trotting turkeys

 Running Thanksgiving turkey trots used to be my thing.  I mean, not really, because I'm not much of a runner.  But for several of our last years in Maine, H and I would do Portland's Thanksgiving morning 4 miler with a bunch of friends (and then, per tradition, go for morning beers to prep for the rest of the day's festivities).  When we moved to Salt Lake City, one of the first things I did was find a Thanksgiving morning run (the Cold Turkey 6k).  I think this is a great race and ended up doing it nine times.  The first two we were even able to find a bar that was open early enough on Thanksgiving for us to have morning beers to prep for the rest of the day's activities; after that place closed, I just cracked my morning beer at home.  But 2018 was the last time we spent Thanksgiving in SLC and so I haven't done a turkey trot since then.  Until this year, when the weekend before we saw that Moab had a pre-Thanksgiving 5k and both of us decided to sign up for it, totally on a whim.

Medalists! lol

It was partly cloudy and in the 50s on the morning of the race as we drove over to the Aquatics Center (which is an amazing facility: indoor and outdoor pools, fitness center with weights and cardio machines, locker rooms and showers for purchase if you've been out camping in the desert for too many days in a row) for the start.  This is a very local race: only about sixty people this year (they had around 100 in 2019).  The route went south on 100 West, on the trail through the woods and past the bike skills park, north on 500 West to 400 North, through the grade school, back to 100 West and around Swanny Park to the finish line - absolutely the flattest road race I have ever done.  They did a little kids 1k around the park and then we were off.

Not bad for not having run

at all since 2018

It was a great little race, with the perfect temperatures.  My only goal was to not walk - it's been a long time since I actually ran.  I met my goal, plus was not passed by any women and came in second in my age group!  H, who hasn't run since 2018, also came in second in his age group.  The guy who beat him also took home the prize for first dog (on leash) across the finish line ... you better believe that we're doing this again next year, and with Milton!

Total turkey

in which we discover who is milton's favorite

On a recent long weekend in Moab, the three of us went out to the Moab Brand trails.  It was a gorgeous but chilly morning and since we had the Subaru (with no bike rack), H was going to MTB while the dog and I walked.  As soon as we pulled into the lot, Milton and I headed out for our usual winter walk loop: the parking lot cutoff over Copper Ridge, then right onto Bar M to Circle O.  H's route was the front side of Lazy EZ, to Rusty Sput, to Bar M and then right out to the Arches NP overlook on the Bar B doubletrack, back on the doubletrack and north on Bar M, cutoff to the back half of Lazy EZ, right onto the parking lot cutoff and left onto Bar M and then out onto Circle O to try to meet us.

Sun's out, tongues out

These diverging routes were good because whenever Milton sees H on his MTB, he wants to go with him: I have to keep him on the leash - and he pulls SO HARD - until he's distracted by a bird or a lizard or a rabbit and forgets that he wants to catch H.

We saw three MTBers out on Circle O. Milt takes a good look and then, once he's determined they're not H, keeps on doing what he's doing.  We found several potholes still full of water from rain earlier in the week and he plunged right in, drinking and wading and ducking his head under the water.

As we were finishing up at the last and biggest pothole (with maybe a quarter of the Circle O trail left to do?), H texted me, asking if we were still out there.  He'd come out to a tricky section and didn't feel like hike-a-biking, so he said he'd turn around there and keep going to finish the Bar M loop.  About thirty seconds later, Milton and I crested a rise to where we could see H, about a quarter-mile away.  Milton stopped and stared for several seconds, long enough for him to decide that the MTBer in the distance was, in fact, H.  And then that darn dog took off, faster than I could call him back (and I don't know if he would have paid attention to me anyway), sprinting to chase H down, hurtling over rocks and gaps and cacti.  I quickly texted H:  He sees you.  He's coming.  And then just moments later, H texted me back: He found me - I'll keep him.  And just like that, I'd been abandoned by my dog.

Almost deep enough to swim

We all got back to the car at the same time: I could see them coming down the road, H going slower than his normal speed and Milton locked into his ground-eating fast trot, trying to keep just ahead of the bike.  He was quite tired but rallied enough for biscuits and to make friends with some of the other dogs hanging around in the parking (mixes Freddie, Fonzie and Goldie next to us; and also griffon Annie and the very cute Australian cattledog Toast).

return to olympus

 A couple of Sundays ago, when Milton and I had gotten back from our 3.5 mile Dimple Dell walk, H said, "You wanna go do something?"  Unless it's pouring rain, I usually do want to go do something (and Milt is always up for anything), so that's how we ended up hiking Mt. Olympus again 10.5 years after we did it the first time.

