creekside

We felt like we needed to make it up to Milton by taking him on a hike on Sunday.  With the temperatures reaching normal (i.e., hot), we thought some place with a creek would be best, like Mill Creek's main/less popular fork. We had done this hike last Labor Day weekend and Milt had gotten overheated then; this time we got an earlier start and I brought his white t-shirt, just in case.

Desert primrose (?)

We were the second car in the lot and for much of our hike, didn't see anyone else: a couple of hikers on the other side of the creek on our way out, and then a handful of people and dogs on the way back.  Milton was thrilled with the creek, plunging in, dashing around, ducking his head and trying to catch the waves in his mouth.  And because we had gotten an early enough start, and the canyon walls were high enough, we were in the shade for all of the outward leg and half of the return.

I don't know what this is but it's cheerful

This is a very pretty canyon walk.  The trail is mostly sand or packed dirt, with very little noticeable up and down.  We heard canyon wrens and other bird song and Milt got buzzed by a hummingbird due to the red bandanna he wears hiking.

I could walk this kind of trail forever

Although it is getting too hot for most desert wildflowers, there were a few, delicate and yet so, so hardy.  The juniper trees were laden with berries and we saw tadpoles and tiny minnows in some still pools of the creek.

Some cowboy jacuzzis in the creek

We went all the way to the end, where there are petroglyphs, the ruins of an old cabin and where the Steel Bender jeep road comes in.  When we finally lost our shade on the way back, we walked in the creek so Milt could have all the water he needed.  The water felt great: cool but not at all cold.  These Mill Creek canyons are a real gift and it's clear why the locals love them so much.  There's hardly any snow left in the LaSals, though, so I wonder how much longer the creek will run so well until the rains return in the fall.

Finally lost our shade

Hike stats:  7.57 miles; moving time 2:57/speed 2.6 m.p.h.; overall 3.27/2.2 m.p.h.; 790' elevation

crater day 2020

We've done the Syncline Loop around Upheaval Dome crater twice now, once clockwise in 2016 and once the other way around in 2019.  What we'd never done is gone into the crater itself.  Since Saturday was going to be the last morning before temperatures started climbing to their usual heights, we thought we'd get up early and get it done.  Milton would not be coming with us: too hot, plus no dogs on the hiking trails in the national parks.  There was some pouting when he realized he was staying behind.

View of the Colorado Green River from the rim

We'd gotten organized the night before and got up early, so that even with the hour drive from Moab, we were still on the trail around 7:30 7:00 a.m.  There was just one other car in the parking lot when we got to the trailhead.  The plan was to head out clockwise until we got to the turnoff for the crater spur, do that and then go back the way we came.  In theory we could have continued all the way around but that would likely have added another couple of miles to our total.  We knew we were pushing our luck a little with the heat as it was and instead opted to keep the hike as short as possible.

Silhouette

It was cool and we were in the shade as we dropped over the edge of the plateau, winding our way down the switchbacks and into the wash.  The sun marched inexorably higher, however, and by the time we'd gotten to the crater spur trail, there was little shade.  The heat wasn't too bad yet but it would get worse.

You can explore a little further up the wash past this sign

As we worked our way up the wash into the crater, the broken dome's red rock walls loomed high over us.  The geologic formations we were walking through were very different rock, however: white, yellow, grey and green.  No one is 100% sure what caused Upheaval Dome - the two prevalent theories are that it's either a collapsed salt dome or a complex meteorite impact crater, and most geologists seem to lean towards the latter - but it is one funky hole in the ground.  We wandered around, hoping to get a glimpse of the viewpoint overlooks 1,000 feet above us so we could wave at the tourists.  The sun was getting stronger, though, so we had our snacks and retraced our steps.

A geologist's dream

We made pretty good time coming back off the spur trail and heading up the wash towards the canyon climb.  When we started to climb, however, it started to feel very hot; even though there were some shaded sections, we were working hard and going pretty much straight up, so it was easy to feel overheated.

