divide and conquer

On our last day, we decided to divide and conquer Moab Brand Trails: MTBing for H to MTB and hiking for me and Milton.  If it had been just a little cooler, we probably could have both MTBed and had Milt run alongside; it's still warm enough that we didn't think that was the best idea for him.  It was another absolutely gorgeous day.  We got going around 9 a.m. and while the parking lot was quite busy, the trails weren't too bad.

Swimming/wading

Milton and I saw absolutely no one out on Circle O; H only met a couple of riders on his MTB loop.  Milton ran a lot, chasing critters, so much so that I ended up putting him back on the leash for about fifteen minutes until he stopped panting so hard.  There was plenty of water for him, though, with clean to drink in the shallow potholes and muddy to swim in the deeper ones.

Shake it off

H met us at the northern end of Circle O and Milt ran back to the truck with him.  He was very tired and had torn a claw enough that it was bleeding a little, but he didn't flinch or whimper when I poked at it so we don't think it was hurting him much.  In fact, after eating some of his breakfast, he felt good enough to cruise the vehicles parked on either side of us, looking to make new friends.  Milton is always up for new friends.

Art shot

regrouping

 After the Murphy Hogback hike, we took a rest day.  Sort of: while H MTBed back out at Moab Brand Trails, Milton and I did the northern section of Pipe Dream (from Jackson Street to the northern terminus).  Then, we packed a cooler, grabbed our books and drove out to the new picnic spot along the Colorado River.  We hung out there for a couple of hours, reading and people-watching.

The next day, we headed to Pritchett Canyon.  We'd seen some videos showing that the canyon had been hit hard by one of the August floods.  As we were driving out there, we realized that this was the first day of the Moab 240 as there were lots of runners coming down off of the Moab Rim and running out along Kane Creek Road.  We had intended to park in the OHV-trailer lot, right next to Pritchett Canyon, but that lot had been taken over as a base camp for the race so we parked at the Amasa Back  lot instead, which meant we got to see three BASE jumpers launching off the cliffs.  We checked out the base camp as we walked past - breakfast (including multiple vegan options), gear exchange, medical tent, portopotties, water - and cheered with the other fans as the runners headed out on Jackson's.

Ravaged by the floods

Pritchett got hit pretty hard.  The cute canvas tents at the mouth of the canyon had been swept away - although one set of bunkbeds was still standing - and the trees and vegetation in the wash had been scoured clean.  We also immediately noticed that the floods had drastically changed the 4x4 obstacles, completely changing the lines.  This canyon was already one of the most difficult 4x4 routes in the area; now everyone is going to have learn the new routes.

Much, much, much more precarious in real life

We had only planned to be out for a couple of hours, but when we met three Michigan jeeps, we stopped to watch them winch themselves down into the wash before Chewy Hill.  Usually this is "driveable" but the flood had taken all the sand and dirt out of the wash bottom, leaving behind massive boulders to navigate.  We turned around here but we could only imagine what the rest of the trail looked like.

After getting cleaned up, we walked over to Josie Wyatt's to see Crystal before her shift ended.  This place is considerably more upscale than our usual haunts, given that it is the bar at the Hoodoo, but the best kept secret in town is that they have draft PBR pints for $2.00 and extremely reasonable sandwiches on the lunch menu.  Shhhhhh - don't tell anybody.

Hike stats: 5.98 miles; 1:58 hr/3.0 m.p.h walking; 2:19/2.6 m.p.h. overall; 680' elevation

murphy hogback

Our other long hike (both of the long hikes were suggested by H and I gladly agreed) was to go back to Canyonlands National Park for the Murphy Hogback loop.  (Technically a lollipop.)  We've done this trail twice before, in 2016 and in 2018, and I always remember it as one of my favorites.  

H making his way down

We didn't get on the actual trail until 10 a.m. as it takes an hour to drive there from town, plus we'd waited for it to warm up a little.  There is a big, fancy, new parking lot at the trail head (although a pit toilet would be *chef's kiss*) and plenty of parking.  Although we were far from the first people there, we were the only ones not doing just the overlook.

Looking back up at the mesa

This time, the trail down the cliff face seemed a little more intimidating as it is very exposed.  It was in good shape, though, and still only took us about thirty minutes to go down (and also back up).  The hogback section is my favorite: easy walking with expansive views.

