back to amasa back

 As we like to do, we recently spent a week plus surrounding weekends down in Moab.  We try to do this in April/early May and October; they are the busiest times there but they also have the best weather.  This fall, however, we were about a week later than we usually go and that, coupled with unusually low temperatures, meant it was too cold most days for me to go MTBing in the mornings.  Yes, we could have gone MTBing in the afternoons when it had warmed up, but we prefer to get up and get going in the mornings, seizing our motivation when it is highest.  It turned out okay: we did a bunch of hiking with Milton and I read a ton of books.  We also went to bars.

"Adventure dog!" from one of the MTBers we saw

We drove down Friday afternoon.  It had been in the 30s so we turned on the heat and walked to Woody's for a beer.  Whilst there, we asked if they knew where Crystal, former and our favorite bartender, had gone.  They didn't know so we decided that it would be our mission to find her: she'd recently done a whitewater rafting trip in West Virginia and we wanted to hear about it.

Not technically an adventure dog

Saturday was sunny and in the mid-60s.  We got up and drove to the Amasa Back trailhead to do the Jackson's Trail/Cliffhanger/Amasa Back loop that we like so much (6.36 miles).  The Moab Trail Mix crew has done a terrific job of repairing the creek crossings and creek-adjacent portions of Jackson's Trail.  We didn't see anyone until we got up to the Cliffhanger stretch (two jeeps and a MTBer); once we started down we saw a lot of MTBers.

So nice to see snow back in the La Sals

Saturday's search for Crystal: beers at Dewey's.  The bartenders didn't know where she'd gone either but we did talk to some tourists who were friendly.  They were heading to Zion next and I was able to point them towards an alternate hike to Angel's Landing that seems to have fewer visitors and much less vertigo.

In his happy place