The city is right there

Make no mistake: this is a hard hike (you can hit the link above for a more detail hike description).  On the way up it is all up, very steeply in spots, averaging over 1,000 feet of elevation per mile.  From the newly revamped trailhead - when we were there in 2010, it was a small dirt lot; now it is paved, one-way traffic only, with a (pretty filthy) restroom, and they are working on improving the start of the trail - it is steep and loose underfoot.  Then there are broad, sweeping switchbacks up to the Bonneville Shoreline Trail.  It's not too bad from there to the Tolcat Canyon spring, although it is still clearly going up, but after the creek crossing the switchbacks get much steeper.  At the second (dry, at this point) creek crossing, the switchbacks just disappear and the trail goes straight up the drainage.  It's rocky too, for more fun.

On alert

As Milton and H ground on ahead of me, I started to struggle right around the Tolcat creek and then I really slowed up after the second creek, with an odd combination of sweating like crazy coupled with cold hands.  It was in the low 50s, with in and out sunshine, so the weather conditions were decent.  My fingers just tend to shut down when it's in the 50s.

View towards the Cottonwood Canyons

There was a group of young women having snacks at the saddle.  They really liked Milton and one asked if he'd been named after the English poet, John Milton; there was a lot of laughter when we explained he was actually named after a burger joint.

Resting up

We didn't attempt the summit like we'd done in 2010: the last 600 feet are scrambling and a bit technical, not ideal for dogs.  So after some snacks and layering up, we started back down.  My knees were twingeing so I took a couple of elderly Motrin from our first aid kit (note to self: update first aid kit) and those definitely helped and the descent was much faster than the climb up.

The valley filled up for just a few minutes

Because Mt. Olympus is basically an urban trail (and SLC has gotten so populous), we saw lots more people than we often do on our hikes: trail runners, groups of all sizes, folks with dogs.  Still, because it wasn't all that nice a day, traffic was likely less than it is on pretty spring mornings.  It's funny that so many people hike this trail because it is just so dang steep and such a grind; I think a lot of people just go up to the Tolcat spring and call it good.  It was even steep for Milton - you could tell he was tired by how close he stuck to H.

Beer!

For apres, we dropped by the Hog Wallow - which, funnily enough, is exactly what we'd done in 2010.  We split a pitch, inhaled a basket of fries and, as our quads slowly tightened up on us, wondered if it would be another ten and a half years before we hike Olympus again.  (That puts us in spring of 2032, in case you're wondering.  Check back then.)

Hike stats: 6.32 miles (plus Milton and I had already done 3.5 before the hike even started); 3.1 hours/2.0 m.p.h. moving; 4.02/1.6 overall (so slow!); 3,580' elevation

wrap up

Last day, there was enough time to drive up towards Sand Flats for a quick 2.5 mile walk out to the Millcreek Canyon overlook.  There were several other cars parked at the pull-out but we only saw one family of three plus dog right at the start, so we had it to ourselves.  Out at the overlook, we stayed for a little while, watching ravens barrel-rolling overhead, offering play-by-play commentary to the three jeeps attempting Potato Salad Hill and waving to the hikers down in Millcreek Canyon.

The creek in the sun looks like a path 

It was just a short walk, enough to stretch our legs a bit in the sunshine before the drive north to SLC.  I don't care how many times we go to Moab: we're always sad when we have to leave.  

river walk

 Saturday wasn't the nicest day - cool to start, then warmed up a little; cloudy for most of the day - so we decided to do a family town walk and did pretty much the whole paved bike path in Moab, and then some.  We started out by Rotary Park, took the tunnel under 400 East, moseyed over the creek a couple of times and under Main Street.  Continuing north along 100 West, we passed Swanny Park and picked up the most recent segment of the bike path, crossing 191 by Lin Ottinger's Rock Shop.  We crossed back over to the west side of 191 just a little further on because we wanted to check out a gate and a kiosk just north of the Aarchway Inn: it's an entrance into the Matheson Wetlands Preserve.  We didn't go in, though, because no dogs allowed; there also don't seem to be any trails at this northern end although the southern end does.

We kept going north on the sidewalk and were delighted to discover that there's a pedestrian walkway under 191 to the Lions Park.  From here, we took the foot bridge across the Colorado River, pausing to check out how low the river was at the town put-in, then kept going upriver along an unsigned trail.  It was clear that lots of people have gone in here but we didn't see anyone on our way in.  We didn't have a goal in mind - we just wanted to see how far we'd get.  The trail goes between the cliffs and the river, through flood sections and tamarisk groves (yuck tamarisk).  When we found a little sign saying that we were crossing into Arches National Park, we stopped because no dogs allowed.  The trail kept going, however, and we were curious to come back sometime without Milt to see just how far it continues.  I can't imagine it goes too far as the cliffs come right down to the riverbanks, but it would be fun to see.

