conflicted

 Here's the thing: the mountains of northern Utah need snow (so do the southern mountains, for that matter).  But when it is bluebird skies and almost 60F in the valley - and over 40F up at Alta, which doesn't help the snowpack any - in the beginning of March, it is really hard to complain.  It's just so nice out!  Cool, sure, in the shade or if the breeze picks up.  But in the full sun it is just delightful.  So you can see how we're conflicted: snow means water but sunshine means awesome.  We even managed to get in the first home tailgate of the year (although we were all pretty chilled by the end of it).

I was definitely overdressed for Milton's and my morning five mile walk.  There were lots of other people out too, mostly runners and dog walkers; the cyclists seemed to wait for the afternoon when it was at its warmest.  We got to meet eleven dogs, some new ones/some we've met before.  When we got home, Milton did not need to be asked twice if he wanted to hang out on his driveway tie-out to soak in the sunshine.  While he did that, I dealt with laundry, baked a vegan bara brith (Welsh fruit cake) and got the dough started for a no-knead olive bread.

Tele-fest

Up at Alta, it was gorgeous as well - the perfect day for a telemark ski festival - although the snow stayed pretty firm and H didn't venture off-piste.  Also, for some reason Alta has been on generator-power only, meaning the lifts are running very slowly and stop a lot.  Despite the beautiful day, he got on the 1:39 bus down-canyon, having had enough of the long lift lines.  There was one big bonus, however: a 20-something kid in the lift line took one look at H and exclaimed, "Utah's best mustache!"

sundry

 By Sunday, however, it was back to a ski day that A wouldn't have liked, per H.  It wasn't too cold (in the 30s) and was less crowded at Alta than Saturday, but the light was very flat all day and it was just kind of grey.  Although the YTD snowfall seems a little low, coverage is decent, and H did get into the Devil's Castle and Catherine's Area to check things out.

Devil's Castle scene

And it was business as usual for those of us who stayed in the valley.  Milton and I did our almost five mile loop and then I logged some decent kitchen time, making a white bean and pasta soup for the coming week, a peach crumble using last summer's CSA peaches and a Korean "beef" bulgogi for dinner.   

Catherine's Area situation

Wow, these posts are just not that compelling.  But sometimes life is just getting outside when you able and making your way as best you can.

various

Back up in northern Utah, we got an all day storm on Thursday - like, literally raining/snowing all day down in the Salt Lake Valley.  It didn't amount to much throughout the day, instead waiting until after the evening commute to accumulate much.  We had maybe 3-4 inches by Friday morning, mostly on grassy surfaces as the drive in to work wasn't bad.

The mountains fared pretty well: Alta got three-ish much needed feet of snow.  And, for a change, the storm did not take place over the weekend, which meant that H's bus ride on Saturday morning was on time and, whilst crowded, not overcrowded.  Same with the actual skiing: it was busy, but not overrun.  And with partly sunny skies and temperatures in the 20s, H declared that it was the first day he'd skied all season that I would have enjoyed.  The snow was pretty good, softer off-piste than on the groomers.  They're up to a 120" base, with 348" on the season.  Not great but could be worse.

Sundog over Baldy's Main Chute

M and I kept ourselves busy while H was skiing.  We did our 4.8 mile loop, stopping to meet a 140 lb. Pyrenees mix named Bentley who was just delightful.  At home, we made switchel, infused some rum with lemon peel, made chocolate chip cookies and InstantPot black beans.  When H got home, I walked to the library for more books; then when I got home, H went for a quick run; then when H got home, we three all went to Costco to replace our recently-deceased t.v.  Fortuntely, that Costco is right near a sports bar we like so we were able to fortify ourselves with a beer after venturing into weekend retail.

that's more like it

Saturday was much better: partly sunny with a light breeze, pleasant when the sun was out.  All three of us went up to Sand Flats Recreation Area for a short hike on the Slickrock Trail.  We did just over four miles, out and back on the main trail, and while the parking lot was busier than we've seen since fall, we only saw a handful of people out on the trail.  The 4x4 trail traffic was picking up too.

Soaking in some Vitamin D

We had a date for drinks at our friends' house, so after a quick run through the grocery store, we walked over there for a couple of late afternoon/early evening hours.  It is for sure getting busier in town: the slow season is coming to an end.

Sunday morning was quite nice with lots of sun, although it did cloud up as the day went on.  A and M returned to the Pipe Dream trail: walking the trail to the Hidden Valley trailhead from the Jackson Street entrance, and then returning along the Pipeline trail at the base of the foothills.  The Pipeline trail is a straight shot, unlike the Pipe Dream trail that winds in and out of all the drainages, so it was a little quicker on the return.  We clocked 7.2 miles, our longest hike of the year to date.  