Striking colors

H doesn't like the heat that much but this day I was the one suffering.  I had not drunk enough water Friday afternoon and evening and had thus woken up feeling dehydrated.  I had to pace myself with drinking water on the outbound leg of the hike because I didn't know how much I would need for the climb back out, so I was still dehydrated when we started our climb.  I felt tired and a little light headed ... but there wasn't anything to do but keep on going.  There was food and water at the car - I just had to get there.

Heading back out the wash

Spoiler alert: I made it!  I started feeling better once the climbing stopped.  There is still nearly a mile from the canyon rim back to the trailhead but it's easy walking and mostly flat.  H and I guzzled the Gatorades we'd brought as we changed out of our boots and sweaty, sweaty clothes - post-hike beers would have to wait until we were back home, inside with the air conditioning.

Hike stats: 10.3 miles; moving time 4:24/speed 2.3 m.p.h.; overall 4:52/2.1 m.p.h.; 2,090' elevation

revisiting seven mile canyon

We've been very lucky to be able to get down to Moab so much recently, luckier than most and we realize that.  The drive is long, however, and even though we've done it enough that we don't really think about it, taking an extra day to make the trip a long weekend can make a big difference.  We were able to do that last weekend, taking heading down Thursday after work.  This enabled us to take advantage of the recent lower-than-normal temperatures, at least for a day before things started heating up again.

Heading towards the buttes

On Friday we were thus able to go back to the north fork of Seven Mile Canyon for a short hike with Milton.  It was a gorgeous, cloudless day and temperatures were amazingly cool.  We parked at the cattle guard at the big bend on Route 313, climbed over the fence and headed up the wash.

Sun's out, tongues out

We had the canyon to ourselves.  There were a few footprints in the sand but we couldn't tell how recent they were.  The wash itself showed evidence of how high the water had been not so long ago, with bent branches, debris and water remaining in some potholes.  Milton made good use of that water although we did shoo him away from the pools with tadpoles swarming in them.

Burned-out tree

When we explored this fork of the canyon last time, we turned around without getting to the end of the far right branch due to boulders in the wash and cryptobiotic soil on the upper levels.  This time, however, we found some well-beaten cowpaths on the other side of the wash that brought us all the way to the head of this fork of the canyon, right beneath the Monitor butte.

Dressed in desert colors

Range cattle do tend to trample the desert to bits but their paths do allow further exploration without us doing our own damage to the landscape.  This let us experience this pretty little bowl.

It would be fun to see the pourover in the rain

We retraced our steps, poking around in the other canyon branches.  There wasn't as much water there because they are sandier but we did find this sap-covered tree that other hikers had adorned with bleached cow bones.  The desert is weird sometimes.  ☺

Bone tree

After our hike, we drove to Ken's Lake for beer, sandwiches and swimming with Milton.  Or rather, wading with Milton because when we encouraged him to go deeper, we learned that he doesn't know how to swim: he paddles with his front legs but curls his hind legs up beneath him - so he looks like a seahorse - and then his butt sinks.  He got extra dog biscuits for giving it a solid try though.

Hike stats:  4.74 miles; moving time 1:59/speed 2.4 m.p.h.; overall 2:24/2.0 m.p.h.; 530' elevation

something new: lookout peak

We've been in Utah over ten years now.  Our hiking has been concentrated in Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons, in part because the drive to the trailheads is short and in part because our former dog, Becky, didn't care to hike so it didn't matter if we hiked in those canyons (which are watersheds for SLC and thus dogs are not allowed).  Now we have our Milton, who loves to hike, and so we have to seek out new places to go where dogs are allowed.  That's what brought us to Lookout Peak, up Killyon Canyon, off the Pinecrest Road in Emigration Canyon.