So we retraced our steps and then went south on the paved path alongside 191.  At this point, it was late enough in the day that MTBers started passing us on their way back to town from the Whole Enchilada.  We crossed 191 at Ottinger's again and when we got to the Spitfire, the beers just called our name.  While Milton loves going on walks, this may have been his favorite part of the whole day: making friends with a group of millenials from New York and charming several MTBers.

You can see why Milton likes going to bars

By the time we got home, we'd done 10.23 miles - not too shabby for a stroll about town.

back to pipe dream

We've hiked Pipe Dream a number of times, in various iterations, but we've never MTBed it.  It doesn't have the notoriety or glamor of many of the other well-known Moab area rides, like the Whole Enchilada, Slickrock, Mag 7 or Captain Ahab, but it is deceptively difficult for a little trail that runs at the bottom of the cliffs, rather than along the top of them.  I've hiked it enough to know that it's too tough for me to attempt on a MTB; H wanted to try it.

Trail dog

The recommended way to ride Pipe Dream is south to north (apparently north-to-south doesn't flow at all) so he set off on his MTB, riding south on 191 to the Hidden Valley trailhead.  That road portion is not particularly pleasant this time of year: too much traffic, too many trucks.  And then it's a climb up to the trailhead so by the time he got to the start of the trail, cumulative fatigue from the days prior was already kicking in.  The whole trail is singletrack and starts with a climb from the parking lot.  From there it's up and down on sometimes very narrow singletrack, with technical switchbacks, chunky sections and some sideslope stretches that are no-fall zones.  It's not that it's cliffy but that the downhill falls away immediately from the trail and there's just nowhere to put your foot down.

Such a good photo subject

H rode it to the Jackson Street entrance/exit and got out there (8.56 miles), having walked more of the technical bits than he would have liked.  We both ride with clipped-in pedals and while H vastly prefers those to flat pedals, he conceded that he might have had more confidence to ride the trickier bits if he knew he could just put his foot down without hesitation if he needed to.  I could tell that he was already thinking about the next time he'd give Pipe Dream a try.

"Imma need a minute"

While all this was going on, Milton and I were also on Pipe Dream: we walked to the Jackson Street entrance and did the north part from there as an out and back.  I could tell that even the dog was getting cumulative fatigue as he stuck to the trail fairly near me, only running off after some critter once or twice.

back to hidden valley-moab rim

The first time we did this hike (June 2020), we didn't take Milton.  We weren't sure quite how long it was or how hot it would get.  This time, we knew we could do it in just over ten miles (10.05 actually) and, being well into the fall, we knew he wouldn't get overheated.  Without getting too much of an early start, we set out from the house, getting onto the Pipedream trail via the Jackson entrance and walking south towards the Hidden Valley trailhead.

Moody morning

There were a number of cars at the HV trailhead and we passed a couple of groups of hikers (including a very friendly golden retriever) as we ascended the cliff and walked up the valley.  After pausing at the saddle to tell some folks how to find the petroglyphs, we descended the other side and headed down towards the Moab Rim trail.  Milton had stuck pretty close to H until this point; now he started ranging widely, chasing after whatever critters he thought he was sniffing.  

"I think that was a rabbit"

When we got to Sand Hill, we had a choice: go down the hill and through the wash or continue on the main trail on the rock, up and over Tire Test Hill.  We knew that it would be slightly shorter through the wash so we went that way, knowing that Milton's miles were adding up rapidly.  We also suspected that there might be water in the wash after the rain the night before.  Sure enough, there were a number of full puddles and potholes for Milt to splash into and drink from.

As we walk through the valley

There wasn't much action on the Moab Rim trail while we were hiking out on it.  We were a little disappointed but once we got to the truck (as before, H had driven it over and ridden his bike back in the morning) for our post-hike beers, the entertainment commenced.  We watched a group of six or seven jeeps deflate their tires and then head up the trail, easily handling the Devil's Crack and Z Corner obstacles; shortly thereafter, a side-by-side followed them up and then passed them after the Z Corner.  We also saw five or six MTBers coming down the Portal Trail across the river - and we applauded them for it.  That trail is not for the faint of heart (or wobbly of bike-handling).

