up on the mesa

Saturday morning we were up and out of the room by 7 a.m., with plenty of time for a Dead Horse Point State Park parking lot breakfast of PB&Js before getting on the MTB trails at 8:15 a.m.  At that hour, we had the place pretty much to ourselves.  It was a gorgeous morning, clear and sunny, with cool temperatures.  It had rained a few days before, which left the dirt trails nicely packed and a few puddles remaining in the desert potholes.

The view from DHPSP never disappoints

We did the Big Chief trail on the Intrepid (east) side of the park, then went across the park road (on the Crossroads trail - cleverly named) to the newer trails on the west side.  Out there, the trails were packing down nicely - they had been so sandy when they opened in 2014.  We went out and back on Whiptail and did Twisted Tree to add a little lollipop loop.  Although I have to walk a fair bit of Twisted Tree, we both felt like we were riding pretty well.

Hell Roaring Canyon

Not having to dodge other riders certainly makes MTBing more fun.  We saw a lone hiker on the Intrepid side and encountered only five riders (a family of four and a single guy) on our way back from the west side.  We didn't even come across any riders heading out as we finished up, and that's usually where you get pushed off the trail by newbies and little kids.  The parking lot was packed with tourists, MTBers and hikers when we got back to the truck and we couldn't believe we had been so lucky out on the trails.  Ride stats: 16.38 miles; just under 2 hours; average speed: 8.5 m.p.h.; max speed: 17.7 m.p.h.

Looking for a way down

After a quick sandwich to refuel, we drove out of the park and north on 313, as though we were going back to town.  At the sign for the Lone Mesa Campground, however, we turned left on the dirt Dubinky Wells road. We were looking for a "trail" to the Comet Thrower, a pictograph site in Hell Roaring Canyon that I'd learned about by poking around on hiking blogs.  Since we've hiked most of the official trails in Arches and Canyonlands NPs, we've been trying to explore further afield.

This is the place

We left the Dubinky Wells road, veering off on the Spring Canyon road, passing numerous primitive BLM camping areas.  At about six miles in, we crossed the Dubinky Wash and parked at an empty campsite.  After wandering around the slickrock for a while at the rim of Hell Roaring Canyon, with no one but jack rabbits, birds and lizards for company, and utilizing our GPS, we finally found the so-called trailhead (coordinates for the drop-point are N 38 37.681 W 109 53.759). 

Over the edge and to looker's left

While we were thrilled to have found the point we were looking for, we were less thrilled with what we actually found: barbed wire wrapped around iron bars drilled into the rock ledge, and very loose footing down the scree on the cliff face.  We debated it for a while, making note of the time of day, how much water we were carrying and the potential distance ahead of us (10+ miles round trip). 

Mind the barbed wire, though

In the end, we nixed descending into the canyon and instead went back to the truck (identifying some truly excellent campsites for future reference) and instead had beers in the shade of a juniper tree, with the spectacular desert scenery spread out in front of us.  Can't say that was a bad decision.  Hike stats: just under 3 mi., about 2 hours of walking around.  It does look like a good hike, however, and now that we know where it is, perhaps we'll go back earlier in the day and try it again.

The desert is so beautiful

When we got back to Moab, it was much warmer in town than it had been up on the mesa.  We got cleaned up, went to dinner at 98 Center (steamed buns, cold noodle salad, pho and bahn mi, with one of the best local spring greens salads I've ever had).  Afterwards, it was a lovely evening for sitting outside our room with drinks, chatting with our motel neighbors and making plans for the next day.

first stop: sego canyon

It's spring!  That means we get to go to Moab!  And off we went, leaving the house at 5:30 a.m. Friday morning.  We tried a couple of times to get ice on our way out of town, finally managing to score some in Spanish Fork.  It got cold as we drove through Spanish Fork Canyon - down to a very brisk 24F! - then warmed up as we continued to drive south and east.

Ute Historic panel

We passed the Moab exit off I-70 and continued one further to the tiny (2010 census: population 39) town of Thompson Springs.  There are only a handful of houses and an abandoned (but awesome-looking) motel, currently for sale for $225,000 if anyone is interested, but little Thompson used to be hopping.  Back in 1910, a rancher found coal up in Sego Canyon, cannily bought the property and proceeded to build up a coal mining operation, complete with a small town.  The Denver & Rio Grande railroad ran a line up the canyon to bring the coal down to Thompson, from which it was shipped all over.  The water started drying up by 1915, however, and production ceased for good in 1955.  Most of the houses were brought down out of Sego Canyon and taken to Thompson, Moab or Fruita.  Now, all that is left is a ghost town and some wonderful native rock art.