H on the hogback

When we got to the White Rim Road, we had to wait for about fifteen minutes for road construction.  No, seriously.  Here we were, out in the middle of literally nowhere, and a flagger waved us down: they had set a small charge to remove a rock from the steep hill section of the WRR between the hogback trail and the wash trail.  We found a small tree, hunkered down in the shade for sunscreen reapplication and snacks, and continued on our way when he gave us the all's-clear.

View towards the White Rim Road. Note the white rim.

The wash portion was easier walking than it sometimes is since the sand had been well-packed by the recent rains.  We made our way to the base of the cliff, rejoining the trail we'd come down on.  It took H 32 minutes to get to the top of the mesa; I struggled a little bit from the wooden bridge to the top, but once I got off the steep section, I bounced back.  I suspect it was a nutrition issue as neither of us had the stomach for post-hike beers back at the truck.  We did manage to quaff a couple at Woody's later, though.

Hike stats: 10.61 miles; 3:44 hrs/2.8 m.p.h. walking; 4:06/2.6 m.p.h. overall; 1,590' elevation

in which we actually get on our mtbs

We did get out MTBing a couple of times - a rare occasion this season, I must admit - but since we didn't go anywhere we haven't gone many, many times before, we didn't take any photos.  So I'm just going to lump these two excusions together in this one post, for posterity.

It was another gorgeous day at Moab Brand Trails: clear, sunny, scarcely a breeze, cool but comfortable.  We noticed that some of the dirt trails had taken a little damage from the recent storms: some runoff channels, some looser rocks, lines slightly different, but nothing too bad.  I was not riding particularly well, with no confidence and shakier-than-usual bike handling skills.  I did manage to catch up with a dude riding an e-MTB on the back half of the Bar M loop, though, so I felt pretty good about that.

We also got back up to Dead Horse Point State Park.  It was very busy, because we were later than we often are, having waiting for it to warm up (as opposed to the summer months, when we try to get on the trails just as the sun comes up so it isn't too hot), plus it was a Saturday.  And although it was busier than we've experienced it for a while, it truly wasn't that bad out on the trails as we were able to leapfrog several groups at opportune times.  I rode much better this time, even managing this one tricky uphill/corner/tree/rock combination that usually gives me trouble.  It was a good ride and great weather.  It's no wonder that October is one of the busiest months in Moab with days like that being common.

hidden valley to moab rim

Everything was still drenched in the morning so MTBing was out.  We had wanted to do a couple of longer hikes while we were here and today seemed like a good opportunity to knock one of those out:  the Hidden Valley/Moab Rim connector.  We had first done this in 2020, without Milton; this time we took him with us, knowing that he could easily do the distance.  After H dropped the truck at the Moab Rim trailhead and biked back, we three set off on foot from the house, jumping onto Pipe Dream via Jackson Street.  The trail was definitely rougher than it had been just a couple days before because of those big storms on Saturday and Sunday.  It was a gorgeous morning but humid and the ground was saturated.

This massive cut just as the trail starts to go up

When we got to the Hidden Valley trailhead (lots of cars), we were shocked to see it inundated with mud from slides coming down the cliff face.  Half the parking lot was ankle-deep in sticky mud and the connection from Pipedream to the parking lot was obliterated.  Also obliterated: from the parking lot to the base of the cliffs.  You could see the gash in the cliff where the water had shaken the dirt and rocks loose; we had to pick our way down and then up across the slide path to start the steep part of the climb up to Hidden Valley.  From just a little way up, you could see the devastation the slide had caused and it had slid very close to a couple of houses.  That must have been terrifying, with the noise of the water and the huge boulders getting tumbled down.

We made good time going up, passing a couple of groups, and then had the valley traverse all to ourselves.  Milton was staying pretty close - as he'd already done a fair amount of running recently - but sprinted around the meadow whenever he saw a bird.  As we approached the saddle, we saw a huge group making their way up towards the petroglyphs (a tour group, I presume).  Once we crossed the saddle and headed down along the Moab Rim trail, however, we saw no one.

