range riding

Pretty much any long holiday weekend we try to escape to Moab, and the recent MLK Jr. holiday was no exception.  As is often the case in January, the weather was mixed: a couple of good days and a couple of wet ones, including the drive home on Monday (it was fine, just not my favorite).  But let's focus on the good weather when we were able to get out and on the trails! 

Trail dog

Friday was actually warm enough (partly sunny, high 30s/low 40s) that H wanted to go for a ride at the Moab Brand trails.  That's still too cold for me to bike - I need it to be in the 50s or my hands and feet get too cold - so Milton and I hiked our Bar M/Circle O loop while H did his usual fourteen mile route (ride stats: 14.36 miles; 1:28; avg 9.8 m.p.h.; top 21.3 m.p.h.).  When we drove into the parking lot there was only one other car there - we couldn't remember when it had been that sparsely attended.  By the time we finished up, there were a handful of other vehicles there, although probably no more than ten.  And neither of us really saw anyone out on the trails, so I'm not sure where those folks were.

Circle O

The potholes out on Circle O's slickrock were all full of water, enough for Milton to drink and even to go swimming!  Like, literally swimming: he walked into one end of a big pothole and when it got deep, he kept going and swam across.  The trails were still in good condition, though, even with the moisture: H found only one muddy spot on his route, in a low corner of Rusty Spur.  There had been some damage done to the trails but it was from range cows, not errant riders.  Milton and I didn't see any cows ourselves but H had to ride through a whole herd of them at the northern end of Bar M.

And then we found ourselves at the

southern end of the bar at Woody's