moving in and it was overcast and cold (high 20s/low 30s), with a slight breeze. Even so, I broke a sweat within fifteen minutes since there is some elevation gain; later, my hands would get cold but otherwise the temperatures were pretty good for hiking. I let Milton off leash as soon as we got on the trail and he did his wide-ranging thing - I suspect that's good rabbit terrain, although I didn't see any. We went to within shouting distance of the Hidden Valley trailhead - where the snow was starting to fall in earnest - and then turned around and retraced our steps. We pretty much had it to ourselves: we saw two trailrunners in the distance and met two women and a nice dog on our outbound leg. Other than that, it was just Milt, me and the trail. It's a great trail: far enough from the road that the traffic noise is muted; rolling ups and downs; good footing. It's too difficult for me to MTB but I sure like walking it. I didn't take the GPS but I would guess we did about six miles round trip.
After we got back, the snow picked up. The storm would leave a couple of inches in the Moab valley by the next morning. It also left very cold temperatures - it was 9 F when we got up Sunday - cold enough to dissuade us from doing more than neighborhood walks before we had to head back north. A quick trip this time - hopefully we'll be able to get out more our next time down.
While H was remembering how to ski again after 8+ months away, I tried to stay busy at home, not wanting to waste the weekend in front of the t.v. (Don't get me wrong: I totally could have, I just didn't want to feel guilty about it.) On Saturday, therefore, Milton and I were out the door at 8:15 a.m., bundled up against the 19F cold, to do our 3.25 mile loop; we alternated walking and jogging on each block, trying to keep warm. After that, a shower and a big coffee, we did a quick run to the post office and the store, and then settled in at home where we: failed at making a white bread sandwich loaf; succeeded at making brownies and peanut butter and pumpkin dog cookies; made a batch of chili; did a load of laundry; wrapped and packaged up some stuff for mailing back east; and wrote a bunch of holiday cards.
Milton followed the sun around from room to room as it came in the windows.
Sunday, we left at about the same time for the same loop (the temperature was 21F this time but it actually felt a little colder). Shower, coffee and then: another load of laundry, plus put away the clean stuff; did a run to the pharmacy and attempted to mail the packages; made a whole wheat boule; prepped breakfasts for Monday and Tuesday; dusted and vacuumed a couple of rooms; and put out some Christmas decorations.
Milton chased the sun and also napped on our bed.
Last ski season was abruptly terminated in early March 2020 when the pandemic hit: all the Utah ski resorts closed down as everyone scrambled to understand what was going on. Many of the ski resorts, Alta included, offered a credit towards a 2020/2021 season pass to make up for the two month foreshortening of the 19/20 season. (Alta also then raised the price of their season passes for the first time in ten years, all but negating that credit, but that's not the point.) As the deadline to buy passes grew closer - end of August - H and I fretted incessantly since Utah's case numbers were ... not good. In the end, we bought Alta season passes, as we have since our second year here, comforted by the fact that for the first time, Alta offered 100% money back if you haven't used your pass by the end of December. This would, we reasoned, give us a chance to see how the early season shook out.
It's now in the early season and we're still fretting incessantly. It hasn't snowed in three weeks (big time drought y'all) and the base is under two feet. We were in Moab for Alta's opening weekend but stayed in SLC for this past weekend and H, after much fretting, decided to go skiing. Things are different.
The ski busses are running but only allowing twenty people on each bus. Cars are being spaced - with a six foot pole - which H estimates will decrease available parking by 20-25%. Right now, Alta is offering updates on parking availability via social media - the powers that be are not allowing vehicles up the canyons once Alta and Snowbird's parking is full (no more road parking); Snowbird is requiring parking reservations. Once you get up there, as a season passholder/day skier, options are limited. You cannot go into the Goldminer's Daughter lodge to use the bathrooms or the day lockers; bathrooms are available at Wildcat base only in the skier services building and they are letting people in one at a time. Bathrooms and some lockers are available at Albion (also Watsons and Alf's, once you get on the mountain). On mountain, Alf's no longer allows you to bring your own food: you are seated at a specific table and order from the table, and they ask that you limit your stay to thirty minutes. In the liftlines, masks are required and employees are calling people out if they're not wearing them over nose and mouth (I'm okay with that). The singles lines have been eliminated: the new rule is, if you arrive together, you ride together.
