into each life some snow must fall

As previously mentioned, we managed to get down to Moab for a long weekend after Christmas.  We knew we'd be missing some skiing but we also knew it would be very, very crowded for the holiday week.  Mostly deserted Moab sounded like just the thing.  It was clear for our drive down.  Then early Friday morning a storm settled in, snowing steadily for over 24 hours and leaving at least six inches of the white stuff in the valley.  We hunkered down, glad we had books to read.

After the storm

Saturday the snow tapered off although it was still overcast and cold; it would not get above freezing for the next week, long after we'd left.  We debated trying to go for a hike but realized that any trailheads we might try could be impassable - there's not much snowplowing in the southern Utah desert.  Instead, Milton and I went to the Bark Park and then on a walk along the Millcreek bike path and through some neighborhoods, just because we were going a little bit stir-crazy. 

Snow-covered desert

The clouds finally cleared for a bright and chilly Sunday and we three drove north of town for a short hike at the MOAB Brand trails.  There were five other cars in the parking lot when we got there but we only saw one MTBer and his two nice dogs out on the trails.  It was a gorgeous day for a hike (even though our feet got wet and cold): the sun felt great and there was barely a breeze.  We soon stripped off hats and layers so as not to get too sweaty.  As soon as we stepped into any shade, however, it got cold quickly.

Same scenery but now with A and M

We just did the whole Lazy EZ loop ("not too lazy and not too easy"), realizing as we walked that we've never ridden the whole thing and vowing to give that a try when spring rolls around again.  The front half of the loop is along the rocks of the low ridgeline; the back half winds in big turns through a desert meadow. 

Hike stats:  forthcoming