We went to the desert with a dog with a name (terrible attempt at paraphrasing going on here, sorry), and managed to keep quite busy, alternating hiking and MTBing. We even managed to work in some new trails for us. Not the first day, however, when we went to the Moab Brand Trails to MTB. It's starting to get warmer - too hot for Milton to go biking with us, and he was clearly disappointed not to go. We got a late-ish start (left at 9 a.m.) and, as it was a Saturday it was quite busy when we rolled into the parking lot. Like, hordes of people, including a massive BYU MBA group and multiple tours. Despite the crowds, we were really lucky and didn't encounter that many folks out on our ride: the small groups all got out of the way and we managed to pass the large groups in spots where they were stopped.
We did our usual route and there were strong headwinds anytime we went south. It is often windy in Utah in the spring but it was especially windy this year, days and days of wind. I'm not a fan: you can dress for cold and you can dress for wet but you can't dress for wind. And it gets in my head and psychs me out. It was too windy, in fact, for post-ride beers to be enjoyable and we just headed home for the afternoon. Wildflower report: going off! especially the claret cup cacti, a particular favorite.
Ride stats: 12.67 miles; 1:24:00 hours; 9.0 m.p.h. average speed; 22.1 [H's] top speed
The next day we tried something new (to us): hiking in Kane Creek. When we had hiked the Capt. Ahab trail (Amasa Back MTB area) earlier this year, we were up above the creek and it looked walkable. Plus, creek-walking in the desert is always a good thing with a dog. It was supposed to be hot (only 80 F but the southern Utah sun is strong) and windy again, and we figured a canyon creek hike would be more protected.
We parked at the Amasa Back trailhead and took the hiking/MTB connector to the second creek crossing. Then, while all the MTBs and motorized vehicles continued up the jeep road, we just stayed in the creek. We're not entirely sure where all the water comes from - the La Sal mountains probably, and it drains into the Colorado River - but it was cool, not cold, and clear ... until we walked through it, churning up the sand. And there was a lot more water than we expected: shin- to knee-deep mostly, with some spots where we were up above our waists.
It was really pretty in there, shady for the most part on the outbound leg. The creek is relatively narrow, with a rocky or sandy bottom, and the cliff wall looming overhead. It was very green and we saw absolutely no people, although from time to time we did hear engines echoing down at us from the Kane Creek road.
In the deep spots, Milton had to swim - and he did great, really swimming with no panicking. (Of course, on the way back, he decided he had had enough of swimming and started detouring around up on the banks or simply jumping the creek from side to side.) It was slow going for sure: we had to focus on our footing when in the creek and when we were up on the banks, we had to deal with prickly vegetation.
We didn't quite make it to Hunter Canyon, walked out an hour and a half and then turned around to retrace our steps, not wanting to be out in the sun too long with our still winter-pale skins. I would do this creek walk again, just to go a little further and see what was further upstream.
When we got back to the truck for sandwiches and beers, there was a lot of sand and small stones to empty out of our boots and socks. The wind, not too bad in the Amasa Back parking lot, surrounded by those high cliff walls, didn't let up all day. Not a fan of the wind, big fan of Kane Creek.
Hike stats: 4.12 miles; 2:07 hours/1.9 m.p.h. moving average (very slow going indeed); 2:42/1.5 overall average; 550' elevation
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