We knew H would go a little crazy if he didn't ski this year, new restrictions and all. So he skied both Saturday and Sunday, driving up and sitting in the truck until the chair opened (because you can't wait in the lodge). He rode each chair by himself, which was fine now, when there weren't that many people skiing, but the lift lines are going to get so long once the snow and the skiers come. Skiing is very limited right now, due to the dearth of snow, and all southern-facing slopes are bare. He went off-piste once and immediately regretted it (hard, crusty, rocks). He skied until 1 p.m. each day, then drove home, still fretting.
Me, I still don't know what to do. If I take the bus, I'll have to wear my boots, because I can't use the day lockers, and I'll have to wait outside, getting cold, until the lifts start. I won't be allowed to go into any lodges to warm up on cold days and I get cold very quickly when it's under 20F. I could drive up with H and then take the bus down if I get cold/want to leave earlier, I suppose. It just all sounds like such a huge hassle. We're not blaming Alta for this at all - they are making the best of a bad situation, as is everyone these days - I just don't know if it's worth it for me. I've got another couple of weeks to fret some more and figure it out.
The southern Utah skies cleared up after Thursday, giving us bright sunshine and blue for days. It stayed on the chilly side, however, so on Friday and Saturday, when H wanted to go MTBing, I opted to hike with Milton instead. My threshold for biking is about 50 F; any lower than that and my fingers and toes just get too cold.
We hustled on down to Moab the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, heading south as soon as we could and thus enjoying the avoidance of any holiday traffic. Both H and I had enough work to do Wednesday that we didn't take vacation time for that day (and thus didn't get out to play in the desert); Milton was a little confused - although he often is - but rolled with it.
Thursday was a little cloudier but still dry so we hit the trails. We had learned to avoid Arches NP from our last Thanksgiving's Delicate Arch hike, with hundreds of other hikers, and instead sought out a trailhead that was less popular, returning to the Sovereign Trails off the Dalton Wells Road. With the not-snowy weather, there were actually quite a few campers and vans scattered about the dispersed camping area. We walked past one group, with two dogs to whom Milton gladly introduced himself, but once out on the trails, we scarcely saw anyone.
When we were here before, in April, we'd wished for a trail map because there seemed to be lots of trails, well-marked/blazed but with no maps, and we didn't know where we were heading or how far we'd be going. This time, we had a map which H found at the visitors' center in town. At only $4.00 it was a bargain - but it was also printed on thin paper that tore on its first unfolding. We looked at it once, tried to take a photo and then just hiked - so we pretty much didn't have a map this time either. (The new plan is to take it into work and make photocopies of each section so we'll have those for reference next time.)
After parking at the trailhead lot, we kept walking out the dirt road until we came to a white-blazed single-track trail. The Sovereign system has trails for jeeps, 4x4s, dirtbikes, MTBs and hikers; this one was for dirtbikes/MTBs/hikers. We stayed on this trail through a couple of junctions, before switch-backing down a short, steep section and onto the Copper Ridge 4x4 road.
We stayed on this across some slickrock and down through a wash until we came to a fairly major intersection with another singletrack climbing up another butte. We took that and at the top realized we'd be able to make a loop by descending another trail that would take us back to the Copper Ridge Road.
From there, we took the CRR out through the wash, which turned out to be the wash we'd hiked last time, and followed the road right back to the car. We ended up with just under six miles (probably at least nine for Milton who still doesn't know how to pace himself).
H and I aren't big spenders, and the current pandemic has curtailed our spending even more. But small businesses need all our help, especially as we head into winter. The big boxes and Am@zon don't need our money - the local folks do. With that in mind, here are just a handful of the locally-owned businesses that H and I like to give our money to - please feel free to do the same.
