one more time

Saturday morning there was some debate about what to do.  It was still pretty cold, although the polar vortex that had crashed into Utah earlier in the week had moved on.  There was still a fair amount of snow in the hillsides and mountains of the Wasatch Front and the trail conditions in Park City were a mixture of snow/ice/mud.

M on the loose

H suggested that the rail trail (that goes from Park City to Echo Reservoir) was reporting rideable conditions and perhaps we could do a bit of an out and back there.  That left Milton without something to do, however, and temperatures were still chilly for me to ride.  So we amended our plan to go over to Park City and do the rail trail, H on his bike and Milton and me on foot.

Traffic jam

We planned to go out for forty minutes and then back for forty.  H took off as Milton and I ambled along.  The dog and I had only been walking for twenty minutes when I realized that we would have to cross a busy road twice; we turned around there and did the rest of our time on the jeep roads of Round Valley instead.  We met a few dogs and managed to keep out of the mud, although Milton did get very wet and dirty from all the pouncing.

Are those snow tires?

H, on the other hand, encountered a wide range of conditions on the rail trail, ranging from mostly dry to wet sand to completely snow-covered to cows.  And because he was going downhill first, it took him closer to fifty minutes on the return.

Milton and I got back to the trailhead about ten minutes before H did.  We all basked in the early winter sun (because it really does feel like winter) before heading home.  If this was the last Park City trip until springtime, it was a pretty day with which to wrap things up.

Boys and trucks

Ride stats: 16.2 miles.  Hike stats: probably more than three but less than four (?)