So very green

I found this hike via Girl on a Hike's list of off-leash hikes.  (By the way, her site is full of fantastic, detailed information and is one of my regular go-tos - she's only been in state seven years but she hikes a LOT.)  She lists Lookout Peak as an off-leash trail; please note that the Killyon Preserve now has a sign up saying that dogs must be on-leash - but we saw upwards of ten dogs out there, only two of which were leashed.  We split the distance: H kept Milt leashed on the way up, but let him off for the return trip.

Coming out onto the ridge

We left on the early side and were the first people in the signed parking area just before the Pinecrest/Killyon road split.  There's no parking at the actual trailhead so it was about a mile on the Killyon road (first paved, then dirt) to the start of the trail.  There's no sign where the trail begins; it's just a path that continues on after the road ends.  The sign for the preserve is about five minutes in, with an actual trail sign a bit further on.

Little short paintbrushes

Walking by the creek, in all the greenery, we sweated up quickly even though it wasn't even 50F when we parked the car.  The trail doesn't waste much time with switchbacks, following the drainage through the trees at a steady but not too steep climb.  The trail here is packed dirt and looks like it would get muddy in wet weather.

Nearing the top

When we got to a four-way intersection, we went left/north.  Going straight/east would take you to Affleck Park (watershed/no dogs) and right/south would head towards the Emigration Canyon pass.  Our route got steeper and drier as it mounted the ridge, and continued up and up, through sunflower meadows (just past their prime).  We counted at least ten other varieties of wildflowers, all of them just on the verge of blossoming.

View northwest-ish 

Up and up, always following the clear trail on the ridge.  It got windier as we got higher and by the time we reached Lookout Peak (where the trail ends), it was cold.  The peak is a meadow, with stunning views of upper City Creek Canyon, SLC, Emigration Canyon, Parleys Canyon, the peaks of the Cottonwoods, the rolling hills surrounding Little Dell and Big Mountain and East Canyon Echo Reservoir.  It was so green and it would have been great to sit down and soak it all in - but we were freezing.  We both put long sleeves on - and even wearing gloves my fingers shut down with Raynaud's disease, per usual - so we didn't linger.

Almost got a good photo of Milton

We had only seen a handful of people on the way up but as we retraced our steps, we encountered lots more: mostly hikers, many with dogs, a couple of trail runners and even two MTBers.  For a trail that I'd never heard of before, it was pretty popular and we were glad we'd gotten an early start.  Milton did very well with everyone, politely greeting the other dogs and mostly ignoring the people unless they had dog treats.

Brrrrr!

The tight parking area right on the road wasn't the best place for snacks and beers, and after ten miles we needed snacks!  So we drove up to the Emigration Canyon pass, making sure to park on the non-watershed side and keeping Milton on a short rope.  He wasn't about to wander, after having towed H up the mountain.  It was a little chilly but we'd picked a good spot as there were dozens and dozens of road cyclists out, plus motorcyclists - lots to watch.  We couldn't believe it had take us so long to find out about Lookout Peak but now that we know about it, and know about the trail system that is up there, we'll be back to do some more exploring.

H's favorite art shot genre: a scenic dead tree

Hike stats:  10.07 miles; moving 3:18 hours/3.0 m.p.h; overall 4:16/2.4 m.p.h.; 3,040' elevation (that's a fair amount of up!)

something old

Utah has been experiencing some below normal temperatures and although it can't last and we'll soon enough be at 100 F, it's been refreshing to have to dig socks out for after-dinner TV watching.  When we went MTBing at Round Valley last Saturday, it was sunny and windy but the cooler temperatures were lovely: not too cold, just right.  We got over there right around the same time as the last time only this time it wasn't nearly as crowded.  We couldn't figure out why.  Despite the prior weekend's wet, wintry weather the trails were bone-dry but also slightly less dusty - win-win!

