brisk

Sunday morning in Moab, while sunny, reminded us that winter is not quite over, even in southern Utah.  It was sunny and clear, but temperatures were definitely colder (30s) than Saturday and there was a brisk wind that found all the gaps in our clothing.  There was no snow in the forecast, however, so we didn't need to hurry back north.

View east towards Arches NP

After a false start where we had to go back home for some forgotten gear, we ended up at the MOAB Brand Trails, H with his MTB and me and Milton on foot.  We hikers did the same loop as last time: the parking lot cutoff to Bar M loop; south on Bar M to Circle O; counterclockwise on Circle O back to Bar M; south on Bar M again to the parking lot cutoff.  We had the whole place to ourselves, aside from two trail runners and their friendly dog.

Milton loves slickrock

H did a similar route to last time, consisting of Lazy-EZ, Rusty Spur, the Copper Ridge trail and the Bar M loop.  Copper Ridge is a connected series of several trails north of Moab on the western edge of Arches National Park, connecting MOAB Brand, Klondike Bluffs and the Sovereign trails.  The portion H rode was gentle double-track and he didn't have to share it with anybody.  We need to appreciate these chilly, gorgeous days when no one is around - spring is coming and with it, the hordes.