road to redemption

Earlier this month, when we were in Moab, it rained every day and for most of those days, all day.  We were determined to redeem ourselves and actually experience some southern Utah desert-like weather, so we went back, driving down Saturday morning.  We left around 7 a.m., which meant that the traffic on I-15 through the Utah Valley wasn't too terrible for a change.

 Loki steals the truck

We got to the Moab Brand Trails at 10:30 a.m. and the sun was out!  As we puttered around, getting ready to ride, a woman parked next to us; her sweet rescue dog Loki made himself right at home by climbing into our truck and curling up on the driver's side floor.  Two circuits of Rusty Spur/Bar M loop were in order and, as usual, we pretty much had those trails to ourselves, despite the 60-odd cars in the parking lot.  We had post-ride peanut butter and banana sandwiches with our beers afterwards, chatting with Loki's mom and surveying the parking lot scene.

Cattle guard

At 3 p.m., we checked into the Kokopelli motel, got cleaned up and walked (not in the rain) to Woody's for beers.  The bartender not only recognized us but remembered our beer order - we felt like we were taking the first steps to becoming locals!

Yay MTBing!

We strolled over to Zax's for an early dinner - veggie pizza and part of a World Series game - and then were back at the motel for cocktails on the patio.  With it so late in the year, we were bundled up pretty well and sitting in the dark, but it still felt like the right thing to do.

Yay beer!

Ride stats:  16.42 miles; 1:30 hours; 10.9 avg. m.p.h.; 23.2 m.p.h. H's max speed

we went back (to moab)

This post is going to have to serve as a little placeholder: we went back to Moab for another long weekend, hoping to fare a little better than we did earlier in the month.  In between dealing with all the laundry and switching over closets and gear to winter stuff, I'll get some posts up soon.  In the meantime, it looked more like this on this go-round:

From our 2014 trip to the Needles District 

of Canyonlands National Park

(more current photos ahead)

getting in some more miles

We've been hiking so much this year (i.e., since ski season ended) that it feels a little weird if we don't get our boots in the dirt on the weekends.  After we MTBed on Saturday, we talked about where to hike; the fact that Round Valley's trails were still as wet where they were convinced us that anything in the Wasatch mountains themselves would be muddy and/or snowy and/or icy.  Wanting to keep to as dry trails as possible, we decided to go back to Round Valley on Sunday, to do a different loop and to get in some miles.

Glorious day in the Wasatch Back

We didn't have to wait quite so long for Park City warm up since hiking in cold weather is more comfortable than biking in it.  It seemed a little warmer than the day before had been and we both ended up in short sleeves, although I did wear my gloves for a while.  To entertain ourselves while we tromped around on these well-known trails, we decided to count how many dogs we saw; the over/under was 40.

Teensy bit of snow lingering in the shade

Our route was: staring up the Practice Loop to Matt's Flat to Somewhere Elks to the top of the hill.  We had intended to go down on Rusty Shovel but that trail was closed for mud; we went down Rambler (the Sweet Sixteen switchbacks portion) and, to be honest, the top half should have been closed for mud as well.  We kept out of it and things dried up the further down we went.  We got on Ramble On to the Round Valley Connector, to Round Valley Express, to whatever trail gets you over to the North Round Valley trailhead.  Then we went up Happy Gilmor and Tin Man, then turned right and followed Rademan Ridge to the intersection of Cami's.  From there it was Matt's Flat and Ability Way, which brought us back to the truck.

We had seen 39 dogs when we got off the trail - and since I had the under, I was poised to win - but then there was a meet-up group of eleven huskies/husky mixes in the parking lot, bringing our total to 51 dogs.  You might think I would have complained about the loss but when there's eleven huskies running around, really nobody loses.

Hike stats:  11.43 miles; 3:35 hrs. hiking / 3.2 m.p.h.; 3:57 total / 2.9 m.p.h.; 1,100 feet of climbing

#rutssuck

It seemed like forever since we'd been on our MTBs (even though we only took one weekend off) so we were anxiously eyeing the mountaintrails.org maps to see if the trails were dry after the last storm.  Even then, we didn't believe it when they said Round Valley was full of snow and mud; those are lower elevation trails, mostly exposed, and the last week had been sunny and dry.  We were determined to go - but we waited until temperatures got up into the 50s, which meant we started riding around 11 a.m.

