double session

 The Easterners weren't getting in until early afternoon so we had time to go for a MTB ride in the morning.  Although it was likely cool enough, we left Milton at home: he'd had a big hike yesterday and we were planning to take him with us for an evening hike with J, V and S, and we didn't want him overdoing it.  Since gas prices are so appalling right now ($4.54/gallon), we didn't want to drive too far so off to the Moab Brand trails we went.

Cute little petrogoat

The parking lot was plenty busy but we just didn't see too many folks out on the trails.  We did our new regular route - Lazy EZ to Rusty Spur to Bar M to Bar B/the Arches National Park border, back to Bar M, cutting over the top to the upper portion of Lazy EZ to the parking lot cut-off to Bar M and around the northern end of the loop back to the parking lot.  I stayed on the newly-redesignated trail while H tempted fate and took the longer, former route, now posted with No Trespassing signs.

Ride stats: 12.57 miles

J, V and S rolled into Moab around 2; we let them rest, get something to eat and hit the grocery store for supplies before scooping them up and heading off to Hidden Valley for a welcome-to-the-desert hike.  H and S were out in front, catching up on several years of news (they'd last seen each other during the Great Interlodge of 2019); Milton stayed in front with them and was not ranging as far afield as he usually does on this hike.  Like this morning, although the parking lot was quite full, we only saw a handful of folks out on the trail, all heading back to their cars.  

A, J and S

It was a lovely evening, the setting sun highlighting the petroglyphs up on the red rock wall.  We went back down the way we came and drove to our house for pasta dinner and making plans for the next day.  J and S, who were going climbing on Monday, headed back to their AirBnB but V, who was going hiking with us instead, stayed over, much to Milton's delight.  (Not surprisingly: literally everyone finds V delightful.)

Hike stats: 4.68 miles

revisiting steelbender

My brother, sister-in-law and niece were coming out to Moab for my niece's spring break so we thought we should make a long weekend out of it.  They weren't coming until Sunday but we went down Friday after work.  Saturday morning was the Big Saturday of the 2022 Easter Jeep Safari, meaning that almost all the 4x4 trails that could be used for jeep tours were being used for jeep tours.  We thought we might be able to get out ahead of them, however, and drove out to Ken's Lake.  There was a Steelbender drive that started at the in-town end; we started at the far end and only ever saw the nice couple who were stationed at the trailhead, keeping the riffraff of the closed trail.  Since we were on foot, we didn't count as riffraff, apparently.

The boys at the turnaround spot

There was just enough water at the initial creek crossing that we weren't able to use the stepping stones.  I'm not a huge fan of wet feet (unless the whole trail is walking in the water) but I went quickly enough that while my feet got wet, my socks weren't completely soaked.  The outsides of my boots even dried out during the hike.

Moody

We went out as far as we had gone the last time, turning around where the trail started to descend into the valley and the scenery started to get less interesting.  The couple at the trailhead had told us that the Safari ride had started at 9 a.m. and was due to finish between 3-4 p.m.  We had thought that was awfully long for a 15-ish mile ride but when we got to our turnaround almost five miles in and didn't see any jeeps heading our way, even in the distance, we decided that time estimate might have been more accurate than we suspected.

Creek crossing

Skies were off and on clouds, with mild temperatures that verged on cool when the breeze picked up and the clouds rolled in.  Steelbender seems to always be going up, and the total elevation sort of reflects that.  It's rocky and slippery in some spots where sand coats the stone - kind of hard on the feet and ankles so by the time we got back to the creek, this we took our time wading.  The cool water felt really good and I made sure my feet took a good soaking this time.

Hike stats: 9.4 miles; moving 3:08 hours/3.0 m.p.h.; overall 3:18/2.8 m.p.h.; 1,680 feet elevation

pre-planning

 I'm not saying that these are the exact hikes we'll end up doing this hiking season (and they're in no particular order).  I'm just saying that we took the time to make a list now so that we don't have to waste time coming up with hikes to do.  We haven't hiked as much as we used to since we got Milton and we aim to fix that.

Possibilities

a tale of two ski days

Saturday: sunny to start, with increasing clouds; warm (36 - 46 F) to start as well, with decreasing temperatures.  We decided that we could take a half-hour later bus, assuming that the crowds would be down with the mixed forecast and dearth of snow.  This turned out to be a good call: with only six riders, our driver practically flew up the canyon (skipping both the Snowbird/Creekside and Alta/Goldminer's Daughter stops since no one was getting off there) and dropped us at the Albion lodge only five minutes after our usual bus would have.  Even by noon there were very few people there, with the Wildcat parking lot half full and Albion's less than that.  We very much appreciated the lack of crowds since we got to ride together on the same chair all day (no singles lines necessary) and had the chairs to ourselves more often than not.  Surprisingly, for as few skiers as were up there, quite a lot of them were on telemark equipment, including H.