View from the saddle

There was even more water and mud in the wash than there had been the day before, and there was so much fresh water in the potholes that Milton was able to swim a little, albeit inadvertently.  As we descended the front side, with its expansive view of the Colorado River, we encountered three side-by-sides, one dirt biker and three brave (foolhardy?) MTBers on their way down.  Having just done this bit the day before, my knees complained about the steepness.  All that was forgotten when we got to the truck, since there was beer waiting for us.  

That evening, to celebrate move-iversary (thirteen years in Utah!), we three walked to the Spitfire.  We were in time to see our favorite ex-Woody's bartender, Crystal, and talked with her for a long time, getting to meet her giant Great Pyrenees mix, Hildy.  And later that night, it stayed clear enough for a firepit with Amelia and Moscow.  Long, full day for us all.

Hike stats: 10.00 miles; 3;23 hours/2.9 m.p.h. walking; 3:44/2.7 m.p.h. overall; 1,780' elevation

getting ahead of the (bigger) storm

Moab Rim seemed like a good hike for the next morning as I figured the potholes would still be full of rainwater; I was right and didn't even need to bring the extra water bottle I usually carry for Milton.  It even rained, just slightly, just sprinkles, as we churned our way up the Stairmaster trail (the hiking-only trail to looker's right of the Moab Rim jeep road), but the clouds had mostly cleared out by the time we got to the top.

Clouds clearing (for now)

We met a group of friendly jeepers - well, the guy on his back underneath his jeep wasn't that friendly but the rest of them were - who liked Milton a lot,  Then, we continued around the loop, going up Tire Test Hill and then down Sand Hill, which was actually in great shape, all packed down from the recent rain.  The wash was wet and muddy and we had it all to ourselves, not meeting anyone else until we were heading back down the front side.

Wide open spaces

Later that afternoon, H took his road bike to Chile Pepper, hoping that they could figure out his shifter issue.  And then we went back to Woody's where it was busy with Sunday football fans.  Since we don't care about football, we went out onto the patio where we were treated to quite a show as an even bigger than yesterday storm rolled in.  It rained really, really hard and got cold, with a period of hail and quite a lot of impressive lightning.  This time, on the walk home, Millcreek was out of its banks and we had to wade (just up to our ankles) for a bit.  No firepit that night - it rained until after we went to bed.

"Lightning possible" lolol no kidding

getting ahead of the storm

Upon our return to the desert, we had a couple of wild weather days.  Saturday, while H worked on his road bike (shifter cable issues), Milton and I did the Pipedream MTB/hiking trail from Jackson Street to the Hidden Valley trailhead and back again.  After the morning rain moved out, it was gorgeous: sunny and cool.  And not too crowded as we only encountered five MTBers, two trail runners, one hiker and four horses-and-riders, plus two dogs.

Chockstone

Some of the trail had been impacted by small dirt slides but nothing was entirely washed out; some of the side-hill sections were simply more side-hill-y.  Milton scared up a desert cottontail that quickly eluded him in and among the rocks, and it was still too cool for lizards until we were on the return trip.

So blue

That afternoon, we rolled (via skateboard and town cruiser) to Woody's for a beer - although there was still a lot of red dirt on all the streets and I got anxious for my whitewall tires.  The bartender was in a good move and had time to show us photos from her month-long stint in Alaska; another customer bought a round of tequila shots for the bar, to celebrate that he'd done his first BASE jump that morning and didn't die.  Hooray!

Incoming

While we were there, a fast-moving thunderstorm blew in from the west, bringing lots of lightning and a spate of hard rain.  The gutters in the streets filled up and were flowing fast; Millcreek got muddy and came way up but stayed within its banks this time.  It was over in less than a half hour, however, and we were able to get home dry, in time to invite our neighbor Amelia and her Underdog Moscow to come over for an evening firepit.

 

csa summer (part 7)

Week 13: butternut squash, acorn squash, apples (5), plums (2), pears (7), nectarine, peaches (4), onions (4), tomatoes (6), green pepper and zucchini.  The zucchini was diced small and added to marinara sauce for pasta; we're eating the peaches as fast as we can; tomatoes got chopped small and topped bagels with vegan cream cheese; the pears are slow to ripen.