Milton on the Moab Rim trail

Milton was so tired that afternoon that we didn't even have to sneak out to go for a beer at Woody's.

Taking in the river views

split decisions

At this point, H was hankering for a road ride (we'd finally been clever enough to realize that even with the two MTBs on the bike rack, we could put his road bike in the bed of the truck).  Moab has recently finished all the connectors of the paved bike path so you can ride - off the street - from Rotary Park to Route 313.  So once things dried up after the overnight rain, he rode 21.02 miles.  

Cute little cacti

Milton and I are not road cyclists so we walked to the Jackson Street trailhead for the Pipedream Trail.  We went north-to-south (opposite of the recommended MTBing direction), hiking from the Jackson entry to the Hidden Valley trailhead and back again.  Milt is actually very good about staying on singletrack trails UNLESS he sees a critter (squirrel, rabbit) and then all bets are off.  I did about eight miles, including the walks home/trailhead and trailhead/home, but I would imagine that the dog did around twelve.  He is impressively fit for being a weekend warrior.

The next day was clear and rather cold in the morning.  The three of us did a 4+ mile town walk on the Millcreek parkway.  Then we packed up sandwiches, beers and books and books and drove up to the Slickrock trailhead parking lot at the Sand Flats.  We set up camp in the middle of the parking lot and enjoyed the afternoon sunshine.  Milton also enjoyed a fair amount of attention as a cute dirtbike chick and a couple of MTB dudes came over to give him some pets.

back to porcupine rim

A cold front moved in on Monday: increasing clouds throughout the day and rain at night.  Thinking that there might not be too many MTBers coming off the Whole Enchilada on a Monday, we took Milton out the river road to hike up the Porcupine Rim.  While we certainly didn't see as many bikers as we would have on a weekend, we still saw 30+.  It wasn't so bad as we hiked out as it was earlyish and, since we were hiking uphill, we could easily see any MTBs heading down towards us.  

Looking up Jackass Canyon

It was a little trickier once we turned around and retraced our steps:  it was later in the day so there were more riders and we were facing downhill, the same way they were riding, so we had to keep looking over our shoulders so as to keep out of people's way.  There was only one time that a couple of girls came up on us without us realizing it ahead of time and for the most part, MTBers are pretty chill.  When we finished up (6.78 miles) , exiting through the tunnel under the river road, there was a group of riders rehashing their ride.  When we asked how it went, they were all grinning ear to ear, super-stoked.

You can see everything (and there's nothing there)

When you're not having to dodge MTBers (i.e., winter), this is a great trail to hike.  It's gnarly but not so gnarly that bikes can't get down it.  It gains elevation quickly so the views - of the Colorado River and of Jackass Canyon - show up fast.  We just happened to turn around where we wanted to but if you're in mind for a longer hike, you can just keep going up and it will eventually intersect with the Sand Flats Road - ideal if you've got two cars and want to do a shuttle.

Above the Colorado River

Monday's search for Crystal:  We went to the Blu Pig and managed to catch up with her before it got too busy.  She'd had a great West Virginia rafting trip - big water - and had already planned to go back again next October.

back to moab brand

 On Sunday (sunny and eventually in the 60s), we waited until 10 a.m. for it to warm up so we could ride at Moab Brand Trails.  The parking lot was as busy as we've seen it since COVID-19 but, surprisingly, the trails were not that busy.  The one exception was Lazy-EZ: lots of families with little kids on it because of the name and the fact that it's right there in front; however, it is clearly signed as "not that lazy and not that easy" and I wish more families with little kids would take that to heart.

We got a sign.  It's friggin' awesome

Still, it was a good ride: the front half of Lazy-EZ to Rusty Spur, to Bar M loop, to the doubletrack portion of Bar B out to the Arches National Park boundary and back, then continuing around Bar M to the cut-off that brought us to the back half Of Lazy-EZ, then climbing up the parking lot cut-off back to Bar M to continue that all the way around (12.93 miles).

M watching as H and Derek talk bikes

Sunday's search for Crystal: we took Milton to the Spitfire, where we talked with the locals, including Derek, who works at GearHeads, and Scott, newly promoted as the Spitfire's manager (but we know him from drinking at Woody's).  We asked him if he knew where Crystal went but he didn't.  Some little while later, the bartender got a phone call and nodded, looking over at us: "Scott says Crystal is at the Blu Pig."  We took the long way home, stopping by the Blu Pig (and noting Scott's car parked out front).  H ducked into the bar and there was Scott, having dinner at the bar and talking with Crystal.  "I hear you've been lookin' for me," she said.  

It's solar-powered