Hooray for Daylight Savings! We are full-on Daylight Savings proponents over here, not least because it means we can stay later in Moab before having to drive back north. Because we had some wiggle room with the additional daylight, H suggested that we hike the whole of the Slickrock trail up at the Sandflats Recreational Area. We've hiked portions of it numerous times but had only hiked all of it once, back in 2018, when it rained pretty much the whole time. It would not rain this time.
It was warmish but with a high, thin layer of clouds that kept it from getting truly. There were a few vehicles in the lot when we started; we saw just three MTBers going our way early on but then began seeing lots more folks (MTBs, dirtbikes, jeeps and 4x4s) as the morning wore on. This trail is super-popular and just a little later into the spring it will be unwise to hike with Milton off-leash, due to all the traffic (both human and fossil fuel powered). For now, we let him have free rein, only holding onto him a couple of times when MTBers came close - this ride is tough enough without having to avoid an oblivious dog too.
This trail isn't the most difficult 8+ mile hike we've ever done ... but it isn't easy. It is well-marked with blazes and trail signs and the slickrock is grippy and good to walk on. But there is way more elevation gain than you might think and a lot of the climbs, while short or short-ish, are very, very steep. The next day I would feel it in my quads from holding back on the downhills. It's a great hike, though, and since it's so popular, there's plenty of opportunity to watch various attempts at various obstacles by various vehicles.
Hike stats: 8.66 miles; moving 2:53 hours/3.0 m.p.h.; overall 2:59/2.9; 1,910' elevation
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