csa summer (part 6)

 Week 11: corn (2), watermelon, green beans, ivory pepper, poblano peppers (2), plum tomatoes, plums, nectarines (3), peaches (5), apples, jalapenos, serrano pepper, zucchini, pears.   We ate the corn and beans on the first day; added roasted poblano and serrano peppers to a tofu scramble; put more jalapenos and the ivory pepper into a fried rice; gave the zucchini away; and froze the watermelon for drinks/smoothies.

Week 12: corn (2), raspberries, pears (4), tomatoes, apples, peppers (4, various), yellow squash, spaghetti squash, peaches (8).  We ate the corn right away; roasted the spaghetti squash and had it with sauteed kale and chickpeas; put the yellow squash into a tofu scramble; used some of the peaches as breakfast oatmeal topping.

going round the mountain

We had yet another visit from out-of-towners this past weekend: H's uncle and aunt, in SLC en route back to North Carolina after a Yellowstone trip.  We picked them up Saturday midday at the airport, whisked them back home for a gab session, ran off to the Porcupine for dinner, tucked them into a guest bedroom for overnight and then took them back to the airport by 9:30 Sunday morning to catch their flight home.  That was quick!  Milton loved making new friends and seemed a little confused to see them go so soon.

Going up

Or maybe he was confused because as soon as we got home from dropping them at the airport, H and I flung on our hiking gear, tossed some beers in the cooler and drove up to Alta for a hike.  (The dog was in full pout-mode when we left, since he hadn't gone to the airport with us and isn't allowed up Little Cottonwood Canyon.)  With such a late start (10:30 a.m.), I figured the canyon would be inundated with other recreationists.  I was very surprised to note only around 100 cars at the White Pine trailhead (that's not many, compared to the hordes parking roadside this summer) and just a handful up at the Albion parking lot at Alta.  I know that folks like to come up to see the wildflowers and they're long past by now - but it was a gorgeous, clear day and I just expected more people.  With 64 F and sunny, I was not looking in any gift horses' mouths, however.

Baldy summit

We decided to do the recent Cirque series Alta course (modified only slightly (plus we weren't running)): up through Albion/Sunnyside to Alf's, up the access road switchbacks through East Greely to Collins, up the EBT to Snowbird pass, up to the Baldy summit, down Baldy shoulder and out through Collins Gulch.  We'd then have to finish under the tow rope to get back to the car - uphill finish, of course.  I don't know how those Cirque racers do it.  There is so much up, some of it steep, and lots of it just a grind.  Conditions couldn't have been more perfect, though, and while we were working on the ups, it wasn't hot so we weren't sweat-soaked.  We saw deer, marmots, pikas and hawks.

Ikon sucks

Neither of us loves the scramble from Snowbird pass to the ridge to Baldy.  It's loose underfoot, which I don't like, and a little exposed, which H doesn't like.  It doesn't take long, however, and in just about ten minutes we were marching up the ridge to the summit.  The wind started to pick up at that point, although we got out of it when we dropped onto the shoulder descent.  Neither of us loves the shoulder descent.  It's super steep and can be loose, although recent rains had dampened the dirt enough to give it some grip.  From there, it was back to the access road for the steep-in-spots descent to base level.

Main Chute lookin' sexy

The winds were kicking up dust devils when we got back to the car.  Other than that it was extremely pleasant, so we had a beer and snacks and did some people-watching.  It seems folks were getting even later starts than we did.  This is very apparent when we headed back home: Snowbird's Oktoberfest is in full swing and the gorgeous weather was bringing Oktoberfesters out in droves.  Prost!

Hike stats: 7.63 miles; 2:51 hours/2.7 m.p.h. moving; 3:25/2.2 m.p.h. overall; 2,380 feet of elevation

long holiday weekends are the best

 I just love long holiday weekends.  Yes, I guess I do have to share them with everyone else who is off too, but still.  You just feel like you're getting away with something.

Kane Creek has water again

On Sunday, we loaded up the MTBs and went back to Moab Brand Trails.  We did the same loop (our new regular route) that we'd done on Friday but this time we both rode better.  We have not been doing much MTBing this summer - none at all in Park City so far, due to gas prices (which are still well above $4.00/gal. in Utah) - and it always takes me a little while to remember what the heck I'm doing.  It was beautiful, and we went early enough to avoid the heat of the day.  The parking lot was well-attended (30ish vehicles) but the trails themselves did not seem busy at all.

Long shadows in the mornings

Having learned our lesson the hard way about driving back to SLC on Labor Day afternoon, we arranged to go to work late on Tuesday and drive up early that morning instead.  That meant we had the whole day on Monday to play!  H wanted to do a road ride so Milton and I commandeered the truck and drove out to the Amasa Back trailhead.  As much as I love these trails we've been doing all summer, I am looking forward to cooler weather so we don't have to focus on trails with dependable water for Milt to cool off in.  