M on the Pipeline trail

While we were doing that, H got his mileage in on a town walk, using the opportunity to pick up a new jigsaw puzzle.  By the time M and I got back to the house, it was already unboxed and he was well into it.  He did manage to tear himself way to go to Woody's for a couple of afternoon beers.

Art

Monday was, of course, the nicest day - sunny and pleasant.  We three did a town walk and then packed up to head back to SLC.  While we did encounter just a few snowflakes whilst crossing over Soldier Summit, the weather was good, the roads were mostly dry and there was very little traffic.  We were all grateful that the return trip was the regular 3.5 hours - which doesn't seem nearly that bad when compared with 6.5!

long form driving

Sometimes the adventure is in Moab.  Sometimes the adventure is just getting there.  

When we went down for the February long holiday weekend, our departure was dependent on work schedules.  We were watching the weather pretty closely and although a storm rolled in around 11 a.m. on Thursday, we could only leave when we could leave.  We checked the UDOT traffic cameras and while it was snowing up and over Soldier Summit, the roads looked clear from Wellington onwards.  Normally, it takes us about 3.5 hours to get to Moab from Sandy.  This time it took us 6.5 hours, with 2.5 hours of that on I-15 in Salt Lake and Utah Counties.  That's forty miles.  In 2.5 hours.

The clouds were below the cliffs

The gridlocked traffic cleared out once we got onto Route 6 in Spanish Fork canyon.  There was snow on the road but there were clear channels for the wheels, not much traffic and it wasn't slippery.  Slow and steady and we cleared off the headlights when we stopped for gas in Wellington.  Where it was still snowing, by the way: it had taken us so long to get there that the storm had spread out further south.  And it continued, all the way down to I-70.  That was actually the best part - even though it was full dark, the precipitation mostly let up from Green River to the turn-off to Moab.  And then it started raining, and continued raining all the way there.  Which at least washed off some of the salty road slush.  That drive was the longest it's ever taken us to get to (or from) Moab and was the longest car ride Milton had ever had.  He was a little fidgety by the end but was (of course) a good boy.

Greening up

The storm lingered a bit into Friday, with low clouds and off and on rain.  A and Milton did just over five and a half miles on Pipe Dream where the first hour was dry and the second hour had rain, sleet and snow.  We got soaked but luckily it wasn't too cold.  H and A left Milt snoozing on the bed for a couple of late afternoon beers at Josie Wyatt's, and then all three of us caught up with our neighbor and her dog in the evening.

interlude

 Does anyone else's dog do this?  Like, on a semi-regular basis?

Literally going halfsies

In other weird Milton things, not only does he love cooked winter squash (acorn, butternut, mashed-up spaghetti), he also likes green peas (and blueberries, but that's not quite so weird).  But not banana.

sun day

 No, I am not going to use the phrase "Sunday fun-day" because, frankly, I despise that phrase.  Makes my skin crawl.  Super annoying.  But I am going to point out that on Sunday, it was a sunny day, and that was most excellent.  

Found this guy

I mean, it was cold: Milton and I had to wait until 9:15 for it to "warm up" to 20F for our Dimple Dell walk.  It was worth it, though, because the sun was strong enough that it was melting the ice on the sidewalks, and by the time we were halfway up the hill to Granite Park, I had warmed to the point where I could take off my mittens.  There weren't as many dog walkers as on Saturday but Dimple Dell was busy with lots of trail runners.  After we did our usual loop, we came home for chores, meal prep (overnight oats and balsamic tempeh) and a little baking (a coconut turmeric loaf), a little reading and another, shorter afternoon walk in the sunshine.

Scrub oak branches against the blue

Meanwhile, H also found it cold up at Alta: -2 F at 7:30 a.m., although it did warm to 9 F at the summit and low 20s at the base by the time he caught the 2:09 bus down canyon.  The snow was pretty good, the visibility terrific and it was not as crowded as it had been on Saturday. 

Clear day on Rock N' Roll

february flurries

 It's been a weekend storm cycle all winter, it seems, and this last weekend was no different.  Friday was a miserable day down in the valley: windy (it had been terribly windy all week, yuck) and a lot of rain, continuing into the night.  This meant snow up at elevation.  Luckily the canyon road never closed and so while H's bus was standing room only, he managed to get on it; and although traffic up the canyon was a red snake of taillights, they made slow but steady progress, getting up to Alta about a half hour later than usual.