We started off skiing Sugarloaf because those trails soften up first this time of year.  The snow was quite soft there too, smushing into heavy mashed potatoes but never actually getting sticky since the clouds rolled in to slow the warmth.  We then moved over to Supreme for a couple runs; it was surprisingly soft given that its trails do not tend to catch much morning sun.  To continue the tour, we moved to Collins where the top half was terrible: frozen and thin.  Beneath the angle station was much better.

By 12:30 p.m., the light was flat, my feet were cold (silly me, I thought I could get away without my neoprene boot covers) and H's tele boots were pinching.

Supreme/Saturday

Sunday: cloudy and spitting snow to start, clearing by mid morning; cold (22-26 F, warming to about 33 F) and the wind was bitter.  I dressed for full winter - windbreaker, down jacket, fleece layer, two base layers, heavy long johns, boot covers - even though it's the second week of April, and my toes still got so cold I had to go in to warm them up.  H put on a brave face but his toes got cold too and he really could have used an additional insulating layer.

The snow?  WICKED HARD.  It had frozen up solid after the warm the day before and Alta just doesn't have the grooming skills (or desire) to make that shit skiable.  Sugarloaf was where we stayed most of the time, sticking to Devil's Elbow and Rollercoaster.  When I went in to thaw my feet, H did Extrovert which "sucked" and also Razorback which "sucked hard."  We moved over to Collins, via a truly miserable, windy EBT, and found the upper half nearly bulletproof.  Below the angle station was better but Corkscrew was truly awful.  Nina's had the best conditions we found all day - too bad it's only about four turns long.  We did one ride on Wildcat, likely our last for the season, then hustled over to Supreme.  Once again, Supreme's trails surprised us by being fairly skiable - although it was obvious to avoid No. Nine Express (frozen solid bumps) and Challenger (frozen solid bumps punctuated with bare dirt).

By 11:40 my toes couldn't take it any longer, so I skied out, pausing just long enough to say hello to the resident porcupine trundling around near Alf's.  H stayed out for a few more runs.  But the conditions and the cold drove him inside as well and we caught the 12:30 p.m. bus down canyon.  It wasn't our best spring skiing weekend - fairly typical, I guess, with how variable the weather and snow was - but gosh, the lack of crowds was a real treat.

our first rodeo

 The next day, however, H did not have to work (yayyyyyyy) and we are all able to do a hike together.  One of the trail systems that has been on our list to explore is the Horsethief trails surrounding the BLM campground of the same name, out off Route 313.  We'd ridden just a bit of those trails just over a year ago when we rode the Chisholm trail; although I didn't love that as a MTB ride, the area was pretty and we wanted to see more of it, on foot.  When we got to the trailhead parking lot (at the start of the dirt road into the campground), we checked the map.  The Rodeo trail made a loop and was about nine miles - sounded good.

Your basic Rodeo scenery

We were early enough to mostly have the trail to ourselves: one MTBer passed us as we walked out on the portion of the Chisholm trail that connected to the Rodeo start; and a family of five (with matching kits!) passed us just after we'd gotten on Rodeo itself.  From there it was just us three, and a few lizards and ground squirrels that Milton felt compelled to chase until H called him off.  

Rodeo = dark green blazes

(Chisholm = light green)

The hiking is pretty easy: some sand and chunky bits but mostly hard pack and rolling rocks, crossing washes and skirting short cliffs.  There were brief climbs and descents, but for the whole outbound portion we were clearly losing elevation, which mean an undramatic but steady uphill finish.

Pretty little meadow

The trail is blazed and there are signs and maps at nearly every intersection, so in theory it is easy to navigate these Horsethief trails.  The signs did not, however, indicate where the Horsethief parking area we used was located and we ended up emerging further up on Route 313, at a different Horsethief parking area above the Mineral Basin road.  We figured it would be more direct to walk back down the highway to the car, which technically made our hike a lopsided figure-eight (instead of a lollipop) and brought us to nearly eleven miles (instead of the nine we had intended).  

Imma sleep right here

Back at the car, Milton took a nap right there, face planted in the sandy dirt, having clearly overdone it; by the time H and I finished our beer and sandwiches, we had stiffened up - apparently we had overdone it a bit ourselves.

