last mtb of july

Since the end of July (I can't believe it's already the end of July!) means the Wasatch Wildflower Festival - and more on that later - we again switched up our routine to MTB on Saturday.  We planned ahead and got everything ready Friday night so that we could just roll out of bed and be on our way at 7 a.m.  Again, we parked at the in-town rail trail lot to allow me some extra miles on the bike, and the initial downhill brought goosebumps to my arms since the air was nice and cool.  Five hot air balloons floated overhead and it was another gorgeous day.

Up, up and away

The first thing we noticed was that there were a lot more people out walking their dogs than there had been the prior Saturday.  We had been surprised by the relative lack of people on the trails then; now we realized that it was because of the long, Utah-only holiday weekend and folks that would regularly be out on the Round Valley trails had likely gone out of town.  Still, everyone was very cordial and the earlier hour meant that we were ahead of most of the other MTBers.

Other than having to put my foot down on the Sweet Sixteen climb when a downhilling dude didn't yield (uphill traffic has the right-of-way, dude), I rode pretty well.  I seem to be gaining some confidence back and am slightly less squirrelly in my bike handling.  Slightly.  I've decided that my new favorite part of the whole ride is that Staircase climb: because it isn't rocky, I can climb it even though it is still a challenge and once at the top, it's basically all downhill from there.

Upright, smiling

After we got home, H went for a road ride and cut the lawn while I did laundry and made up stuff for dinner.  We headed up to Snowbird for a fantastic show, the Sweet Lillies, then returned home and crashed.  Summer is almost over - got to squeeze every bit out that we can.

wicked fun

Here's the thing: I really, really dislike the current [catchphrase/saying/???], "Sunday Funday."  It makes me twitch, like the word "moist" or fingernails on a chalkboard.  And yet this past Sunday was so much fun!  Here's what went down.

Looking waaaay down from the Needles trail

On summer Sundays, Snowbasin has "Blues, Brews & BBQ" which is pretty much what it sounds like - live music, beer and cooking out on the lawn at the base area.  We hadn't gone up for any yet because Snowbasin is a bit of a drive from our house but this time we didn't want to miss it since Andy Frasco & the U.N. were playing.  We'd seen them a few years ago at Snowbird and knew it would be a party; we thought we'd go up a little early and get a hike in first.

There really are a bunch of switchbacks in there

We got up to the resort and on the trail around 1:00 p.m.  The crowd was already gathering on the lawn for the opening acts but we had to put some miles on our legs before joining them.  The hike was the same one we did back in September 2015: about six miles of uphill and then a welcome ride down on the tram.  It seemed pretty hot as we started out, grinding our way up the Needles trail.  The ambient temperature was mid- to high 80s but the sun was strong and it didn't take long to get sweated up.

The scenery is pretty nice up at Snowbasin

The Needles trail (MTB/hiking) parallels an access road for a ways so we stayed on the road.  It was exposed (actually, pretty much the whole hike is exposed) but by staying off the singletrack, we were able to avoid some MTBers.  When the road faded away, Needles continued on (and up) as dusty singletrack, quite steep in some sections and also fairly rocky underfoot.  I always forget how rocky the Snowbasin trails are until I'm back on them.  We started to encounter more MTBers at this point: the long Needles trail is popular with folks who have taken the tram up with their bikes.  Since we were walking uphill and the bikers were all coming downhill, we were able to see them coming and step off the trail for them with no surprises.

View to the east down the cirque

We came off the Needles trail for a number of switchbacks on the Becker and Diamond trails, which gained us quite a bit of elevation before we rejoined the Needles trail for the final push to the top.  When we got to the lodge, we ducked inside to get more water and then did the quick (twelve minutes) push to the top of the cirque for 360-degree views.  We had seen very few people on our hike up so sharing the cirque trail with people - clean people, some wearing sundresses and sandals, who had ridden up on the tram - was a bit of a shock. 