Another grey day

It was yet another day that A wouldn't have liked.  It was 6 F when H   started skiing and 11 F when he finished at 2, flurrying all day with dark, flat light.  The snow was nice and soft but it was stupid-crowded, taking 34 minutes to get through the singles line for his first chair of the day.  He switched to the Supreme chair which was okay for a run or two, but by 10:15 all the corrals at all the lifts were overflowing.  And there were the usual dingdongs to contend with in the singles lines: folks who tried to ride up together, folks allowing cuts in line, folks just not paying attention when it was their turn.  You would think that anyone who is a good enough skier to ski at Alta would have at least a clue as to how to navigate the lift lines.  You'd be wrong.

Meanwhile, Milton and A did their usual Dimple Dell loop, although it took longer than usual because there were so many dogs to stop and meet: Betty, Loki, Grover, Lily, Dusty, Angus (cutest corgi), Arlo, Lucy and Annie.  Not the most productive day in the house - marinated some tempeh for meal prep, made sweet cashew cream and a chocolate pudding cake, tofu scramble for dinner - but I did finish a library book and walk to the library for more.  Some days it's okay to just curl up with a cup of tea and a good book.

workaday

 In case you haven't guessed by now, Milton is a pretty great dog.  We love him so much and we're so lucky to have rescued him.  From the time we brought him home, he's been super chill in the house, able to be left to have the run of it when we go to work.  That all changed one day last September when - as best we can figure - a massive thunderstorm, basically centered over our house and absolutely terrified him.  Since then, he's been a little nervous in our Sandy house, scared of the fridge and flinching at the noise of the furnace.  So we've been crating him and that is working really well: he goes in like a champ and seems to like it, even going in of his own volition when we're home and the door is open; and we don't have to worry about him getting hurt or damaging anything.

Hard at work (sleeping) with H

That said, both H and I are lucky to have accommodating offices post-pandemic and we're able to occasionally take the dog to work with us.  Milton doesn't really like going to my office: I'm on the sixth floor and I think he must be able to feel something in the building that we humans don't.  (Plus he's scared of the elevator so we have to walk all the way up.)  When I take him in, he is a good boy, of course.  He's quiet and pretty patient, but fidgety and nervous and has trouble settling.  It is entirely the opposite at H's work: Milt basically commandeers an empty conference room and crashes, snoozing the day away.

Woke up and moved, but now asleep again

on the homefront

Thus endeth January; on to February.  The first month of 2025 was pretty dry snow-wise, actually, and when the first storm of February made its presence known, everyone got pretty excited about it.  They were thinking up to two feet in the Cottonwoods and 2-4 feet in the mountains north of I-80.  I'm not going to say it was entirely a bust, but Alta only got 16 inches of heavy, wet snow, and then some rain on top of that.  Not ideal.

"Where's the snow at?" Milton, probably

On Saturday, H was at the bus stop for his usual 6:30 a.m. bus.  He couldn't get on it as it was full by the time it rolled up; he couldn't get on the next one either.  So he came home, at first thinking that maybe he'd wait a couple of hours and go up mid-morning.  But then inertia took over and he gave up for the day.  Sunday morning he managed to squeeze onto the 6:30 bus where it was standing room only.  And the crowding didn't stop there: for the first lift line of the day, both the singles line and the main corral were stretched up the hill, past the Wildcat chair lift (photo below).  It was a 45 minute line for that first chair.

And it was barely worth the effort, he said later, noting that it was possibly the worst day of the season.  Flat light, crazy windy, super crowded, rain starting midday and really heavy snow that got pushed into huge bumps by run #2 - and you couldn't see those bumps because of the flat light.  (Yet another day that A wouldn't have liked.)  He had been intending to take the 2:09 bus down-canyon but when the rain started, he sprinted for the 1:09 instead, nabbing one of only five seats available.  Seems like he wasn't alone in calling it a [grey, soggy] day.

#iykyk but an aerial shot of these lines would be impressive

Meanwhile, down in the valley, Milton and I had a fairly productive weekend.  Thanks to our new Garmin watch, we finally know that our Dimple Dell loop is 4.8 miles: we did that loop both Saturday and Sunday, getting to meet friendly dogs each time.  Saturday it was supposed to be raining but wasn't; Sunday was terrifically windy.  Personally, I prefer rain to wind.  In addition to our walks, we made chili and a Korean kimchi stew, chocolate chip cookies, 4+ quarts of vegetable broth and an apple galette, plus tried a new baked oatmeal recipe and went to the local library.