Grid City Beerworks - Our new favorite regular place, they opened mid-March 2020. You read that right. The beer is terrific, the food is very good (lots of vegan options) and when their dog-friendly roof deck finally opens - they're just waiting on permitting right now - Milton can't wait to go make new friends.
Saltfire Brewing - Another new discovery for us, Saltfire has higher octane brews than we usually drink, but we loved their Lupulin Dew Pale Ale. They've got a brewery cat, a dog-friendly patio AND if you live outside of Utah, you can order their beers to be shipped! They also sell coffee, available online as well.
Sticks + Stones Design - I got an enameled Utah necklace for my recent birthday and also have a pair of earrings. Her designs are beautiful and simple and somehow just remind me of Utah's landscape.
The King's English Bookshop - Support your local bookstores, y'all! I love TKE and have been shopping there for years. Even pre-pandemic, I could order online and then pick up in the store, without paying for shipping. Love me a bookstore.
Fishers Cyclery - Road, mountain and e-bikes. Not open Sundays but they're been in SLC since 1930. Great service and we've bought all our bikes there.
Salt Peaks Snowboard and Skate Shop - Snow- and skateboards, plus gear and accessories. They were super-nice when we went in to get H a skateboard helmet, despite the fact that we were way older than anyone else in the shop;
A. Fisher Brewing Co. - Yes, there is a lot of beer on this list. My heart goes out to all the little breweries. The Fisher taproom is still closed but their patio is open, plus to-go beer sales. And they've got a full online merch store now too.
Western Nut Company - In business since 1966, Western Nut Company has amazing products - nuts, brittles, candies, chocolates - and I go every year for the holidays. Their brittles are delicious!
Dancing Cranes Imports - Dancing Cranes Imports reminds me of what Pier 1 used to be, back when it was smaller. There's jewelry, clothing, home decor, crystals, essential oils, etc. They have an online store now although it doesn't look like clothing is available that way.
#shoplocal
Another weekend spent hunkered down. Some of Utah's ski resorts have opened: Brighton, Brian Head and Park City Mountain Resort opened Friday 11/20, while Alta is due to open Monday 11/23, Snowbasin on 11/27 and Snowbird on 11/30. We did go up to Alta Saturday morning to pick up our season passes; mountain employees were busy at Wildcat base, practicing setting up the corrals with "ghost lanes" to help with social distancing. We got our passes but continue to fret about skiing: whether it's safe, whether it will be fun at all with all the necessary restrictions, how to get up there, etc.
Other than that, we stuck around home, staying distant and safe while Utah's coronavirus numbers climb ever higher. Milton and I took a couple of long walks - although it got down into the low 20s, Saturday was especially gorgeous with clear skies and sunshine. I baked socca and lemon blueberry breakfast cookies, plus a vegetable soup and black-eyed peas and collards. I even vacuumed, whether it needed it or not (it did).
With the Thanksgiving holiday coming up, we'll have a few days to get out and do something more interesting than soup-making and laundry, I promise. Until then, stay safe!
I haven't posted ... because we didn't do much of anything last weekend. We had hoped to do our annual Sol-Bright hike, which we usually do after the first snowfall but before the ski areas open up; the weather was not all that great, plus the storms earlier in the week had brought a fair amount of snow, so we weren't all that inclined to go hiking. We also weren't that inclined to rake the leaves but it was windy enough that most of that problem solved itself.
We stayed put: Milton and I went on lots of walks; did a bunch of laundry (and even put it away!); we made two kinds of soup - a green chile stew and a Moroccan harira - as well as two batches of pumpkin cranberry walnut muffins; and finished up this year's holiday cards. Pretty standard, boring stuff.
This coming weekend looks to be more of the same, although the weather should be a wee dite better. We'll see if we can't motivate a little more for this one.
The wind on Saturday continued through the afternoon and, around 5 p.m., brought rain in with it. It was blustery all night, sometimes raining hard for brief periods, and we were happy not to be out in a tent. In the morning the storm had largely moved through (on its way up to northern Utah, where it would park itself in the mountains for several more days) but it was cloudy, still breezy and much, much colder without any sunshine.
