party on the mountain

It was a spectacular day a week ago Sunday, with clear skies but thoroughly enjoyable temperatures - high 70s, which is unusual for this time of year - and we wanted to take advantage of that gift of weather.  In fact, all of us wanted to take advantage of it: we loaded up the car with hiking gear, tailgating supplies and Milton and then drove north, about an hour, to Snowbasin.

The desert dog meets the mountains

Snowbasin is so great in the summertime (winters too, of course - anyplace that hosted the Olympic downhill courses is awesome by default).  It's not a watershed, so dogs are allowed; it is gorgeous; you can hike or MTB or take gondola rides or hang around the base area (their new mini-golf course looks quite tempting); and on summer Sundays, they have free concerts.  Andy Frasco and the U.N. were the headliners for Sunday.  We've seen them a couple of times before and they're fantastic.  Snowbasin's Blues, Brews & BBQ shows are free although you can't bring coolers in.  There are lots of beer tents and food available for purchase; they also look the other way for moderate tailgating in the parking lot.

Taking a break

We got up there noon-ish and people were pouring in.  There are usually three acts, starting at 12:15, 2:15 and 4:15 respectively.  We wanted to get our hike on first, so we wended our way through the crowds to the Snowbasin trail (hiking/MTBing) behind the Grizzly Center at the base area.  We hiked for a couple of hours, putting together a loop of the Snowbasin trail (#12), the Green Pond trail (#11) and then a stretch on some of the ski area's access roads.  Most of the Green Pond trail is shaded, which was nice; even as temperate as it was, the sun is still strong.  We saw a number of MTBers but the trails were really not that crowded.

Crashed out

When we got back to the car after our hike, the parking lots were well on their way to filling up.  We camped out for a while, to change clothes, eat some lunch and drink some beers.  Milton took this opportunity to totally crash - he pretty much passed out on H's jacket in the shade.  It wasn't so much that the hike was so strenuous - he's done seven mile hikes with us before and this certainly wasn't that - it was the fact that we'd given him some Dramamine that morning to combat his car sickness.  He was perky and psyched for the hike.  He just crashed for a while when it was done and then, after his nap, he was ready to party.

Believe it or not, there's a huge party going on here

Around 4 p.m., we went up to the base area for Andy Frasco's set.  It was mobbed - so many people and so many dogs.  Everyone was on a leash (the dogs, I mean) and very well-behaved.  Milton met lots and lots of dogs and quite a few people too.  He even scammed extra treats from the nice Snowbasin lady at the venue entrance.

There's the party!

The band played for two hours without a break.  They were great, and great fun.  Folks were camped out all over the lawn and there was a huge group dancing down front by the stage.  It was about as excellent a day as you could ask for: gorgeous weather, good people-watching, fun music, good local beers, dogs everywhere.  There's no doubt that Snowbasin throws an excellent party.

blustery day

We have been having an unusually cool and wet spring and, to be honest, it has been pretty nice.  Area hiking is definitely more limited than it has been in the last several years since the cooler ambient temperatures have kept the snowpack around longer than usual, but the A/C has scarcely run at all.  That being said, when an extra-cold cold front moved in last Friday, prompting me to dig out a pair of wool socks for evening television viewing, both H and I were ready for some warmer weather.

 

Rules

For example, we hung around all Saturday morning, waiting for it to reach 50 F in Park City before heading to Round Valley for a MTB session.  It was nearly noon when we got to Quinn's Trailhead and there was scarcely anyone there - unheard of in late June, with normal weather.  It was not normal weather but windy, cold and stormy.  We saw virga and rain all around us, although we never got wet ourselves; we're pretty sure it was snowing a couple of places along the Wasatch Back.

Ominous skies

Despite the threatening skies, it was actually pretty comfortable to ride - uphill, at least.  So we did some good uphills, like Happy Gilmor and Tin Man from the back side of Round Valley to Rademan ridge, then up along the ridge, and the P-Dog Loop (combination PorcUclimb and Down Dog).  We got a really nice downhill Rambler run too - in what we call the Sagebrush Switchbacks - where we were just able to let the bikes roll, with no uphill cyclists to contend with.