It wasn't much of a win for me biking-wise, however.  I haven't been able to figure out why I've been struggling so on these trails that I have ridden so many times over the last ten years.  I know I can ride them, I'm comfortable on them ... I think it's more than just being slightly out of shape, I think I haven't been able to get out of my head and focus while I'm riding.  The fact that my rear brake was SHRIEKING at me didn't help my concentration any.  It started making noise at the very end of our ride last time but we just couldn't figure it out.  After about a half hour, at H's suggestion, I tried slamming on the brakes as hard as I could but that didn't do anything.  So we picked up the back of my bike, I held the brakes tightly and he pulled my wheel through the brakes with his hand.  Amazingly, thankfully, that did it and the remainder of the ride was quiet.

 Speedwell (a/k/a Veronica).  Maybe.

We didn't ride very far this time because my head just wasn't in the game.  But we did a PorcUClimb/Rusty Shovel combo, and then climbed old-school back up the "sweet sixteen" switchbacks of Rambler, and then did P-Dog loop (PorcUClimb to Down Dog), so we did get some solid climbs in.

And then we went home and hung out on the patio and I figured out what the sole mystery plant that had popped up in our front "garden" was - must have blown in from a neighbor's yard but we think it's pretty so it gets to stay.

So you see: some climbing

Ride stats: 11:58 miles (our shortest in recent memory); 1:19 hours; 8.7 m.p.h. average/20.8 m.p.h. H's top speed

fleeting

The next weekend (June 6 and 7) brought cold, wet weather to the whole state: Alta got over 16 inches of snow.  H wanted to go back to Moab, knowing that we'd be housebound if we stayed in SLC; I was reluctant at first because I didn't see the point of driving eight hours round trip if all we were going to do was sit inside and read while it rained.  But Moab's forecast looked slightly less dire than up north, so we three piled into the car and drove down.

 Literally not there unless it has rained

Saturday morning it rained and rained and rained.  H and Milton looked like drowned rats when they came in from their morning walk.  The sky was so dark and the winds were fierce, with hail and thunder and lightning.  I may have glared pointedly at H once or twice while we were sitting inside reading.  There was a bit of a break in the weather mid-morning, however, so we three piled into the car and went searching for ephemeral waterfalls on the cliffs above the Colorado River.  When we got back, it got dark and stormy again for a while as the storm blew itself through and then, around noon, the sun came out and the skies completely cleared.

We could hear this one all the way across the river

Wanting to take advantage of the newly-good weather, we three piled into the car with light hiking gear and headed up to the Sand Flats Recreation Area.  We weren't the only ones with that idea and we had to wait in line for about ten minutes at the entrance station.  The ranger was cheerful and friendly as she sold us our annual pass and just a few minutes later, we were parking in the Slickrock Trailhead lot.

Like the storm never happened (except for the winds)

For something new, we started out going up and over Little Lions Back.  Although we could see the Hells Revenge trail in the distance, what we were on didn't go through so we bushwhacked on the sandstone fins and through a wash bottom to get there.  We followed the 4x4 road to the intersection with the Slickrock Trail, allowing Milton to run free only when there wasn't two- or four-wheeled traffic around.   So he didn't get to run around a lot because it was pretty busy with MTBers, jeepers, dirtbikers and OHVers getting some sunshine after the morning's deluge.

Here they come!

We made it up to Milton on Sunday, however, by going back to the Amasa Back.  Jeepers tend to get a later start than hikers/MTBers so we hoped we might see some 4x4 obstacle work on our way back done.  Amazingly, we didn't see very many people at all: a handful of MTBers and no motorized vehicles at all.  Low entertainment value but much more peaceful.

Looking into the Abyss

The route was the same as we've done before a couple of times: up the HyMasa MTB trail to the overlook, then down the jeep road.  (We did do some scouting for a possible Capt. Ahab hike in the future.)  We did meet a local (Wendy, who owns a tear-drop trailer rental company) who was MTBing with her dog and a buddy; as it turns out, she had gone waterfall-hunting along the river Saturday morning as well, before heading to the Slickrock Trail.  Genius.