I made him wear his t-shirt for a while

There were just a handful of vehicles in the lot as Milton and I headed out.  I don't know where all the people were but they sure weren't on Amasa Back.  We saw fewer than ten MTBers and only a couple trail runners ... and no motorized vehicles at all - no jeeps, no side-by-sides, no dirtbikes.  It made for a quiet and very pleasant hike.

Our boy does love to wade

We went up the Amasa Back MTB trail to the overlook and then came down the 4x4 road.  Milton was running hard and I ended up having to leash him a couple of times, just to force him to rest and cool down.  Up at the overlook, I put his white (white-ish) t-shirt on him to help reflect some of the sun: it didn't feel all that hot to me but I'm not covered in black fur.  And thank goodness for that!

Moon flower (?)

After the hike, in the parking lot with our dog food/snacks/beer, I was amazed at how few people were there.  Sure, several side-by-sides buzzed by on their way out Kane Creek Road - too fast and kicking up a lot of dust - but for the most part, it was quieter than I would have expected.  That is not a complaint: I love to find pockets of quiet during Moab's silly season.

after the flood

That August 20th flood was way more destructive than the one earlier in the month.  When we got back down there, a week later, I wanted to check out Millcreek Canyon, from whence the waters came.  We went for a MTB at Moab Brand Trails on Friday, but on Saturday Milton and I went to Millcreek while H did a road ride.

Flotsam piled up on the dam

Our neighbor Amelia said that the bulk of the floodwaters had come from the left hand fork of the canyon, that the big dead tree on the top of the falls had been washed a hundred yards downstream and that the force of the water coming over the falls had dug out the plunge pool enough that it was now deep enough to actually, safely jump off the falls.

Swimming

First things first, though: we walked up to the rim trail above the canyon, walked out along the jeep road and then descended into the canyon, making our way up through the spot that gets flooded by the beavers (I wonder what happened to the beavers in the flood - yikes) and finding our way across the creek.  There was a more normal amount of water this time and it was running beautifully clear.

Strike a pose

I suppose that there may have been a bit more damage from the last time we were up there but it wasn't super-noticeable if there was - certainly not like left hand.  We had the place to ourselves until we got down to the cowboy hot tubs, where an older gentleman trail runner was gingerly soaking himself in the chilly water.  When I apologized for startling him, he laughed and said that we were far less startling than the water temperature.

Below the confluence: flattened

We (I) had intended to go up left hand fork when we got to the confluence to check out the damage there.  When we got there, however, there were lots of other people making their way up towards the waterfall and, honestly, I just didn't want to deal with people.  The floodwaters had completely flattened the trees there, however; where there used to be a green, shady tunnel from the confluence to the waterfall was wide open, the trees laid right out.

Close up of the dam pile-up

As we walked out, all the willows were bent right over and the trail had been flattened out too.  There was a huge stack of tree trunks, stumps and branches fetched up on top the dam, proving just how high the water had been to strand all that stuff up there.  The creek was flowing normally now, though, like nothing had ever happened.  A mile or so further downstream, where the damage really kicked into gear in town, it was clear that what had happened was epic.

A town deer palate-cleanser

visitors from back east

Towards the end of August, we had a couple of visitors - the first non-family houseguests in at least two and a half years.  G and B had supposed to have been in Europe with the other half of their family, but B's brother ended up needing knee surgery, the European trip got postponed and the guys pivoted to come out to Utah.  B is a big climber so we had encouraged them to go to Moab (late summer heat notwithstanding).  They stayed with us in SLC for a couple of nights first, however, so they could work on logistics.  Milton was thrilled to make new friends: he was sitting in B's lap before we left the airport the night we picked them up.

Friday afternoon, the four of us went up Little Cottonwood Canyon for a hike.  G and B ski in Maine and wanted to see Alta.  We parked at the Albion lot and made our way up to the Catherine's Pass trailhead through the Albion meadows, then kept working our way up to the pass.  It was cloudy and cool and we kept our eyes on the weather; we did get sprinkled on just a little bit on the way down but lightning wasn't an issue.  From the pass, we continued up and across Catherine's Area, and then descended via the road.  The wildflowers are past peak, of course, but the guys were impressed with the scenery nonetheless. 

G and B at Catherine's Pass

On Saturday, the guys ran some errands to the grocery store and REI and picked up the van they'd rented.  We got them loaded up - Milton was quite concerned about the van but climbed in anyway, wanting to tag along with his new buddies - and sent them on their way.  They texted us a couple of times from the road (delay due to landslide across Route 6 above Spanish Fork) and told us their plan was to camp at Big Bend Campground on the Colorado River.  

Taking in the views

Then, as news reports and videos of Main Street Moab being under three feet of water started rolling in, we didn't hear from them at all.  We were a little nervous for them but knew that they were probably out of cell range.  We left them a message or two and then tried them again on Sunday.  We finally heard from them Sunday afternoon: the storm and flood had been so localized that they didn't know it had happened until they came in town for more water.  They'd had a good night camping, then did some bouldering Sunday morning ... and when they got to town and saw the flood damage - and their phones blew up with all the received calls and messages - they were like, huh.