Climbing Tin Man

It never warmed up, however, and the wind never stopped blowing, so when we finished our ride, we got chilled very quickly.  We snarfed down our sandwiches and beers and hopped back in the truck, heat blasting on high until we got back to the Salt Lake Valley side of things.  We should appreciate the chill, though, because it's bound to warm up soon - and a lot, most likely.

untrafficked

Since we had to go back north on Sunday, we didn't go nuts with the outdoors activities but we did have the opportunity for a 16.5 mile MTB at the MOAB Brand Trails.  We left a little later than we had Saturday morning and since this trailhead is much closer to town than Dead Horse Point State Park, we still got our tires on the dirt around the same time (8:30 a.m.-ish).

Temperatures were quite reasonable, with the accumulating clouds blocking the direct sun.  The trails are all in good shape, with the sandy bits not too sandy yet.  We did our usual two circuits of Rusty Spur and the Bar M loop and other than passing one tour group, we scarcely saw anyone.  Even when we got back to the truck after our ride, there couldn't have been more than fifteen vehicles in the lot - far fewer than there usually are on a Sunday late morning in May, September or October.  Although the people-watching suffered, we loved the traffic-free trails.

"h rode it"

First I was traveling for a week, then H was traveling for a week - so when everyone was finally altogether again, we decided a quick Moab weekend was in order to reground ourselves.  We didn't take much, just the dog and our MTBs.  And the southern Utah weather looked pretty reasonable for mid-June as a slight cold front moving through - and, as we drove through Green River, dumping a ton of rain in a fifteen minute period - kept the temperatures low (70s through high 80s).

Slight lean in on the corner

Saturday morning we got up to Dead Horse Point State Park around 8:30 a.m.  When we ride there in May and October, we usually try to start 7:30ish to stay ahead of the crowds so I did a double-take when we pulled in to a nearly empty parking lot.  There was a small tour group going through their preliminaries - we got out ahead of them and then saw only seven other riders until the very end of our ride.  The trails were dry and it was a gorgeous morning to be out there.  We rode the trails on both side of the park road and even though I walked down a couple of roll-overs I suspect I had ridden before, I wasn't sure enough of myself to attempt them that morning.  Better safe than sorry.

Working through the Twisted Tree trail

My favorite part of the ride happened as we were nearing the outermost bit of the Big Chief loop, H ahead of me per usual.  As I rode up to this one small, rocky climb, there was a group of two adults and three or four little kids coming the other way.  The kids were taking this obstacle one at a time, with the dad off his MTB to spot each of them and cheer them on: "Let's go, Anna! Let's go, Anna!" Since I had stopped for them, I just pushed my MTB up the obstacle.  As I went by, the dad grinned and teased, "H rode it!"  H was waiting for me just a little further on and when I asked what had happened, he said that they had moved aside for him to come up.  The dad asked him his name and then chanted, "Let's go, H! Let's go, H!"  How nice to have cheerleaders on the trail!

High water

On our way back to town, we stopped to check out the Colorado River.  The river is higher than we have ever seen it: bankfull, but not fully flooding.  The current was cranking along too.  We walked across the footbridge to the boat put-in to take the above picture, with the river up to the bottom of the sign.  We'll keep checking through the year to see how the water goes down.

Ride stats:  16.27 miles, 1:55 hours

mostly dry

I was out of town for a week at the beginning of June but got back on Saturday evening, which meant that we were able to go MTBing in Park City on Sunday.  The weather in northern Utah has finally started drying up (for the most part) so the trails were pretty dry (for the most part).  We did have to wait for temperatures to warm up, however; we pulled into Quinn's Trailhead at Round Valley around 11:30 a.m. when it had reached 50 F.  We don't usually get such a late start for anything and I was a little taken aback at how full the parking lot was.  Amazingly, we didn't have to deal with that many people out on the trails.