Unsure about how the mountain roads would be, we wanted to be back in SLC before it got dark. This left us plenty of time to go back up to Moab Brand Trails. Temperatures were in the 40s - which is too cold for me to MTB - so Milton and I walked while H rode. The dog and I headed out on North 40 and while there were occasional puddles for him to drink from, the trails were pretty much dry. It must not have rained as much as it seemed to have.
We planned to be out for 75-90 minutes, and to meet back at the truck. Milton and I got back first and, after giving him some water and some biscuits, we climbed into the cab to get out of the wind while we waited for H. He rolled in just ten minutes later, hands and feet cold, but the rest plenty warm since he had been riding non-stop (not having to wait for me). The clouds shifted just a bit, lifting high enough for us to see the La Sals capped with snow once again. Although I am not particularly excited about winter this year, those mountains always look good in white.
Since it was only a matter of time (days, really) before winter arrived in northern Utah, we wanted to get our MTBs down to Moab. We were on the road well before rush hour on Friday, allowing us to miss the big traffic on I-15 in Utah County, but getting us to Moab just in time for the crush of cars navigating the road work. That tangle gave us an extra half-hour in the car but there was cold beer waiting for us in the fridge, so it all worked out.
We did our new regular loop: front side of Lazy EZ to Rusty Spur and back to the back side of Lazy EZ, then the front side again, to Bar M out to the Rockin' A/Bar B intersection, then north on Bar M to Circle O (I didn't ride Circle O that well as the wind gusts were making me extra wobbly). At the north end of Circle O, I went left, to the parking lot cut-off, and H went right, continuing north on Bar M to the North 40 intersection and then back on the sandy jeep road behind the old chuckwagon. That last bit was both wicked sandy and completely into the wind, so he had to work for it - and I was glad to have bailed out on that part.
Even though it's November and it has to start getting cold and wet soon, this past weekend was just glorious. Completely cloudless skies and temperatures comfortably in the 60s, we couldn't stop exclaiming about how nice it was.
Saturday was sort of a down-shift for us. H wanted to do a road ride so Milton and I walked/jogged a 3.25 mile loop from our house; it's very nice to have him keep me company (since I don't like running very much) but he's a pain on the leash so it's never the easiest run, even with a downhill finish. After getting cleaned up, we did some town errands, like dropping off ice cream for a friend who was scheduled to have her tonsils removed on Monday and getting a skateboarding helmet for H. We tried a couple of different places but most of the shops are skate/board shops and are gearing up for the snowboard season, which means supply was low. We finally found one that fit at Salty Peaks: we'd never been in that shop before and it was amazing, with tons of old skate- and snowboards in their museum - the ceiling and upper walls are covered with boards. Very cool.
Sunday we convinced Ted to go MTBing with us at Round Valley, meeting him at 11 a.m. so as to take advantage of the warmest part of the day. We decided to give our original loop a go, with some small variations: Matt's Flat/Cammy's to Seventy-101, to PorcUClimb and the top half of Down Dog, to Valderoad to Matt's Flat to Rambler (up the "Sweet Sixteen" side and down the "Sagebrush Switchbacks" side, which was busier than we have ever seen it), out Round Valley Express to the paved bike trail. It was here that we discovered new trails! We had no idea they were there but took Bourbon Street up and then left onto Big Easy, which brought us back to Rambler (near the Rambler/Ramble On intersection), which took us back to Ability Way and the trailhead. Bourbon Street and Big Easy are terrific: easy climbing, nice smooth dirt, not rocky and - best of all - no one on them. Super-nice.
On our way back through SLC, we stopped by a new-to-us brewery: Saltfire Brewing Co., not too far from Grid City on West Temple. Their beer is available to go or to drink on site; it's only in cans because it's higher point, which meant we had to choose carefully. Luckily, their Lupulin Dew pale ale is very, very tasty. They have a nice, west-facing patio, which would be too hot in the summer but was perfect this late fall day. We enjoyed our beer and enjoyed talking with the table of girls sitting next to us, all fairly recent transplants to SLC from the east coast who had hiked to Lake Blanche earlier. Best part: the patio is dog-friendly so we will definitely be going back and bringing Milton along to work the crowd.