H, atop the ridge

After that, the only thing left to do was walk back down to the Needles lodge and hop on the tram for a quick ride down to the base.  The party was in full swing but we went straight to the car to change out of our very sweaty hiking duds and pound sandwiches and a couple of beers.  It was a good thing we did - because you could go broke at this shindig buying beer!  Lots of people had prepurchased giant steins which apparently gave you a bit of a break on the price of the beers.  We didn't have those steins, however, and were shocked to learn that a tiny cup of IPA was $6.00!  You could get large cans of crap beer (PBR, Budweiser, etc.) for a mere $7.00 too.  I didn't even bother to check out what the food prices were but I can't imagine they were any more reasonable.

Xena keeps H's foot warm

One fantastic thing about Snowbasin is that dogs are allowed since it isn't a watershed.  And there were dogs everywhere!  Mutts, chihuahuas, golden retrievers, labs, standard poodles, basset hounds, beagles, a massive Great Dane, Rhodesian ridgebacks, Boston terriers ... it was wonderful to be around - and get to pat - all these good dogs.  We struck up a conversation with a guy because of his beautiful young German shepherd; he and H ended up talking for quite some time about skiing, mostly.

Terrible picture of the massive crowd - there were tons of people there

The show itself was fantastic and so much fun, especially once Andy Frasco and his band came up on stage.  Frasco is a talented showman who is skilled at working the crowd, plus he is very generous with his musicians and kept inviting guys from the prior acts to join them on stage.  At one point, there were over sixteen musicians up there, jamming away: drummers, pianists, three guitarists, a bassist, two trumpeters, two saxophone players.  They all just looked like they were having a great time too, as Andy Frasco kept crowd-surfing and passing beers around.  After playing for nearly three hours, they closed with the Beastie Boys' "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party)" with a crowd of kids on stage and the whole crowd shouting every lyric along with the band.  So fun.  We will make a point of seeing them again if they come back next summer.

The map of the hike can be found at this earlier post.  It took us about three hours and was right around six miles, plus the two on the tram ride down.  (That hike would be much less pleasant if you were to have to walk downhill too.)  Wicked fun day.

switcheroo

Since we had specific plans for hiking on Sunday, we did our MTBing on Saturday instead.  We don't often go to Park City on Saturdays and so don't have a good sense about how crowded things might be.  That, coupled with the fact that it was going to be around 100 F in the valleys later, encouraged us to get an earlier start than usual: leaving the house in time to get on the trails by 8 a.m.  We went back to our former, usual parking lot - in-town, along the bike path - in order to get me on the bike for longer.  Then, with five hot-air balloons silently floating overhead, we started rolling.

The bike path adds another 2.7 miles or so (each way) to our regular ride: downhill for the outbound, and a long slog of an uphill on the return.  At that early hour, there weren't many other people out there with us - a couple of runners and one gentleman who was encouraging a snake, that had curled up on the path to soak in the sun, to move out of the way so it didn't get squished.  The parking lot at Quinn's Trailhead was pretty busy but that was because of a youth baseball tournament; once out on the dirt, the population got pretty sparse.  We saw a couple of desert cottontails and lots of songbirds; I did my best to ignore the ominous circling of buzzards overhead.

Sure doesn't look like it rained yesterday

The earlier morning temperatures were quite pleasant.  We got hot and sweaty on the uphills (it has been a little humid lately, being monsoon season and all) but the flats and downhills were lovely.  A big storm had moved through on Friday - the lightning for our morning commute in SLC had been impressive - and apparently Park City had gotten a fair amount of rain in a very short time as the system came through.  Several places on the jeep roads were washed out; the hardpack singletrack had a lot of loose rock on it; and there were one or two damp spots.  The trails were in good shape otherwise, proof that it's been so hot as to dry things up quickly.