Still cool enough for long sleeves

We rode for a couple of hours, knocking out about fourteen miles.  I was slow and breathing hard, since I felt like I had been at sea level for about a week (I had, in fact); I rode some sections pretty well and others like a spaz.  We did play around with our route a little since there were still a couple of trails that were closed for construction and/or mud: among others, we climbed PorcUClimb and the sagebrush switchbacks section of Rambler, descended Down Dog and the other side of Rambler.  I even made it up the Staircase with barely any struggle - so I must have been doing better than I thought.

It's a late start for hiking and MTBing in northern Utah.  Snowbird still has over 90 inches and is running top to bottom on the weekends.  Alta's Cecret Lake is just barely starting to ice out - the Albion Basin wildflowers will be late this year - and they only just opened Guardsman Pass between Brighton and Park City.  Believe me when I say that I appreciate that we were able to get out there on dry, dirt trails on our MTBs.

winding down, wrapping up

After the last two days of national park hordes, we needed to get out on some less-frequented trails.  We also wanted to take Milton with us: off to the Sand Flats Recreation Area!

Weather in the La Sals, per usual

 The weather was potentially iffy (see above photo with it raining (or maybe snowing) in the La Sals ... again) so we didn't want to go too far afield, but we did want to try something new and do at least a few miles.  We also thought that any of the more popular trails like Porcupine Rim and the Slickrock Trail could be really busy, given the long holiday weekend.  We decided to just do the two short hiking-only trails at SFRA: the Juniper Trail and the Pinyon Trail. 

Sand Flats view (town is out of the shot, to the left)

The Pinyon Trail is a interpretive nature hike, only about a mile in length, starting at a small parking area on the right as you head out the road, just past the narrow, one-car-at-a-time section.  It's pretty accessible, has an informative leaflet to read along, and we had it all to ourselves.

Kings of the mountain

The Juniper Trail is about six miles out the road, near the Juniper campground.  It's a lollipop loop of about 3 miles (?), with the loop portion on top of a bluff with stunning views.  We met up with a Colorado couple and their very nice, mellow dog, and talked with them for a quite a while.  We all bemoaned the rise of social media telling the whole world about our favorite secret places; I'm not going to tell you where they camped - because they said they were all alone there, on Memorial Day weekend, and it was great - but you can bet that H and I have filed it away for future reference.

Looking toward the Porcupine Rim

We reconvened back at the Slickrock Trail parking lot for snacks and beers.  There was good people-watching too, with all the hikers, MTBers, campers, jeepers and dirt bikers milling about.  Milton took all the activity in stride (because he's such a good boy).

Bandanna-wearing adventure dog

The only real mistake we made all weekend, hiking in the parks notwithstanding, was leaving at 3 p.m.  We ended up in traffic at a standstill in Helper, where the highway drops to one lane and starts heading up Price Canyon.  We sat/crawled for an hour before it loosened up again.  On the plus side, it didn't rain or snow on us at all!  

doing devil's garden

What's even crazier than hiking at Canyonlands National Park on Memorial Day weekend?  Hiking at Arches National Park on Memorial Day weekend!  Yes, friends, for some reason we decided to hike Devil's Garden on Sunday.  Never mind that we haven't hiked at ANP for years because it's so often so crowded - let's do it on the busiest weekend of the year!

Landscape Arch

So we, and hordes of other people, got up at 5:30 and pulled into the Devil's Garden trailhead parking lot at 6:45 a.m.  Cars were literally pulling in one right after the other and we shared a laugh with the 20-somethings next to us, relieved that we'd gotten a spot.  After snarfing down tailgate PB&Js, we were on the trail at 7:15, heading out to do the primitive trail.

Partition Arch

The trail is well-maintained until Landscape Arch, then gets markedly more rugged on its way to Navajo Arch, Partition Arch, and so on to Double O Arch.  Foot traffic lessened after we passed Landscape Arch but we kept seeing the same hikers over and over again as we hit each of the viewpoints.

Sandstone fins

 There was some confusion out at Double O Arch where a number of us missed the cairn marking a turn; other park visitors had put up unauthorized cairns - don't do that, please.  After that, the trail is described as "primitive" but was much more worn in than when we had done it the first time in 2014.

