boxing day

Boxing Day (the day after Christmas) was another beautiful day, clear and not so cold.  I wanted to take Milton somewhere he could get his run on, while H wanted to do another long town walk (he's enjoying exploring Moab's neighborhoods).  We decided to divide and conquer.

Matheson Wetlands Preserve

H took the Millcreek Parkway path to the other side of town, then got on Kane Creek Boulevard to the entrance of Matheson Wetlands Preserve (no dogs, no bicycles).  We've often driven by but never stopped in at the largest intact Colorado River wetlands in Utah, commonly known as the Moab Slough.  There's a one mile trail in the preserve, which is home to over 200 species of birds, mammals and amphibians.

The slough

At the far end, he made his way out of the preserve, continuing on old roads through the slough and searching for a way out.  He finally found an exit (after dousing one foot in a thawing soggy spot) all the way at the northern end of town, by the Aarchway Inn.  This meant a long walk back along Main Street, some of which still doesn't have a sidewalk put in due to all the road-widening work they've been doing.  He got back before we did but I think he put more miles in.

The way out!

Milton and I drove down to the Hidden Valley trailhead.  We didn't have a particularly early start, so there were already five or six cars there; two other parties of hikers - a couple with two dogs on-leash and three hikers with one dog off-leash - started out just ahead of us.  We caught them quickly, however, during the steep uphill. 

More snow than I expected

I should have thought a little more about the position of the sun on this trail this time of year.  The outbound/uphill leg was fine, even in the shady spots which were exponentially colder, because we were climbing the whole way.  The saddle was entirely in the shade so we climbed a little further to the start of the petroglyph section so I could give Milton snacks and some water.

View from our snack spot

The group of three hikers, plus Ranger the dog, caught us there.  They were hiking through to the Moab Rim side and the girl asked if I was local.  When I said yes, she asked if I could keep an eye out for her gloves, which she'd mistakenly left on the steep part of the trail.  We exchanged cell numbers and they continued on as Milton and I headed back down.

Desert dog in his element

The sun had continued its journey across the sky and our return trip was much more in the shade.  I got pretty chilled and had to put on another fleece and swap out my gloves for mittens.  We found the gloves and I texted her when we got back to the trailhead, arranging for a masked hand-off at Woody's later in the afternoon.  It all worked out very well since Milt had tired himself out enough that he didn't even lift his head when we headed out.  We people weren't that worn out but figured we'd earned the beer.