Hike stats:  10.84 miles; moving 3:13 hours/3.4 m.p.h.; overall 3:25/3.2; 900 feet elevation

spring is springing, desert edition

H had to work on one of our recent Moab weekends (booooo), which meant Milton and I were on our own for a hike.  It was sunny and clear, but with temperatures in the low 60s, still cool in the shade or when the breeze picked up.  The area had gotten some good rain earlier in the week and that, coupled with the  pleasant early April weather, indicated that the Moab Rim trail would be a good option: although there's little shade, I figured we'd find some full potholes for the dog to enjoy.

Looking towards Poison Spider Mesa

There were several other cars in the lot when we pulled in - the Moab Rim and its adjacent, pedestrian-only Stairmaster trail are popular with locals for early morning workouts - although we only saw four people on our way up.  After the initial climb up the Stairmaster, which quickly got sweaty, even in the shade of the cliff wall, Milton and I continued out along the 4x4 trail.  While I didn't see any myself, there must have been rabbits because Milt was doing a lot of running.  He was good about checking in with me, however, and coming back when I called him.

These are the good kinds of potholes

At the intersection, we went right to do the loop portion counterclockwise; going the other way means having to hike UP Sand Hill and I wasn't anxious to do that.  Just before we got to Tire Test Hill, Milt did in fact find some full potholes - so full that when he jumped in, he went right over his head.  That brought a major case of the crazies once he'd gotten himself out - all this running on sandstone keeps his toenails short!

In the wash

As we were descending Sand Hill, I got a view up the wash.  It looked pretty in there so we turned right at the bottom of the hill (while the marked 4x4 road goes left).  Milton chased a very surprised critter up into a bowl, and then tried to roll in a really gnarly dead thing (skunk maybe, or juvenile badger or wolverine? It had mean-looking teeth and really long claws on its front paws) until I called him off it.  We kept going up the wasy until it ended at some pour-overs, where it was protected and pretty and retained enough moisture to grow some decently sized trees.  We retraced our way back to the 4x4 trail, noting another side canyon for future exploration.

Man, the color of that sky

Our walk out the wash back to the main trail was uneventful, although I did put Milt on his leash for a short section where we've seen coyotes before.  No sign of any large mammals this day, however.  We didn't even see any other people until we got back to the Z corner obstacle halfway down the Moab Rim ramp.  There were four jeeps above the big rock steps and another two side-by-sides figuring out their line below.  A little further down, we stopped to watch as four more jeeps navigated the Devil's Crack obstacle.  They gathered a small audience as several other hikers lingered to watch as well.  Once the jeeps were safely on their way, Milt and I finished up back at the car with dog food (him) and a beer (me), of course.

Spring desert blooms

wherein we skipped spring and went straight to summer

It is far too early in the year to be in the high 70s in northern Utah.  And yet, there we were, all weekend, unseasonably warm.  Was it lovely to be outside in it?  Yes.  Is it too early to be doing yard work?  Oh yes.  Was it scary with what it could mean for our snowpack, which is melting so, so fast?  Also yes.  Hopefully temperatures will be dropping to more normal levels; there's even supposed to be a little midweek mountain snow.  In the meantime, there's nothing to do but go skiing.

We layered way down for Saturday, basically a thin base layer, a non-insulating mid layer and a shell.  I didn't even wear my boot covers (for the record, my toes did still get cold).  The bus was not very crowded but once we got up and got skiing, the Sugarloaf lift had very long lines all morning.  Everyone was skiing that lift because the trails it serves are better oriented to catch the morning sun.  Eveyone freezes up overnight so Supreme was nigh unskiable first thing - if you had Eastern style sharp edges, you would have been fine.  I haven't had my skis tuned since 2019/2020 so I was happy to stand in the Sugarloaf lines for the softer snow.

Matching my jacket to the sky

Extrovert was very good, although I timed it wrong and had to dodge a bunch of other people on it.  We took the EBT around and did a run in the Backside/East Greeley.  There, we had it to ourselves but we had almost waited too long: it was very very soft and very heavy.  I had to do hop turns to get my skis around.  We were very sweaty by the time we got down but I was super-glad we'd done it - that was my first time in there all season.  We then spent some time on Collins once the sun got overhead more.  Someone has put a big wiggle right down the middle of the Ballroom again and it was fun watching folks flying through those corners.  By 12:45, the warming snow was grabbing at my waxless skis and I almost went over the handlebars (figuratively) several times as we skied out to catch the 1:29 bus down canyon.

Wiggle!

H went up solo on Sunday, taking his tele set up.  There were high thin clouds all day so, while it was temperate, things did not get nearly so slushy as they had done on Saturday - the top of Collins never even softened up.  And although there weren't as many people there, the wiggle got plenty of play (not by H, though, not on his telemark skis).