Dry trails in the sunshine

We try to be very careful with trails if they are wet because #rutssuck; having started riding in New England, we know how badly trails can get torn up when people ride through mud.  Our Round Valley route on Saturday was a new one, as we kept to the dry trails, rerouting when necessary.

If it sticks to your heels or your wheels, turn around

We started on Hat Trick/Fast Pitch (the jeep roads out of Quinn's Trailhead), then Matt's Flatt to Seventy 101 to PorcUClimb.  PorcUClimb had a couple of muddy patches where the gambel oaks kept things shady, so we got off our MTBs and carried them across to dry dirt.  After the climb, we intended to descend on Down Dog.  That trail was closed (per photo above) because it was too wet so we went down Nowhere Elks instead.  From there, we got on Valderroad, did the Practice Loop, then took Rambler to Ramble On.  The Staircase portion of Ramble On was the worst of the muddy bits but we were able to walk around the soft spots.  Then it was Rusty Spur to the paved bike path, to the North Round Valley trailhead where we picked up Happy Gilmor and Tin Man.  When we got to Rademan Ridge after finishing Tin Man, someone told us that that side of Rambler (a/k/a the Sagebrush Switchbacks, to us) was also closed.  So we descended from the ridge and picked up Round Valley Express (long hill to climb) to Cami's.  After that, we just jumped back on Matt's Flat to Ability Way and back to the truck.

Afterwards, at the Park City Brewery, we had a nice time talking with beertender Becky.  We knew she was originally from Massachusetts but this afternoon we learned that she was a sternman - excuse me, sternchick - for a commercial lobsterman out of Scituate during the summers of 2016 and 2017.  She went through her phone and showed us all sorts of photos she'd taken of the crazy-clawed lobsters she'd seen.  For our part, even though neither of us has worked on a commercial lobster boat, we both helped my dad haul traps when he had a recreational license and knew enough about New England fisheries to hold our own in the conversation.  It was a fun discussion and one neither she nor we expected we'd be having that day.

Ride stats:  15.33 miles

october houseguests

With only just enough time for us to do all the Moab laundry and clean the house, H's folks arrived for a visit.  We played it pretty lowkey, keeping an eye on the weather and the suddenly cold temperatures, which made it conducive to creating homemade soups and doing some house projects, although we still got out and about.

 Nice work, guys!

We usually try to have at least one project for H's dad to do because he's handy and we are ... not.  This visit he and H replaced the kitchen sink faucet (one trip to Home Depot and then to Lowe's for better faucet selection) and also installed a much-needed handrail going down into our basement (two trips to Home Depot).

Setting up the shot-ski

On Saturday, we drove over to Park City to see what was going on.  Lo and behold, we showed up as they were setting up the World's Longest Shot-Ski in an attempt to unseat Breckinridge.  Apparently the two ski towns take turns winning the title.  This year, Park City set up 1,275 shot glasses on skis (bolted and hinged together), filled the glasses with High West rye, and set the bar a little higher for our Colorado neighbors.

Click the link below for TGR's video of the shindig

We had no idea this was going on but once we saw it, we knew we couldn't leave until the record was broken.  Sadly, no spaces were available - all pre-sold and all sold-out - so we consoled ourselves with beer and lunch at the No Name Saloon until it was time to watch the big event.  Frankly, it was a big build-up for not a whole lot, but it's all for charity and it inspired us to try our own version at back at home.  Because why wouldn't you?

No caption necessary, really

last day, better weather

Lo and behold - when we woke up Tuesday morning, it wasn't raining!  It was cloudy, however.  We packed up, gassed up, caffeined up and headed to the MOAB Brand Trails, which is our usual stop for one last MTB before heading home.  H had to do some bike maintenance before we hit the trails - the incessant damp over the last few days had put superficial rust on our chains and pedals. 

OMG the sun

Once cleaned up, we got our wheels in the dirt (not nearly as wet as you might think, given all the rain) around 9:30 a.m.  We did our Rusty Spur/Bar M loop twice and mostly had the place to ourselves, despite +/- 20 cars in the parking lot.  We saw the sun for about ten minutes before it clouded back up and cooled down again.