Weeks 14 and 15: We got a double box for our final 2022 CSA installment since we weren't able to pick up our fourteenth box: Butternut squashes, peaches, plums (so many!), apples, pears, tomatoes, huge red peppers, onions and potatoes.  One pepper went immediately onto a pizza; an onion and potato went to a creamy white bean and kale soup; the plums and squash are being sliced and frozen for future use (tarts and crumbles for the former; soups and curries for the latter); some peaches are being frozen for baking/smoothies too but they're still awfully good just to eat; still trying to figure out what to do with the pears.

 

retro

 Sorting through posts and pictures for some recent staycation days in Moab.  Which, did you know, has at least four still-existing phone booths?  Only one (at Dave's Corner Market) still has a telephone - and that's just there for nostalgic photos as it doesn't work.  Anyway, more to come!

missing: one swamp

Back in July, Milton and I had explored the upper main channel of Grandstaff Canyon a bit but H hadn't gone with us.  We managed to convince him to give it a go on Saturday.  We drove up to the Sand Flats Recreation Area, waived our season pass at the booth attendant and parked near the radio tower.  There were a couple of powered paragliders getting their rigs up and flying; as we walked out to Fins 'N Things, they were swooping and buzzing overhead, diving in amongst the sandstone fins.  It looked fun (but seemed noisy).

A natural spring springing forth

As soon as we dropped down on the trail into the wash, it was clear that the canyon had taken a hit in the recent floods - it wasn't just Millcreek.  The trail was quite rough and washed out in several places.  This made it easier to drop down from the trail into the wash bottom itself, however, since we could just pick our way down the run-off channels without leaving destructive footprints.

I see an alligator

When our wash met the main channel, however, I was stunned.  The floods had scoured the confluence of all the tangled vegetation, leaving it wide open.  The thorns and vines were gone; the swamp was gone, leaving lovely little natural springs flowing right out of the rock walls.  It made for much, much, much easier walking than when Milton and I had done it before.

Mud as art #1

The floods had left behind interesting pockets of mud, artfully cracked and in many places, sporting critter footprints.  We saw raccoon and coyote prints that we were sure of, plus Milton, of course, blithely trotting through it all.  Later, on our way out, H found a couple of snake tracks near water sources, although we never saw any snakes.

Mud as art #2

Mud as art #3

Once again, we did not get to the head of the canyon - Grandstaff is a long canyon, y'all.  Instead we just walked up for a while and then turned around and retraced our steps.  I really would like to make it to the head of the canyon some day but it may be an overnight backpack situation: the walking is rough on hips/ankles/feet because of the scrambling and slipping and rock-hopping and it might be easier to go up one day and out the next.  Gotta think about it.

Early enough for shade

As we walked back out along Fins 'N Things, the paragliders were gone but we said hi to a guy (and his very excited kids) in a rental jeep.  We drove back out to the Slickrock trailhead parking lot for beers and snacks: lots of people-watching by then, and we chatted with a guy from Amarillo, Texas, in town for vacation.  That guy could park a trail like nobody's business!  He and his wife were quite taken with Milton, as well, which made the dog happy.  It was a beautiful day - everyone was happy.

Hike stats:  6.87 miles; 2:59 moving time/2.3 m.p.h. moving average (slow); 3:32/1.9 overall (slow!); 840' elevation (which leads me to believe that my hike stats from July were off - oh well)

one of our favorites

 Milton and I were going to do the Moab Rim trail on Friday.  We invited H to come with us; when he said he'd rather do the Jackson's/Amasa Back loop instead, we hopped right on that good idea.  We didn't get a super-early start, waiting for the sun to come up, but things are starting to cool off now so being on the trail at sun-up is not quite so crucial these days.

Nearing the top of Jackson's

There were just a few cars in the Amasa Back parking lot when we pulled in, got our gear together and headed back up the Kane Creek road to the Jackson's trailhead.  The little foot bridge across Kane Creek has been washed out in one of the recent floods but the creek was narrow and it was easy to get across without getting wet.

Looking down into the old river bottom

The way up went quickly, as it usually does.  We could see a few jeeps and side-by-sides across the river, making their way up Poison Spider, but on our side of the Colorado, things were quiet.  We saw no-one on the Jackson's portion and no-one on the Cliffhanger portion.  Just blue skies and views for days.