I am still squirrelly with loose rock (and sand, I hate sand) but I had a better day.  My legs weren't tired, for one, so I climbed pretty well, except for one spin-out on the Sweet Sixteen where I had to put my foot down.  We didn't encounter anybody on either the uphill OR the downhill of Rambler - and neither of us can remember a time when that happened.  And I forwent the paved path for the stretch back to Quinn's Trailhead, staying on the dirt and climbing the Staircase really well.  After that, there was nothing but the long bike path return to the truck and since there wasn't a headwind for once, I was able to cruise that quickly.  I even passed some people!

The best part was that since I didn't overdo it, we went up to Snowbird that evening to see Eilen Jewell for the Snowbird Cool Air Concert Series.  (H, who did a road ride in the heat after we got home, may have taken a short nap beforehand.)

summertime stuff

Since we've been mixing things up a bit lately (i.e., still hiking and MTBing but varying the days and start times), we though we'd see what MTBing at Round Valley would be like on a Saturday morning.  We did the same early start (up at 6 a.m.), noticing less traffic on the interstate than there had been July 3rd but more than there would have been on a Sunday morning at that time.  The bike path was not in heavy use and the cool (59 F) temperatures were great.  When we got to the Quinn's Trailhead, however, we were shocked to find it full of cars, even without any Little League or soccer games going on at that time.

Park City Trail Series runners

As we got out on the trails, we started seeing race route signs and, soon enough, started seeing lots and lots of folks out there trail-running.  We learned that it was the second race of the Park City Trail Series, a progressive series of trail races throughout the summer, apparently all out on the Round Valley trails.  The first one was a 5K in June; this one was a 10K; there's a 15K in August and the series finishes up in September with a half marathon.  It looked like a lot of fun.  We timed our ride quite well with all those runners too, since part of the course was up the sagebrush switchbacks of Rambler; if we'd been coming down as they were going up, it would have been a bit of a nightmare.  But instead we largely had the trails to ourselves.  The recent midweek rain had packed the dust and sand down a bit and with fresh legs I climbed My Nemesis, Sweet Sixteen and the Staircase pretty well.

Pretty sure my helmet is on crooked

There was someone hanging out in our regular picnic spot on the Guardsman Pass road so we drove over to Brighton and set up our cooler and chairs in the parking lot there.  The afternoon was spent back at home, watching le Tour de France and the running of the bulls in Pamplona.  We rallied, though, and went up to the Snowbird Cool Air Concert Series to see the Young Dubliners.  I'm a little embarrassed to say that neither H nor I were familiar with the band ... but a whole lot of other people were and the crowd on the plaza deck was way bigger than any other we've seen for these free concerts.  It was a lovely evening with good music and great people-watching - Snowbird's first Dirtybird obstacle race had been that day and there were lots of muddy participants limping around with grins and beers - and just an excellent summer day all the way around.

bruised and battered but unbowed

On Sunday we threw the MTBs in the truck and drove up to Snowbasin.  It's been ages since we've been up there - probably since we skied there in March 2010.  As we pulled into the parking lot, I realized that I'd forgotten how gorgeous it is up there.  It definitely wins the prize for being the best looking ski resort in the summer season, with the lush green trails running up to the cliffs high overhead, plus the lodges are so beautiful and well-kept that you feel like you're in a luxury hotel, not a ski lodge.  The temperature was perfect too: a balmy 71 under bright blue skies.

Idyllic spot for a MTB ride

Snowbasin has a lot going on the summertime: gondola rides and mid-mountain dining, disc golf, cookouts and free concerts, hiking and MTBing trails.  You don't have to pay to ride their trails (only if you want to take your bike up on the lift) and there's even a regularly scheduled shuttlebus to bring you back to the main lodge if you end up at the bottom of one trail, far down the access road.  We picked up a trail map and determined that the green trails would be best for me: lower Needles, Last Chance Trail and the Green Pond Loop, all winding up and down through the rolling hills beneath the peaks.