Barrier Style

It was cool and sunny when we parked in the lot for the rock art.  There are both petroglyphs (drawings carved into the rock) and the rarer pictographs (painted onto the rocks) in the three main panels: the Ute Historic Panel, likely from the 19th century, white pictographs with red detailing; the Fremont Style Panel, with men, bighorn sheep and geometric designs; and the impressive Barrier Style Panel, with life-size, alien-looking figures.

Seriously alien-looking dudes

There are a couple more panels across the road, behind a cattle corral.  Those pictograph figures there were huge - the biggest I've ever seen.

Continuing up the road, we made our way to the ghost town, first stopping at Boot Hill Cemetery.  This is a small cemetery, where people have placed coins on every single grave.  Like, lots of coins.  There is also one grave in the southwest corner for a man who served in the Vietnam War: it has two headstones, one ornamented with a Christian cross and one with a Star of David.  Maybe he converted?

Boot Hill Cemetery

Up at the ghost town, there are several roofless buildings dug into the hillside.  The stone company store, roofless as well, dominates the landscape, the calls of the resident canyon wrens echoing off its walls.  There is a collapsed wooden building - likely the boarding house - surrounded by cottonwood trees, and the road continues on, up to the actual mine.  We poked around for a while, imagining what the place would have been like with 500 townspeople, then continued on our way.

Sego ruins

On our way into Moab, we stopped at the Moab Brand Trails to do our two loops of Rusty Spur/Bar M.  We shortened it a little bit, finding our way back on a much pleasanter double-track instead of the gravel road.  Ride stats: 16.73 miles; 1 hr. 34 minutes; avg. speed 10.6 m.p.h.; H's max. speed 23.1 m.p.h.

Interior of the company store

After that, we checked in at the Kokopelli Lodge and were greeted by resident dogs Pearl and Mei-Mei (sadly, one of our favorites, Frank, had been killed by some other dogs last fall).  We cleaned up, worked on a plan for the next day and walked ourselves down to dinner at the Moab Brewery.  Even though it was a Friday night, we got seats at the bar immediately - always a plus.  We also bought a bottle of the new Moab Distillery's Spot On Gin to take home with us - always a plus.

coming soon

We just got back from a long weekend in Moab.  Once we dig out from under the mountain of laundry, we'll get some posts up here.  In the meantime,

#twistedjeeprentals  #buckleup

season in review

The 2017/2018 ski season was not our best, snow-wise, as has been remarked here all winter.  H got in 47 ski days and 1.1 million vertical feet skied, which is respectable, but I only managed 29 ski day days - a poor showing indeed.  We got lucky with a storm right around Christmas, just before our friends came to visit/ski, and then it seemed like it wasn't until spring until the snow came in.  Thank goodness it did and it definitely finished stronger than it started.  But we mentally checked out early and, to be honest, are totally fine that our Alta season is done for the year.  Sometime we are sad about it; this time, we're ready for the next thing.  We still had some good days, though.  Let's look back:

Opening Day

Let the snow fly

Cool cloud creeping up the canyon

Christmas Day

H and R

Ski squad

Love this light - looks cold

New set-up

New Supreme chair

Same shot as opening day: February 11

High Rustler mid-March

Some nice snow in Catherine's Area

H in action, Devil's Castle

Frank in full-swing

Late spring chair-selfie

Spring skiing under excellent spring skies

That's it for the season

variable, as spring does

Sunday was about ten degrees cooler than Saturday had been, breezy and with increasing clouds as a cold front started to move into the area.  This kept the snow from becoming sticky as quickly and even though the corduroy stayed frozen in the shady spots, the Sugarloaf trails that were in the sun had a great sugary consistency that I really enjoyed.  All morning I did laps on Devil's Elbow and Rollercoaster; H did the same, plus a bunch of runs on Extrovert which got really soft.

Looking up Supreme, closed for the season

Because of the slightly colder temperatures, everyone who was skiing (it seemed) was skiing on Sugarloaf, at least for the morning until the Collins side softened.  It certainly wasn't crowded, and we never had to stand in line, but we did occasionally have to ride the lift with other people.  After not having had to do that for the last couple of ski days, we were a little put out by that.

Finally! A chair to ourselves!!

