The Saturday before Christmas in Moab it rained pretty much all morning (the northern Utah mountains got a little bit of snow). Knowing from the forecast that it was going to rain on Saturday, did we bring our raincoats? No, we did not because we are silly people who do not think you need raincoats in the desert. Instead, we did crossword puzzles and Sudokus and Wordles and read until finally, finally!, it stopped raining and we could do a town walk. That evening, we met our friends Chris and Felicia at Woody's for a drink; we've known Chris for some years now but it was really great to finally meet Felicia. She was fun! We also got a chance to catch up with our neighbor Amelia and her dog Moscow before they headed off south.
Christmas Eve morning was clearing and colder, just right for some hiking/trail running. We three drove down to the Hidden Valley trailhead, where H then ran home (4 miles) via the Pipedream trail. Milton was very concerned that H wasn't going the way we were, so I kept him on the leash as we started up the Hidden Valley climb.
When H was no longer in sight, M stopped searching for him so I was able to let him off the leash. As I was stuffing the leash into my pack, a trail runner was coming down the trail towards us. It was one of my little brother's best friends, Ephraim, whose partner has family in Moab. We talked for some time and E took a selfie of us to send to my brother. After that, M and I continued our climb up and walked through the valley portion to the saddle, where the trail continues down towards the Moab Rim. Although it was right around noon, the sun was low enough in the sky, and behind the red rock cliffs, that the valley was mostly in shadow - it was cold! I had at least thought to bring another layer and I was happy to put it on.
Christmas Day was absolutely gorgeous: bright sun, blue sky and 17 F when we got up. We let it warm up just a bit and then went up to Sand Flats Recreation Area for a hike/run on the Slickrock Practice Loop. H and Milton, running, did the loop twice+ and A, walking, did it once. There were just a handful of other vehicles and most people out on the rock were hiking like us, although there were a couple of hardy MTBers giving it a go.
The only bar in town open on Christmas Day is Josie Wyatt's (at the Hoodoo Hotel) so that's where we went. Our favorite bartender was there and, after just a little while, a whole bunch of locals showed up. Everybody likes a $2 PBR on Christmas, apparently. We had dinner at home - chile colorado - and to all, it was a good night.
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