A cold front was due to move in midday on Sunday and we wanted to get some trail time in before it happened. We also wanted to stay south of town, knowing we'd be ensnared in traffic when it was time to head back to SLC, so we headed out to the Sand Flats Recreation Area, avoiding that line of vehicles waiting to get in by parking at the Hell's Revenge exit lot. It was a bit cloudy but the sun was breaking through in spots, highlighting cliffs in the distance.
Hike stats: 5.27 miles; moving 1:56 hours/2.7 m.p.h.; overall 2:18/2.3 m.p.h
We got caught in traffic last Friday night as we came into Moab: traffic backed up starting at the bridge and extending past Potash Road, costing us an extra 45 minutes. Because of this, when it came time Saturday morning to decide on a hike, we knew we wanted to stay south of town to avoid the hoi polloi. I thought it might be a good time to revisit Steelbender.
Hike stats: 6.04 miles; moving 2:15/2.7 m.p.h.; overall: 2:57/2.0 m.p.h.
After eleven years, H and I have learned a lot about the hiking trails along the Wasatch Front. We haven't nearly done all of them, however, and when our friend Ted suggested Mt. Wire for last Saturday - because it isn't ten miles and is off-leash dog-friendly - we readily agreed. Mt. Wire is basically downtown, behind the University and Red Butte Garden. Ted has discovered one of my favorite hiking blogs, Girl on a Hike, and he thought the south ridge sounded good. (Apparently you can also ascend Mt. Wire from a trail above the Living Room.)
We met at the Rotary Park lot, at the mouth of Emigration Canyon, and were amazed at how many road cyclists were out and about - way more than we ever see on the roads down where we live. Between the trail guide I printed out and the map on Ted's phone, we made our way through the myriad of trails crisscrossing the foothills until we reached the ridgeline trail.
Let me be clear here: this trail goes up over 2,000 feet in 2.5 miles. That is a LOT of up. This trail is mostly very steep, with no shade whatsoever and loose gravel often under foot. I would certainly not take a dog on it in the summer time but in the middle of October, with a cool wind blowing, Milton had no problem. He even stuck to the trail most of the time instead of running further afield; I think the scrub oaks hemmed him in.
Mt. Wire is topped with an old tower, which will add even more elevation if you climb it. Neither Ted nor I was tempted; H went about two-thirds of the way up. The wind was stronger here and we all quickly put layers on so we wouldn't get chilled. There are 360-degree views, all across the Salt Lake valley, to Antelope and Stansbury Islands and up Emigration Canyon.
When we headed back down on the same trail, I was glad I had brought my hiking poles. It was, for the most part, less slippery than we had expected but it was (as previously mentioned) very, very steep. We got down quickly, however, and when our feet hit the mostly-flat Bonneville Shoreline Trail, it felt great. We said good-bye to Ted, vowing that the next hike would be not-too-long but also not-too-steep.
I knew my quads were going to be sore and sure enough, when we got up Sunday, I knew that MTBing wasn't in the cards for me: I would be even slower than I normally am. So while H had a great ride at Round Valley, not stopping and doing a lot of climbing with Rusty Shovel, Happy Gilmor/Tin Man, Rambler and PorcUClimb, Milton and I walked, meeting lots of very friendly dogs along the way.
A couple of friends, Erica and Kylie, joined us (safely distanced and/or masked as necessary) for the last bit of our vacation week. On Saturday morning, after breakfast and coffee, we headed out to hike Jeep Arch, which they didn't know about. The day was sunny, completely clear and warm. There were already numerous vehicles at the trailhead by the time we pulled in - although only a fraction of what was parked at the Corona Arch trailhead - but, amazingly, we timed it just right to have the arch to ourselves.
We did the loop portion clockwise. I think that's a better way to go as the steepest bit is short, plus you actually can get some shade on the final uphill approach (if you go in the morning). Erica and Kylie are rock climbers and they were eyeing the hardware left in the slabs with interest. On our way out, we picked up the fainter trail leading down into the wash. E and K really liked this section: mostly shaded and some scrambling required. We passed a dude out scouting locations and light to shoot an indie music video, then made our way back through the culvert to the truck.