As it approached midday, H did a quick "around the world" lap - from the top of Collins, down through Sugarloaf, over to Supreme on the old trail across, past Supreme and Alf's, down through Sunnyside and across the rope tow - meeting me at the base of Collins.  Because the snow hadn't gotten heavy in the morning, my legs were able to keep going until nearly 1 p.m., and we did laps on the front side until then.  I finally called it when my feet were really sore (have been having difficulties with my boots all spring), a little reluctantly because even though Alta will be open for one more weekend, this was going to be our last day as we have a conflict for next weekend and won't be able to ski for the final closing.

High Rustler, etc., still skiable even this late in the season

I got a "have a good summer!" hug from Martha and then we retreated to the truck for a final Wildcat base tailgate session.  We had to bundle up this time as the wind picked up, bringing in heavier clouds; these clouds would be the forerunners of a late season storm which would bring snow right down to the valley floor on Monday - Mother Nature not quite willing to say goodbye to winter yet.  It was worth getting a little chilled on Sunday, however, to raise a beer to our 2017/2018 Alta season.  The best part of this season ending?  Season passes are already on sale for the 2018/2019 season.

about as springy as you can get for spring skiing

With just two weekends left in Alta's ski season, Saturday was about as spectacular as you can get for spring skiing.  By 7 a.m., the base temperatures were already in the 40s and it only warmed up from there under mostly clear skies.  This meant the snow was soft from the start; it also meant that things got heavy and sticky very quickly.  Because of this, we only skied until noon or so but because there was hardly anyone there, we got a decent number of runs in, not having to wait in lift lines at all.

Top of the Sugarloaf chair

A lot of Alta's terrain was closed, actually.  We assume that patrol was worried about slides with the extra-warm weather (but it also could be that they're running short-staffed since it's end of season, and limiting the open terrain means limiting the area that needs patrolling).  Baldy, the Backside, Devil's Castle, Cecret Shoulder, High Traverse, Gunsight, the Ballroom, Racecourse - all of this was closed in the morning.  They did end up opening a little bit more towards the afternoon.

Literally tail-gating

After we were done skiing, we pulled the truck around so we were facing the ski area and had a couple beers.  It was extremely pleasant - and, as you can see, not crowded even then.  If the Wildcat base parking lot had gotten up to half full by the end of the day, I would be surprised.  Things are clearly winding down and back down in the valley, we broke a record with temperatures in the high 80s.  What snow is left will not last long now.

and another gorgeous spring weekend day

Sunday was like Saturday, only moreso.  It was warmer - from 34 F, well into the 50s by afternoon - and the snow was softer and there were fewer people.  We could see why Alta is only open on the weekends now, with so few people skiing even then.  It would reach the 70s in the valley and folks have turned away from skiing to more summery things, like cycling, rock-climbing and golf.

Going over the permanently-closed 

section on Sunnyside

Not us.  We were back at it, again staying at Sugarloaf for the morning.  We immediately noticed that the snow was already soft, right from the start, and it got stickier more quickly than it had the day before.  I stuck with laps on Devil's Elbow, Rollercoaster and Extrovert; H attempted one run in Devil's Castle and determined that one run was plenty.

Literally no one on the slopes

After a quick and early lunch, we only stuck it out until just past 1 p.m.  The heavy, sticky snow was taking a toll on my legs (with 10-15 fewer ski days this year, my legs are not in as good a shape as I would like).  Still, that left us with time for tailgate beers in the sun before heading back home for a road ride (H) and dandelion-pulling (me). Ah, spring.

Off of Main St., with Wildcat lift behind me

gorgeous spring weekend day

Alta is only open on the weekends through May 6, 2018, now - although when you get weekends like the one we just had, you can't really complain.  Saturday was spectacular: sunny and clear, with temperatures ranging from 28 F in the morning to the low 50s (at the base areas) in the afternoon.

 Wow - that sky

The trails on the front side were pretty firm when we got up there but the sun-bathed back side was skiable right from the start.  We stayed at Sugarloaf for the morning, just doing laps as the snow got softer and softer.  Skiers' left down Extrovert got quite nice, in fact.  H, with stronger legs than I, did runs both into Yellow Trail/East Greeley and Devil's Castle.

People trekking into Devil's Castle

Alf's has closed for the season so we did a quick lunch at Watson's Shelter.  Watson's is not our favorite since it is so much smaller than Alf's.  But there were scarcely any people skiing, plus it was warm enough to sit on the deck were you so inclined, so there was plenty of seating.