Chillin' post-ride

Post-ride, we dallied in the parking lot for a bit, watching MTBers, dogs and built-out Sprinter vans.  Then we hit the road, getting to Ray's Tavern for a late lunch of veggie burgers, hand-cut fries and beers.  The fries were so good we had to get an extra order of them. 

OMG the fries

We got back home around 6 p.m.  There was snow all around in the mountains as we had driven north but we never had to drive through any ourselves.  As much as we love the desert (and we do, even when it's soggy), snow in them thar hills is always a welcome sight.

Heading north, past the Book Cliffs

slickrock in the rain

When we got up Monday morning at 7:30, it was only raining lightly and the forecast was "cloudy with occasional rain."  We didn't really want to MTB in the rain - not the least of which was to avoid potentially damaging the wet trails - but we needed to do something.  We looked at our maps and books for a hike and decided to wing it by going up to Sand Flats Recreation Area (BLM land managed by Grand County) to see what we could find.

Good thing we packed these ponchos

The guy manning the entry station ($5/day or $25/annual pass) told us that any of the trails could be hiked, even the ones denoted as for MTBs or 4x4s.  Pretty much every trail at SFRA is famous/infamous (e.g. Hell's Revenge, Porcupine Rim, parts of the Whole Enchilada) but we decided to hike the Slickrock MTB Trail ... and then proceeded to sit in the car at the trailhead parking lot for an hour, waiting for the rain to stop.  Finally, at 10 a.m., we just decided to go because if we didn't hike in the rain, we weren't going to get to hike.  We put on our ponchos and headed out.

Atop the slickrock

The Slickrock trail is a 9+ mile lollipop: out for 2 miles, around a 5 mile loop, back for 2 miles.  There were a few MTBers out there but not many, not in the rain.  Despite its name, slickrock is a grippy surface for hiking and MTBing, and even wet wasn't particularly slippery.  I can't imagine riding it, however.  It is way above my skill level, going up and down very steep inclines, crossing sandy washes, climbing fins and skirting cliff edges with views of the Colorado River and the town.

Colorado River view

It continued to rain consistently until about noon and although temperatures were in the 40s, we were both overheating and sweating like crazy underneath those ponchos.  We chatted with a couple of MTBers but really didn't see many people until we were within three miles of the trailhead, when the rain had stopped.  Then lots of folks started heading out, on foot, on MTBs and on dirtbikes - fair weather fans all of them.  I can't imagine how busy this trail must be in good weather.

That moment when the sun came out

We hung out back at the truck for about an hour after we got back, people-watching, until it started raining again.  Back at the motel (with Pearl, Lumen and Barry in residence as office dogs), we got cleaned up - and covered the room with damp gear to try and dry it - and then went to Woody's,  where the bartender finally recognized us.  The sidewalks were drying as we walked down to the Moab Brewery for dinner at the bar.  We sat next to a couple of old local guys and had a great conversation with them, talking about the area, fly fishing, pictographs, traveling in the desert Southwest and, of course, the weather.

And then it clouded back up

After that, there was just enough time for a chilly cocktail back on the motel patio, as the temperature dropped quickly.  We couldn't believe this time in Moab had almost come to an end.  We couldn't believe it had rained the whole time.

And the temperature dropped

Hike stats: 9.1 miles; 3:06 moving time / 2.9 m.p.h. and 3:28 overall time / 2.6 m.p.h.; 2,000' of climbing

in which it is still raining in moab

Sunday morning, 7:30 a.m., 52 F, still pouring rain.  We were far too antsy to hang out in our motel room, however, so we put both MTBing and hiking gear in the truck in case the weather cleared up.  (Spoiler: it didn't.)  Since we had always wanted to see water coming down over the cliffs above the Potash Road, we did a quick cruise out there first.  It wasn't coming over the cliffs in massive floods but there were quite a few temporal waterfalls/intermittent streams that simply do not exist in drier days.

This waterfall?  Not usually there

We next drove up to Canyonlands/Island in the Sky where it was 55 F and still raining, with the clouds resting right on top of the mesa.  We drove all the way out to Grand View Point at the southern end of the mesa and then walked out - in the rain - to the overlook, wearing our knee-length L.L. Bean raincoats, which normally don't see much action in Utah.  The clouds swirled, giving us brief glimpses of the White Rim Road below but for the most part, all we were able to see was clouds.  I felt badly for the tourists who had come out on their big trips to see the spectacular Utah desert scenery; we get to see it all the time so a rainy day truly wasn't as big a deal for us.