Foot down but upright, so call it a win

The trails here are awesome - which is not to say that I didn't struggle, because I did, on the switchbacks and on the hills where the trail surface was rocky.  I've learned that a big part of my problem is just going too slowly up (or down) the rocky bits and then just falling over, unable to get my feet uncleated in time.  I stopping counting the fall-overs after six and while I'm scratched up pretty good now and will have some spectacular bruises later, I didn't really get hurt.  Plus I'm sort of used to falling over now and am not afraid of it any more.  H had a couple of fall-overs too - going too slowly because he was waiting for me - and gouged his right shin pretty well.  After that I told him it was okay if he rode ahead at his own pace as long as he'd wait for me at the trail junctions.  (I have a whistle in case I fall and get hurt and need him to come back for me.)

Poor H's leg!

But let me get back to how awesome the Snowbasin singletrack is!  None of what we rode was ever too steep; much of the trail surface was lovely hard-pack which is a dream to ride on; and the views are phenomenal, both east over the rolling green hills and west to the cliffs towering over the ski resort.  H in particular did great, riding up and down and over absolutely everything ... except one bridge that was just pallets stapled together.  In all, we rode for 2 hours 40 minutes - well, that was my time, as H could have finished up 25 minutes sooner had he not been waiting for me.

View to the west 

After we got back to the truck and changed out of our dirty, sweaty, bloody MTBing clothes, we sauntered on over to the Snowbasin patio where there was a barbecue (bacon cheeseburger and pulled pork sandwich) and beer (Uinta Cutthroat pale ale) for purchase and consumption with a live band, Shades of Grey.  We sat under an umbrella, eating, drinking and listening, surrounded by tons of other like-minded folks out enjoying the day.  It was an outstanding finish to an outstanding day - and, coupled with our hike to White Pine Lake the day before, an outstanding weekend all the way around.  We just love it out here!

P.S.  While we listened to the band, we used H's phone to watch the last twenty minutes of the US v. Japan women's World Cup final.  What a heartbreaker!

smoke on the river

Saturday was pretty nice and after we did our morning activities - a 46-mile road ride for H; dragging B around my 3.5 mile loop and then weeding the backyard garden beds for me - we headed towards Heber City for the Smoke on the River BBQ Championship ... hoping to get a lead on some decent Utah barbecue.

The event was held at River's Edge at Deer Park, an RV-park/campground located on the Provo River right underneath the dam at the Jordanelle Reservoir.  (Literally right underneath the dam: we were way under the level of the water and if the dam had given way, we would have been obliterated.  Lucky for us, the dam looks to be pretty solid.)  This is a pretty cool little family-run campground with big rig/RV hook-ups, cabins that sleep 4-6, wooden "yurts" that sleep 2 and a big "family compound" for up to 15 folks.

Can you read it? "IQ4U"

There were food vendors - Tommy's Texas BBQ (whom we will be visiting when next in Heber City, at 100S 650 W), corn on the cob (with this wicked cool corn cooker that looked like a giant one of those cafeteria toasters, where you put the corn in one side and the conveyor belt delivers it all roasted on the other side), hand-fried potato chips, beer - jewelry and crafts.  Live music played all day: we got there for Lash Larue, who played some very agreeable bluegrass-ish tunes.  And all around the campground the competitors had their smokers set up.  Most of them were BBQ competition teams who also do catering, but there was a backyard division for amateurs too.  Everywhere you walked, you could smell smoked meats ... it was heavenly.