Twisty tree

Because this loop is longer than most Arches hikes, we thought we'd have it to ourselves.  We were shocked at how many people we saw out there, as well as the levels of unpreparedness (little or no water, fitness levels, non-hiking footwear).

Fins with the La Sals in the background

When we got back to the car, the parking lot was a madhouse.  Park rangers were patrolling it, moving people along, and there was no way we could have our traditional snacks and beers there.  We found a pull-out a little ways down the road and pulled out our camp chairs there, soaking in the view of the Salt Valley and appreciating the fact that no one was around us (except for the few cars on the road).  We actually were surprised at how few cars were on the road - until we got to the entrance and realized that they had actually closed the park for several hours because it was too crowded.  They re-opened the entrance just as we were leaving and the cars were already lining up, waiting to get in. 

For the record, it was even pretty busy at Woody's Tavern later that afternoon (heckin' Memorial Day weekend!).

syncline loop reversed

What's the best thing to do, on Memorial Day weekend which is historically the busiest weekend of the year for Utah's national parks?  Go hiking at Canyonlands, of course!  I wanted to do the Syncline Loop, which we last did three years ago; H suggested that we go the opposite way around this time (counter-clockwise).  We didn't add the 2-4 mile round trip side excursion into the collapsed dome so we'll have to save that for another time.

Looking down the wash ahead of us

We were up at 6 a.m. on Saturday and out the door at 7, after having fed and walked Milton, who would not be coming with us since dogs are not allowed on the trails at Canyonlands.  After a quick stop for gas, we were at the Upheaval Dome parking lot at 8 - I always forget that it takes a long time to get to the trailheads - and had our feet on the trail by 8:20 a.m.  There were a fair number of cars already in the parking lot but we didn't see anyone as we headed out the long, gradual wash; most people who come to this trailhead are just going out to the dome's overlooks.

Lots of water in the wash due to all the recent rain

The weather was just about perfect: sunny and clear, 55 F at the start of our hike and around 70 F by the time we finished.

Use caution when going down the boulder section

Since we've now done this hike in both directions, we both agree that we thought it was easier and more enjoyable going counter-clockwise (not that we disliked it the other way!), except for the boulder scramble section.  When we did it in 2016: steeply down from the plateau to the canyon floor, then a gradual climb up the wash, then a steady climb along the creek, then scrambling up the boulder section, then a long grind up the wash to the start. 

I'm standing on stone steps sunk into the hillside

This time: that long grind was a pleasant descent; the boulder section was unnerving in some spots, since we were going down; the creek section was a nice, gradual down; the wash, while exposed to the sun, seemed to go quicker; and the steep section up went very, very quickly.  Plus, everyone (about thirty other people) else we saw seemed to be going clockwise so no-one caught us.

In the wash

It did take us longer than we thought it would to get back to the trailhead from the steep up but it wasn't anywhere near as tedious as the final section had seemed in 2016.  I think the cool temperatures helped.

Working our way back up

It was very busy at the trailhead when we got back to the car but we felt no compunction about having lunch and beers while we changed out of our boots since parking spots were opening up regularly.  It made for good people watching and we appreciated several impressive parking maneuvers in tight spaces.

La Sal mountains in the distance

It was extremely busy at the Canyonlands entrance when we drove out early/mid-afternoon; there were over 130 cars lined up, waiting to get in.  And traffic in town was brutal too, bumper to bumper from before the road crossed the Colorado River.  We weren't surprised, though, we knew it would be busy this weekend.

Hike stats:  8.5 miles; 3 hours 40 minutes moving time / 2.3 m.p.h. moving average and 4 hours 39 minutes total time / 1.8 m.p.h.

sand flats meander

We figured we were probably crazy for going back down to Moab for Memorial Day weekend - historically the busiest weekend of the year there, especially for the national parks - but since hiking and MTBing in northern Utah was curtailed due to the wet conditions (more rain! more snow!), we figured we'd go down anyway and hope to see the sun for a change.