All was well and they went on to fill their days in Moab quite nicely: a sunset side-by-side ride on Hell's Revenge and another night camping down by the river; climbing with a guide way down Kane Creek Road and a night camping at Oowah Lake; MTBing with a guide up at Dead Horse Point State Park, a quick evening tour of Arches NP and a final night camping at a campground in town as they were eager for showers by then.

Nope, nothing fun happening here

When they got back to our house in SLC on Wednesday night, they were full of stories to share (and belly rubs for Milton).  And then they were off again Thursday morning, back to Maine with their ears still ringing with our, "Please come back again soon!"  (And we made out quite well as the recipients of all sorts of groceries that they hadn't eaten and couldn't take on the plane with them - woohoo!)

csa summer (part 4)

 Week 8:  Zucchinis (because it's always zucchini), summer squash, pattypan squash, green beans, corn on the cob, blackberries, ivory bell peppers, anaheim peppers, jalapenos, peaches, cantaloupe and dinosaur kale.  Ate the corn on the second day but the beans were not good; the blackberries were fragile so I stuck them in some oatmeal; made tacos with lots of peppers and diced pattypan squash; the kale went into a tofu scramble.  This has been the weakest box so far: too much squash and squishy berries.

Week 9:  Tomatoes, watermelon, corn on the cob, green beans, peaches, a nectarine, carrots, picking cucumbers, green peppers, jalapenos, tomatilloes and pears.  We ate the corn and beans on the second day; the tomatoes were fantastic; made atomic pickles with the cucumbers; one week later the pears were still unripe; white bean and tomatillo soup.

Week 10: Corn on the cob, banana peppers, plum tomatoes, green pepper, two watermelons, pears, nectarines and peaches (eight peaches!).  Ate the corn first day; added banana peppers to a tofu scramble; made jackfruit chile verde tacos with green pepper, banana peppers, jalapenos and tomatoes; watermelon-peach-pear smoothies; and because the watermelon was a little past its prime, frozen watermelon margaritas.

technical difficulties

 Hey y'all - I know it's been quiet around here of late.  My trusty old laptop has been struggling mightily so I had to get me a new one.  I've got that new one and it's up and running (obvs) but I need to transfer photos and photo editing software, etc., before I can do an actual post.  I'm aiming for getting new content up this weekend as we do have some catching up to do.  

In the meantime, it's sweltering hot here (in an extremely dry, non-humid way) with record-shattering triple-digit temperatures throughout the month of September so far.  Yuck.  Bring me autumn.

More to come soon.  Cheers 'til then!

twenty-one

Our twenty-first wedding anniversary fell on a Thursday and that made it seem like a perfect opportunity to take the day off from work and go for a hike.  We had to drop visiting friends off at the airport first, so we opted for the upper Millcreek Canyon Big Water lollipop that we'd last done in September 2019.

Kind of a humid up, with the creek and all the vegetation

We were surprised at how busy it was for a Thursday: lots of dog walkers and trail runners.  We didn't get a spot at the parking lot at the very top of the canyon but did score one at the lower lot, which is pretty much the same thing.  On our way up to the trail, we noted a sign for a new trail: they've continued the Pipeline Trail, adding another 3.6 miles from Elbow Fork to the top of the canyon.  And we added that to our list to check out.

Late summer meadow

We went up the Old Red Pine Road which is constant in its climbing but never terribly steep.  When we connected with the Big Water trail, Milton must have gotten on the scent of something: he'd stayed pretty close on Old Red Pine but once the trail opened up, he was running hard all over the place, way ahead and up the hillsides.  H kept calling him back (and he kept coming back) but after a while, we put him on the leash to get him to calm down.

Post-hike tailgating (literally)

Once we got up on the ridge, we let him off the leash.  We were on the Great Western Trail now, though, and ran into several large groups of MTBers before we got off the GWT onto that historical trail back down into Millcreek Canyon.  This is my favorite part of this hike as the trail goes through numerous  aspen groves and alpine meadows, the meadows still bursting with flowers even in the late summer.  At one point I looked up to see Milton's head just porpoising through the yellow blossoms.  It was beautiful.

Somebody overdid it

When we got back to the Big Water trail, the sign said 3.6 miles to the trailhead.  Both H and I were all, ugh, that's long, but the trail is so pleasant underfoot - smooth and flat packed dirt for the most part - that the 2.6 miles to the next trail junction just flew by.  At that junction, with just one mile to go, the trail is less pleasant: steep and a little loose and rocky in spots.  It was also much busier, being closer to the trailhead.  Milton, getting tired at this point, just trotted on by all the hikers and dogs.

Naptime

Back at the truck, H hoisted Milt up onto the tailgate - we didn't need to leash him as he definitely wasn't going anywhere.  We three had some snacks and drinks there in the shade.  It was very comfortable and there were enough other folks coming and going that we were provided decent people watching.  An altogether fine way to spend an anniversary, in my opinion.

Hike stats: 9.59 miles (Milton likely did 12+); moving 3:02 hours/3.1 m.p.h.; overall 3:27/2.8; 1,820' elevation