Sugarloaf chair selfie

After lunch, the snow got heavy and sticky fast.  We abandoned Sugarloaf to ski Collins and the top half stayed pretty skiable.  From just above the angle station to the base, however, the snow was suffering under the strong sun, grabbing at our now-waxless skis.  We quit at 1:30 p.m. and, after a quick change at the truck, nabbed patio seats for a couple of beers.  The Goldminer's Daughter's patio was fairly well-attended, with people coming and going in between ski runs; at the Collins chair, the lifties had taken down the unnecessary corral and folks were able to ski right onto the lift.  The epitome of a spring ski day, by all accounts.

It's even pleasant in the parking lot

closing day (or, let us be frank)

This has just not been my ski season: I don't know what hit me, but starting Saturday night, I began to come down with a head cold and when the "let's go skiing for Alta's closing day!" alarm went off Sunday morning, I just couldn't do it.  I felt like I'd been flattened by a steamroller.  But H, undaunted, headed off to celebrate Alta's closing day, wherein they don't actually close for the season but they close for midweek operations, reopening on Friday/Saturday/Sunday through the first weekend in May.  Maybe.  If there's enough snow.

Frank!

At 10:30 a.m., he texted me to say that the parking lot is busy - lots of cars and tailgating - but the lifts and trails were not.  Shortly thereafter, he texted me again to say that Martha was disappointed in me for missing closing day.  Believe me, Martha, I was disappointed with myself.  He had lunch at Alf's for the last time this season; the other restaurants on the hill will be open for a while longer yet, and then by 2:15 p.m., Frank was "in full effect," as evidenced by the photo above.  Please refer to these prior posts for a full explanation of what Frank is.

Parking lot party

H skied until closing despite the less-than-ideal conditions - the snow had frozen up overnight and although Sunday daytime temperatures were mild, the cloud cover kept things from softening up - and then listened to the band playing in the Wildcat base parking lot for another hour before coming home.  Thus endeth Alta's official 2017/2018 season, not with a bang but with a bit of a whimper.  We think we'll get back up there for a couple more days, conditions-dependent, but at this point we're ready to move on and put this ski season behind us.

never mind spring - here's another 26"

Mother Nature gave northern Utah a late spring gift last week in the form of a big ol' storm that dropped 26" up at Alta Thursday night/Friday.  By all accounts, Friday was a fantastic day to storm-ski.  We couldn't get up there then because of work but we made sure to be up there on time Saturday morning. 

Pretty good coverage in Catherine's Area

Since the ski bus has ended for the season, we had to drive up.  It felt weird, being able to bring multiple pairs of skis and lots of clothing options, but at the same time I was grateful to be able to do so.  I knew I wanted my Rossignols for the morning, when we might be able to find some deep stuff that wasn't too skied-out, but as the day wore on, and the snow got heavier and more clumped up, I'd want to switch to my shorter Salomons.

That's as far as you get in Devil's Castle

Catherine's Area and the Backside had been open on Friday but we figured we could still find some good stuff out in Catherine's.  After a warm-up run on Collins, we went over to Supreme and did a run in our favorite gate off the first Catherine's Area meadow.  We were surprised to find some scratchy spots where the newer snow had blown away, but generally speaking it was pretty good for mid-April.  On our next run, we went all the way in at Catherine's Area, moving past the few other skiers in there.  We took in the view at Catherine's Pass, noting several backcountry skiers skinning up from the Brighton side, then did our run through the glade.  The snow here was fantastic: deep and soft and protected from the wind.

View from Devil's Castle

We did a run in through a lower gate off Rock 'N Roll, going through the trees to come out under the Devil's Apron where a ski patroller and his dog (either Fitz or Lucy) checking things out up there.  Ski Patrol had been working all morning to get Devil's Castle open and when it was, we went in - for our first time all year.  The snow was definitely heavier than it had been out in Catherine's Area but it was still soft and skiable.  I just did one run but H went back in for a second go at it, that time hiking all the way in, as far as he could go, until the rock cliff stopped him.

H shreds the Castle

After lunch, the sun started to heat things up, making the snow heavier, and I did go back to the truck to switch out my skis.  We then skied around from lift to lift, searching out the best conditions and hoping for that buttery snow we'd had last time (not to be found, however).  By 2;30 p.m. my legs were toast and we headed home.  Closing Day (whereby Alta closes for daily operations but re-opens on weekends through the beginning of May) coming right up!

A rare shot of us both.  I need to bend my knees