Memorial Day weekend snowstorm

So Friday morning we got up at 5 a.m., were on the road by 5:45 a.m. and rolled into Moab at 9:30 a.m.  It was raining all the way from Sandy to Wellington, except for the half hour's worth of snowstorm from Soldier Summit to Helper.  Delightful weather.  Come to the desert, they said, it's warm and dry. 

Pothole up in the sandstone fins

After we got situated, we left Milton behind to sleep off the remnants of his Dramamine dose and drove up to the Sand Flats Recreation Area to look for Pocket Arch.  We had researched it: this arch was on our map, but there was no trail indicated; the hike to the arch was described in our book, but it was all but incomprehensible.

Fresh snow on the La Sals

We enjoyed our explorations along the stone fins regardless - we could go anywhere, as long as we stayed on the rock, and there was no one else up there with us.  The views were, of course, wonderful as the sun peeked in and out of the clouds.

Playing around on the slickrock

After our hike, we talked in the parking lot with 19 year-old Emmett and 20 year-old Lily from Alberta, Canada, who were on a month-long Rocky Mountains road trip, climbing and MTBing and living out of their homemade camper-minivan.  Later, we got cleaned up and walked to Woody's for a quick pre-dinner beer and the bartender was filling our pitcher before we even got to our chairs.  It was then a quiet night in - and early to bed as we had a plan to get up and get going early in the morning.

You can't tell but this is steep

Hike stats:  3.52 miles; 2:09 total time with 2.3 m.p.h. moving average

moab in bloom

I don't know if it's because of the wet winter or the wet spring, but the desert flowers have been amazing in Moab lately.  Here's a bunch of them for you to enjoy.  Unfortunately, I don't know the names of most - I think the yellow cactus are prickly pears, and the red cactus is claret cup.

rewind: amasa back

On the Friday of our Moab vacation week, it was overcast and cool, so we were looking for a dog-friendly hike to do with Milton, preferably something not too cliffy since he tends to pull on the leash.  (At some point we will take him to obedience classes - just haven't gotten around to it yet). 

That is an excellent sign

We decided to head out to the Amasa Back area which has a number of options for hiking, MTBing and jeeping.  We loaded up the truck at 8:45 a.m. and drove out the Kane Creek Road to the trailhead where there were only a few other vehicles.

Water break

There are lots of trails in this area and to be honest, we found the trail maps a little confusing.  We picked the Hymasa Trail for the outbound trip since it is a MTB trail and would keep us out of the way of any motorized vehicles, at least for a while.

At the overlook

Even with the gray sky overhead, it was really pretty out there.  We followed the jeep trail up out of the creek, then jumped on the singletrack as it wound its way around and up the sandstone levels above the Cliffhanger jeep road.

Would you think something could drive up this?

A few MTBers passed us on our way to the Dead Horse Point overlook, which is where we took in the view before heading back down.  To make a loop, we descended via the jeep road.  This turned out to be a great idea as we paused for quite some time at this one obstacle (see the photo just above with me and Milt) to watch two sets of vehicles go through.  The first group of rockcrawlers had no trouble with the giant steps but the second group was all jeeps and one guy (see photo just below) nearly rolled before bringing it back from the brink.  It is truly amazing what these folks can do with their vehicles.

Driving up those steps

We walked out on the increasingly-rough jeep road as more and more MTBers and off-road vehicles were coming in.  Back at the parking lot, we hung out for a while talking with people: a group from Calgary who have been coming to Moab for 20+ years; and a father and adult daughter who had MTBed past us on our way up.  Milton enjoyed meeting several dogs as well.

Kane Creek canyon

When we got back and cleaned up, we thought we would try someplace new for a drink and went to the Moab Garage Company because their ad said they had a "beer garden."  Please note: it is not a beer garden but an entirely indoors room with a bar and you have to order food.  The hipster dude there was a little snooty about it too so we went to Zax's instead where we sat at the bar and talked to a couple of Arizona dude ranchers instead.  That's really more our style: cowboys, not hipsters.

Hike stats: 6.6 miles; 2:21/2.8 mph moving and 3:18/2.0 overall (there was a lot of watching the jeeps); 1,010 feet of elevation