Up on the Amasa Back

It was a quick trip, with just a little hiking mileage (4.06 miles for Saturday and 6.10 for Sunday).  But it got us out of the house and onto the trails - and since it was in the 40s (!!!) when we got back to SLC that night, and saw all the new snow in the mountains and the puddles in the suburbs, we knew we'd made the right call.

Another gorgeous day out there

return northward

Whew! I had a bit of posting fatigue there for a minute.  When we got back to SLC, the amount of dirty laundry was truly staggering.  But we persevered and, one week later, were back out on the trails, this time in northern Utah.

MTB trails were a bit dusty

Saturday we went to Round Valley where Quinn's Trailhead was packed for some reason.  We ended up parking in the further lot - where the severed deer leg was (?!) - which was not even an inconvenience and kept us away from people a bit.  Despite how crowded the parking lot was, the trails were not that bad - I have no idea why. 

We have so many of these green, down-Millcreek-Canyon shots

We did a 15.44 mile ride which seemed mostly to consist of climbing: we did that bit of Matt's Flat (?) that I used to call My Nemesis but which has now almost totally be re-routed and is much easier to ride, plus PorcUClimb once or twice, plus Happy Gilmore and Tin Man (all up), plus something else I can't remember now.  H was riding well; I was doing okay but was squirrelly on the chunky bits.  Nothing new there.

Sunday was off-leash day in Millcreek Canyon.  Milton hadn't climbed Grandeur Peak yet (it has been since 2018 since we've done it, when we starting to train for the Big Hike) so that was our destination.  We got there less early than I thought we should but since SLC had a curfew that weekend, it wasn't that busy yet.  And it was early enough in the season that there was lots of water on the lower section of the trail for Milton to splash in and drink, although I did carry plenty of water for the upper portion for him.

Pretty green for a high desert

Every time.  Every dang time we hike in Millcreek Canyon I forget - and then quickly remember - how dang steep it is.  It's a much narrower canyon than Big and Little Cottonwood, so even with switchbacks, the trails are really steep - and to be honest, Millcreek Canyon trails don't much believe in switchbacks.

Peaking early

We passed a few people on our way up, shared the summit with just a handful of folks, and then passed a fair number of hikers going up as we were going down.  Despite it being off-leash day there wasn't an overabundance of dogs either, but Milton politely said hello and kept his focus, only stopping to play with a big, friendly Australian shepherd who wanted a game of chase.

The roadside parking was full by the time we got back to the car (6.29 miles RT), as were most of the big trailhead lots we scoped out for our lunch.  We finally found a sunny spot at a less-busy picnic area and pulled in to change out of sweaty hiking duds and have some snacks.  It was nice to be back on the trails in northern Utah but it still feels weird to be sharing them with people after our solitudinous spring.

winding down

Unbelievably, our vacation was coming to an end, although we had at least been clever enough to schedule it around the Memorial Day long weekend.  On Sunday, we went MTBing - much to Milton's disappointment - heading back to the MOAB Brand Trails.  We got our tires in the dirt around 9 a.m., when there were around fifteen other vehicles in the parking lot.

 I need a cooler helmet

We started out on Lazy EZ, quickly passing a family of five.  Once past them, we saw no other MTBers on that popular trail.  After completing that loop, we cut through the parking lot and went out along the cattle-tracked double-track to Rusty Spur, then climbed to the high point of Bar M (again, encountering no other riders) and went out onto Circle O (where we did see a couple other folks).  I prefer the second half of that trail, where it opens up and I can ride more; I tend to do a lot more hike-a-bike in the front half, although I think I'm getting better.  When we came back out onto Bar M again, we went right to finish that loop, pausing to watch slackliners bouncing above the Seven Mile Canyon rim (including one topless girl - no tan lines for her!).  When we got back to the truck, there was lots to watch during our lunch/beers as there were now 60+ vehicles, with lots of comings and goings, MTBers of all levels, dogs and kids.  Given the holiday weekend, there was also heavier OHV traffic on the Gemini Bridges Road, which we could observe across the highway.

