possible last mtb of the season

H was not so banged up on Sunday that we couldn't go for another MTB ride.  At this point in the year, every MTB ride we do has the potential for being that last one of the season.  Sunday was pretty gorgeous - breezy, just a few thin clouds, slightly cooler than the Sunday before - so we figured we should take advantage of the day. 

We still waited a little while for it to warm up to comfortable, if cool, temperatures in Park City.  Quinn's Trailhead had some action but did not seem overly crowded, and the cooler fall weather meant that nearly everyone had a dog or two with them.  I suggested that we do our usual route but backwards again, to give our brains a bit of a work out.  The climb up Rambler on the sagebrush switchbacks side is so much easier than the way we normally go up and I was thrilled to ride the whole thing except for that one really rocky corner.  Going down the other side is actually not as fun; the top half is good hard dirt but the bottom bit is rockier and makes me nervous - I am a very nervous descender. 

Apparently I'm wearing the same outfit as last time

When we were almost out (and H was way ahead of me, speedy on the double track), I scared up a herd of about seven or eight mule deer, who bounded away from me up a sagebrush-covered hill.  Then I had to stop and pet a 150 lb., 7 year old wolfhound who was walking with his person.  The man warned me that I'd get slobbered on but it was worth it to say hello to that giant, gentle dog.  We got a little more dog-time a little later, when we stopped by the Park City Brewery.  They don't serve food, so they're dog-friendly, and the picnic tables outside have carabiners screwed into them so you can park your dogs there.  We hung out with three dogs for a beer or two, chatting a little with their people, before heading home.  If that's going to be the last ride of the season, it was a pretty good way to finish up.