Brief break in the weather

After a lunchtime pause at the picnic area at the White Rim Overlook/Gooseberry Trail trailhead (still raining so it was an in-the-truck picnic), we drove to Dead Horse Point State Park.  We went out to the end, to the Overlook, and when we got out of the truck, we just started laughing.  The clouds were so thick that it was just a solid wall of white at the cliff's edge - you could barely tell you were on a cliff, and there was certainly no way to know that you were on top of a 1,000 foot cliff with stunning views below.

H strides off into the mist

At this point we gave up and went back to the motel to clean up.  We went to Woody's and watched the 49ers vs. Cardinals game with a local 49ers fan, waiting out the torrential downpours - the heaviest of the weekend so far - that were passing through town.  During a break in the rain, we dashed to 98 Center and nabbed a seat right away.  The atmosphere and food there continue to be terrific but the drinks prices keep going up ($6 for a can of IPA? yikes) and the service is pretty inconsistent.

Me on the edge of Dead Horse Point Overlook

It was only sprinkling as we walked back to the motel after dinner.  We took advantage of the easing of the rain to sit for a while on the patio for beers and chats with other guests.  There also was some fretting about the weather: we had been in Moab for 2.5 days and had only ridden our MTBs once, and hiked not at all.  Yikes again.

a trip to soggy moab

Amid the wet weather from Hurricane Rosa, we headed down to Moab for a long weekend.  We left on Friday, passing by snow-topped Timpanogos and the big burn scar in Spanish Fork Canyon, and watched the temperature drop to 37 F at Soldier Summit.  Skies cleared for a bit when we got further south but by mid-afternoon it was clouding up again.  After some discussion, we rejected a MTB ride in favor of a couple of beers at Woody's before checking in at the Kokopelli Lodge motel.  Several office dogs were in residence - Pearl, Jackson, Jasper, Lumen and baby Ladybug, with her very sharp puppy teeth.  We managed to get out of there, somehow without adopting anyone, got settled into our room and then hightailed to Zax's sports bar to watch the Yankees vs. the Red Sox, sitting next to a diehard Sox fan who had recently transplanted to Moab from New Hampshire, New England accent intact.

 The last sunshine for literally days

We got up at 7:15 a.m. Saturday and put both MTBing and hiking gear in the truck so we would be ready for anything.  Outerbike was in town and set up at the MOAB Brand Trails parking lot so we drove a little further on down the road, parking at a lot at the intersection of 191 and 313, then riding the paved bike path back up to the MOAB Brand Trails.  We did Rusty Spur and the Bar M loop - encountering next to nobody - then cruised through the Outerbike encampment.  H checked the weather app on his phone: thunderstorms in the area at 10:45 a.m.  It was 10:15 so we did another lap of Rusty Spur, then went back on the bike path to the truck.

Jackson, Jasper and bitey little Ladybug

Back at the truck, it wasn't raining right away but it was cloudy and cold (54 F) and I had forgotten to pack long pants.  We had a quick beer, deciding not to linger too long as we watched the darkening clouds.  We drove back to town around 11:30 a.m. as the rain began; it would still be raining that night when we went to bed.  We hung around the motel for the afternoon - with temperatures in the low 50s and steady rain, it wasn't even good weather to walk around town. 

Quick! Before it rains!

We went to Woody's around 4 for beers, watching the Baylor vs. K-State college football game with an actual Baylor fan (a contract electrician in town for a job), then around 5:30 we tried to get into 98 Center for dinner.  The place was already packed, the soggy weather no doubt having driven erstwhile adventurers in town and into the restaurants early, so we went back to the bar at Zax's for veggie pizza and five and a half innings of the Yankees vs. Red Sox.  It was still raining when we walked back to the motel so we finished watching the game and called it a day.  Surely it would be drier on Sunday - whoever heard of it raining so much in the desert?

Woody's 

moab soon

We just got back from Moab and are frantically doing laundry, downloading photos, restocking the fridge and dusting before houseguests arrive tomorrow.  Which is all to say that there will be Moab posts in the very near future ... but until then, this is what it looked like for us down there this time: cloudy, socked in and raining.

On the edge of Dead Horse Point State Park

- not that you can actually tell