Towards the La Sals, past Behind the Rocks

We finally crossed paths with some MTBers on their way up as we were about a quarter of the way down the Amasa Back 4x4 road - I guess we did get an early start after all, relatively speaking.  There was some motorized entertainment by then as well: three side-by-sides and then, later, four jeeps.  The jeeps were a little sad: a couple of the guys were on the ground underneath one of them.  Hopefully they got it going again but if they didn't, this guy can totally come rescue you.

Tandem BASE jump with a successful landing

When we got back to the car for snacks and beers, we were in time to watch a tandem BASE jump go off the cliffs above us.  It must have been the girl's first time because she was screaming and giggling the whole way down.  I sure love to watch them but have no desire to jump off a perfectly good cliff myself.

Hike stats: 6.18 miles; 1:53 moving time / 3.3 m.p.h. moving average speed; 2:11 / 2.8 overall; just 930' elevation

thirteen years

 Happy moveiversary to us!  We moved from Maine to SLC on October 3, 2009, and yet I can't believe another year has gone by so quickly.  Because of that, we count our year as running from October to September.  This is our third thin year in a row: we had big plans for lots of summer hiking that just didn't materialize (so frickin' hot), and we haven't yet MTBed in Park City in 2022 (so frickin' hot PLUS stupid high gas prices).  We did go to Moab a lot but this summer saw us sticking with hikes we do on a regular basis (so frickin' hot and need water for Milton); hopefully our new year will have cooler temperatures soon so we can try some new stuff further afield.  In any event, here's a quick recap of our year.

October - Hiking in Moab (Hidden Valley and Amasa Back); early stoke for skiing; getting back into baking; our week's vacation in Moab.

November - Hiking and MTBing (and searching for our favorite bartender) in Moab; revisiting the hike up Mt. Olympus; turkey trot; Thanksgiving in Moab.

December - Ski season begins (and I get back on the slopes after 21 months away); Moab weekends are getting colder so when H MTBs, A and M hike; Christmas in Moab.

January - Home-cooking: fougasse, muffins, brownies, cookies, stews, soups, perfecting our Bloody Mary recipe; skiing (lots of bluebird days); new hikes: Determination Tower, Little Arch on the Poison Spider Mesa.

February - Spring skiing in the winter (no snow for a month); H worked with Milton on his MTBing; home-cooking: kardemummabullar, apricot galette, olive bread; new hike: Capt. Ahab; catching up with friends at Piper Down.

March - Some new snow and storm skiing (finally); home-cooking: cookies, bread, soup, chili, tofu schwarma; hikes at Monitor and Merrimac buttes, the Slickrock trail, Echo Canyon and the Abyss; MTBing; H gets recognition for having the best mustache at Alta.

April - Spring-ish skiing, plus ski season ends; hikes at Steelbender, Rodeo trail (Horsethief system), Moab Rim; Moab visit with A's brother, sister-in-law and niece.

May  - A week in Moab with MTBing and hiking (Sylvester trail, along Kane Creek); the flowers started popping in the desert; H started getting serious about road riding again. 

June - H's parents came to visit; H had to travel some for work and A went back to Maine to see family; exploring around Millcreek in the Steelbender area; screech owl and baby goats; Utah gas prices $5.19/gallon (or higher).

July - Our CSA boxes begin (sooooo much zucchini to come); wildflowers at Alta and Snowbird; H gets his RadWagon cargo bike and Milton refuses to ride in the cargo bucket; Moab hikes in Mary Jane Canyon, upper Grandstaff Canyon and foolishly following a BASE jumper trail above the Colorado River.

August - Massive floods in Moab; more CSA produce; visitors from back East; A gets new hiking boots; Millcreek Canyon (SLC) hikes at Grandeur Peak, Pipeline/Elbow Fork/Terraces and Big Water trail; return to hike Kane Creek (Moab) to find no water in it; frickin' HOT.

September - More visitors, this time H's aunt and uncle; hiking up at Alta; MTBing and hiking in Moab; more CSA produce (seriously, so much squash).

And now we start our new year!  There will be time spent in Moab (uh, no kidding) but I'm hoping we can get over to Park City to MTB at least a couple of times before the snow flies.  Oh, and I'm really hoping that a lot of snow flies this year!