Our stomachs were all growling at this point and H had the fantastic idea of having lunch in Middle Earth (this Middle Earth, not the Navajo Rocks trail), figuring it would be shady in there. Once again, our timing was perfect as we passed a family coming out as we were heading in with our cooler. We had the whole grotto to ourselves as we hydrated with beer and munched our sandwiches.
That evening, we met up with another friend who was in town, off-roading with his family and friends. They all had their trailers circled up at the Old Spanish Trail Arena, just south of Moab. It was kind of a weird spot for camping - they had made reservations for the group site almost a year ago - but there was plenty of room for everyone to spread out, distanced safely around the campfire.
The next morning, Erica and Kylie hit the road early, heading back to SLC. We dithered around for a little while, then decided that we didn't know what traffic would be like and maybe we should think about heading north ourselves. We cleaned and packed and then went up to the Millcreek overlook for a quick walk (just over an hour) for Milton to burn off some energy. There were a few other folks there as well with their dogs but not many. It seemed like everyone else was queuing up to get into the Sand Flats Recreation Area - we could see the huge line of jeeps and 4x4s winding its way up the hill above us.
After our walk, as the clouds rolled in, we loaded up and got on our way, stopping at Ray's in Green River for lunch. As we continued up Highway 6, the storm that was at that moment delivering to Alta its first snow of the season brought clouds, high winds, blowing sand and rain sprinkles to us. We soon enough drove out of it, however, and even though we had left our vacation a little earlier than we had intended, with the fast weather change, wrapping things up seemed like the right thing to do.
Hike stats: 5.56 miles; 2:28 time; 2.2 m.p.h. average speed
It had been just over six months since we had done Pritchett Canyon for the first time but with the ridiculous levels of traffic to get to/return from anything north of Moab, we were looking for something on the south end of town. The OHV lot on Kane Creek Boulevard had a fair number of vehicles and trailers in it but most of them must have been headed out towards Chicken Corners because we only saw six jeeps and four dirtbikers during our hike.
The group of jeeps caught us at the Brickyard obstacle. We stopped and watched them there and then at the Chewie ledges a little further on, chatting with some of the guys until one of them got cocky, tried to go up without knowing the line and broke an axle. We left them behind then and continued up the canyon.
Pritchett Canyon is very pretty: narrow with high walls and intriguing side canyons for the first part and then widening out for the last bit. The trail surface is varied, with chunky rocks, slickrock ledges and sand. Because it has been so dry, the sand was like pink dust, puffing up with every step. (Afterwards, even though we brushed him off, Milton's white feet stayed pink.)
We met up with the dirtbikers just after they'd come off the top of the pass at Yellow Hill. They weren't really sure where they were - so we told them - and it seemed like a lot of the massive obstacles which this trail is known for were not all that much fun for bikes. We made it up to the pass and then turned right around to retrace our steps (H had to be back for an afternoon video conference), passing them before they'd gotten very far. We leapfrogged them back and forth - and had to work around the jeeps (only four of them now) who were working their way up Rockerknocker - until they finally got flatter ground after Chewie and took off.
The midday sun was strong but temperatures were quite reasonable, now that we've gotten into October. Milton overdid it (of course) but from overexertion, not overheating. When we got back to the parking lot for a quick beer before H's meeting, there were more BASE jumpers throwing themselves off the cliffs, and the Kane Creek road was busy with side-by-sides and MTBers. We said hi to one MTBer who was pushing his bike up the lot, having crossed the creek below, and I asked him if he'd just ridden Jackson's Trail. "Dude!" he answered, "I came down it but I wouldn't say I rode it!"
We finished our beer, put the tired dog in the truck and headed home, with no traffic delays. H had his meeting and then we spent the afternoon working on my cruiser bike's brakes, reading and taking neighborhood walks. Solid day all around.
Hike stats: 9.14 miles; moving 2:56 time / 3.1 m.p.h.; overall 3:32 / 2.6
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