Tasty pulled pork with very excellent pickles

The event was a little expensive for how low-key it was, with a $10 per person entry fee, plus paying for your food and your beer.  But we decided we really couldn't complain as we sat in the sun, eating pulled pork and brisket sandwiches (quite good), drinking Moab Brewery Dead Horse Ale and listening to bluegrass by the riverside.  We stayed to watch the awards ceremony: the grand prize winners, local boys R&R Barbecue, won around $4,000 (in addition to winning the whole shebang, they placed in every category, I believe, including at least two firsts) and are headed to Lynchburg, Tennessee, in October for the 2011 Jack Daniels World Championship Invitational Barbecue.  That's cool - make SLC proud, boys!

tunes to drive west by

Of course we have to have a Road Trip Soundtrack! Here it is (in no particular order because my iPod keeps shuffling it around) - see if you can pick up on the theme:

Walk on the Wild Side - Lou Reed
I'll Fly Away - Alison Krauss
While You See A Chance - Steve Winwood
Holiday - Madonna
Learn to Fly - Foo Fighters
Misty Mountain Hop - Led Zeppelin
Runnin' With The Devil - Van Halen
Here Comes The Sun - The Beatles
I Own The Road - Don Campbell
America - Yes
If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out - Cat Stevens
I Will Survive - Cake
Paradise City - Guns N' Roses
I'm So Bored with the U.S.A. - The Clash
Ramblin' Man - The Allman Brothers Band
Million Miles Away - The Plimsouls
You're My Home - Billy Joel
Never Going Back Again - Fleetwood Mac
Immigrant Song - Led Zeppelin
Rocky Mountain Way - Joe Walsh
In a Big Country - Big Country
Thunder Road - Bruce Springsteen
Changes - Yes
Peaceful Easy Feeling - The Eagles
Drive My Car - The Beatles
This Land Is Your Land - Woody Guthrie
Dirty Blvd - Lou Reed
No Sleep Till Brooklyn - The Beastie Boys
Truckin' - Grateful Dead
If I Don't Be There By Morning - Eric Clapton
Over The Hills And Far Away - Led Zeppelin
Take the Money and Run - Steve Miller Band
Go Your Own Way - Fleetwood Mac
Keep On The Sunny Side - The Whites
Anticipation - Carly Simon
Ready to Run - Dixie Chicks
Shiny Happy People - R.E.M. (featuring Kate Pearson)
Blue Sky - The Allman Brothers Band
Are You Gonna Go My Way - Lenny Kravitz
Welcome To Paradise - Green Day
Breakfast In America - Supertramp
Close To The Borderline - Billy Joel
Movin' Out (Anthony's Song) - Billy Joel
Walk This Way - Aerosmith
King's Highway - Tom Petty
Kings of the Wild Frontier - Adam and the Ants
Livin' On The Edge - Aerosmith
Like A Rolling Stone - Bob Dylan
Move To The City - Guns N' Roses
Wide Open Road - Johnny Cash
The Sweet Escape - Gwen Stefani
Face The Change - INXS
No Place Like Home - 4 Non Blondes
Gotta Get Away - The Offspring
Going Mobile - The Who
Jamming - Bob Marley & The Wailers
Here and Now - Letters to Cleo
This Town - The Go-Go's
The Best Is Yet To Come - Frank Sinatra
I Feel The Earth Move - Carole King
Celebration Day - Led Zeppelin
Don't Stop - Fleetwood Mac
Movin' On - Bad Company
Road To Nowhere - Talking Heads
Let's Go Crazy - Prince
Under the Milky Way - The Church
Couldn't Stand The Weather - Stevie Ray Vaughan
Big Rock Candy Mountain - Harry McClintock
Crossroads - Cream
Take The Long Way Home - Supertramp
Marrakesh Express - Crosby, Stills & Nash
Keep the Car Running - Arcade Fire
All That I Know - Collective Soul
Runnin Down A Dream - Tom Petty
Where The Streets Have No Name - U2
Gimme Shelter - The Rolling Stones
Blue Highway - Billy Idol
Young Americans - David Bowie
You Wild Colorado - Johnny Cash
Ramble On - Led Zeppelin
You Make My Dreams - Hall & Oates
It's My Life - Bon Jovi
She's Leaving Home - The Beatles