Sunday afternoon sky

Our afternoon and evening was spent walking Milton around the neighborhood, reading in the shade and napping.  We also had our one and only firepit of vacation that night, seeing how earlier in the week it had been too hot/windy/early bedtimes.

Millcreek Canyon

Monday morning came around and we did a short hike out to the Millcreek Canyon overlook so Milton could run off some energy.  We cleaned up, packed up and headed north, pausing for lunch at Ray's Tavern.  It was fairly busy there which was GOOD because their business dropped by 95% during March and April due to the pandemic (with no tourists and the town of Green River being too small to support them as carry-out only), and those months usually mark the beginning of their season.  There was some holiday traffic coming out of Spanish Fork Canyon but we were early enough that the drive back to SLC was uneventful.  And that was the end of a most excellent spring break.

We keep M on the leash when it gets edge-y

Ride stats:  14.79 miles; 1:52 hours; average speed 7.9 m.p.h. (the hike-a-bike slows things down considerably); H's top speed 20.8 m.p.h.

Hike (walk) stats: 2.9 miles; just over an hour

making connections

Having done both Hidden Valley into the Behind the Rocks WSA and the Moab Rim trail into the Behind the Rocks WSA, we felt pretty sure that we could link the two and make a loop.  We did our research and did it Saturday morning, leaving before 7 a.m. from home after H had shuttled the truck to the Moab Rim parking lot on the Kane Creek road and riding his bike back.

Hidden Valley is just lovely

It was cool and a little humid, the sun not yet up over the La Sals.  We got on the Pipedream Trail at Jackson Street and walked south to the Hidden Valley trailhead.  This would  be the longest segment of the trails we hiked and we both gained and lost a decent amount of elevation on the rolling, rocky trail.  We saw four MTBers and lots of desert cottontails out enjoying the morning.

View from the pass

From the Hidden Valley trailhead, we hiked up to and through the valley: one hiker, one trailrunner, lots of birds and bunnies.  It was a gorgeous day with clear skies and cooler temperatures than earlier in the week.  When we got to the pass, we continued over and down to the Moab Rim trail/4x4 road.  We met one ambitious MTBer and saw three trailrunners in the distance but otherwise had the whole thing to ourselves.

Desert goth

After going up and over Tire Test Hill - we opted for the main trail, on the sandstone swells, as opposed to the much sandier wash - we continued up to the Moab Rim with its views of the Moab valley.  We started seeing numerous hikers at this point, including a bunch of locals who were out exercising their dogs before the day heated up.

Homemade potato chips - mmmmm!

The last bit was the descent of the gnarly OHV ramp back to the parking lot.  Having the truck waiting for us there, as opposed to walking home along the road, cut around four miles off our total mileage.  Plus we had our cooler there, which meant we could sit on the tailgate and talk to other hikers while we watched the jeeps and side-by-sides attempting the Moab Rim ascent.  We even saw that MTBer we'd seen earlier; as it turned out, he did the exact thing we did only in reverse.

View from Tire Test Hill

This was a great hike.  Temperatures were fairly cool and it ended up being easier than we anticipated; we didn't need the extra water we carried and finally got our nutrition right.  In all honesty, we hurt Milton's feelings because we didn't take him on this hike (he got over it).  But in our defense, we weren't exactly sure how long it was going to be or how long it would take us; now we know and if we ever do it again, he can come with us.  It was really fun, so maybe we will.

Colorado River view from the Moab Rim trail

Hike stats: 10.18 miles; moving time 3:26/speed 3.0 m.p.h.; overall 3:59/2.5; 1,800' elevation PLUS

Ride stats: 3.73 miles; 0:15:28; average speed 14.5 m.p.h.; top 22.1 m.p.h.