not even half a marathon

A wanted to do at least one longer hike, so Tuesday was the Hidden Valley/Moab Rim loop with Milton (10.1 miles; 3:42 moving time with 18 minutes of stoppage).  There were no coyote sightings along Pipedream this time - no sightings of anyone or anything at all, except a rabbit or two.  It's been several months since we've been to the Hidden Valley trail head and when we got there after finishing the Pipedream stretch, we could see that it had gotten hammered again by the August floods.  The drainage that had washed out a couple of years ago had washed out again in the same place, cutting a deeper channel across the trail.

Huge washout

We didn't see anyone or anything in Hidden Valley or once we crossed over the pass to the jeep trails.  The day was bright and I made Milton wear his white t-shirt (now really more dirt-colored than white) to try to keep some of the sun off.  It was warm - all week was highs in the low 80s and overnight lows in the low 50s - but not too hot, and he even found one pothole still with some clean water to wade in.  We texted H from the top of the final descent and when we'd gotten down, past the jeeps and side-by-sides heading up the Moab Rim trail, he was there waiting for us with snacks and beverages.

Nearing the top of the HV climb

During our parking lot sojourn, we talked for a while with Roel, a Dutch runner who was scouting out portions of the upcoming Moab 240.  He seemed psyched about it, in a good head space, and more concerned about nutrition than the distance (240 miles), the elevation gain/loss (+31,000 feet) or the sleep deprivation.  We got his bib number to keep track of him.

In other activities, H finished his "recovery" period and did a 25 mile road ride (1:24 hours) on the bike path whilst A and M were hiking.  And the afternoon and evening were spent at home, reading and hanging out with our neighbor.

Town deer

recovery

 After the big race, H was supposed to recover for 72 hours.  So Sunday morning, A and Milton did 4.7 miles out and back on Pipedream (1:38 hours).  We had to re-route a little bit to give a wide berth to a coyote who was being very vocal about our presence.  (Milton didn't seem to care but A was nervous.)  

Pipedream

When we safely returned, A and H did a 21 mile road ride on the bike path (1:30 hours) because obviously a 21 mile bike ride is "recovery."  And later that evening, we "recovered" further, catching up with our neighbor and her dog.  Milton even chewed on a tennis ball!  (He only does dog things like that when he's with another dog.  Never when he's alone.)

Dog things

On Monday, A and Milton did their usual Millcreek loop (just under 4 miles - I was sure that it was longer than that).  H and A did a repeat of the 21 mile road ride since H was still recovering.  We attempted beers at Josie Wyatt's but the $2 draft PBRs are still flat.  Bleh.

Millcreek

marathon man

 For our vacation, we left a little early on Friday afternoon, to get down to Moab in time for H to pick up his race packet.  Because on day 1 of vacation, H ran a trail marathon.  Let us pause to appreciate that.

Pre race (note Milton 

making new friends)

It was his first trail race and his first marathon: the Mad Moose Events Arches Marathon and Half.  There were actually four possible distances: 50K, the marathon, the half-marathon and a 15K, with about 650 total racers and 100 marathoners specifically.  The well-run event took place out on BLM land in the area known as "Behind the Rocks," starting and finishing in a pretty valley that we'd never been to before.  The road in/out was rough, although 2WD cars could make it.  It was super cool back in there and we would like to go back some time to explore/camp/hike. But not until we have a younger truck that will handle that road better.

Heading out

On Saturday morning, we three got there early - before the sun came up - and although the race organizers offered a 6:30 start to the longer distance runners, so they could maybe get ahead of the heat of the day, H decided to stick to his planned-upon 7 a.m. start.  Which was a good idea since the sun didn't come up until after 7 and the rocky trail would have been treacherous in the dark for anyone without a headlamp.  He was hoping for a 6.5 hour finish, which would get him back around 1:30 p.m. 

Mid-race photo 

A and Milton watched H take off, and then stuck around to watch several of the later starts.  Around 8:30, we did some hiking: up along the cliff behind the start/finish line and then, after all the runners had left, out and back on the first hill of the race course.  That was a long hill!  And a heck of a way to start a race.

Overhead

At 11, we got snacks and then hung around the finish line, talking with finished racers (including a woman from Wiscasset, Maine - the next town over from where A grew up!).  Around noon, A had a feeling to start watching the finishers come in ... and THERE WAS H, finishing well ahead of schedule at 5 hours 9 minutes and 19 seconds!!!!!!!

Almost done

We were so proud of him!!! He reported that the course was really sandy (which had been confirmed by all the runners A had talked to earlier) and had way more elevation gain than he'd trained for.  His hips and calves were stiff, and his stomach was a bit upset from all the sloshing around for 26 miles.  But overall H felt pretty good and recovered quickly enough for us to walk to Woody's for a celebratory beer in the early evening.  Walking over was a good idea too as it helped loosen his legs up.

Race results: H won his age group and was 14th out of 100 for the marathon.  He hasn't gone right out and signed up for another one yet, but he was very pleased with his achievement.  Damn right!!!

fall break

We three took some time off at the beginning of October and spent the week in Moab.  There was hiking, MTBing, road riding and beer drinking involved, plus we cooked dinner every night and read a bunch of books.  Photo-taking was intermittant, however, so to maximize visual content, I'm going to post each hike and the MTB separately, but group the road rides into one post.  We tried to alternate activities too: road ride, hike, road ride, hike, road ride, hike, road ride, road ride and finally, MTB ride.  The weather was stunning the whole time, probably the best vacation weather we've had in the past twenty years.  It did rain once, Sunday night overnight into Monday morning, but after that it was clear and dry, with daytime temperatures maxxing out in the high 70s and overnight lows in the 40s.  Perfect!

This dog loves his slickrock

We drove down Friday afternoon, stopped in at Woody's for a drink, and then headed home.  Saturday was my first ever road ride on the new bike (more on that later).  Sunday, Milton and I went for a hike (while H recreated the previous day's ride, only much, much, much faster).  We went up to Sand Flats Recreation Area for a Slickrock Practice loop/Abyss viewpoint hike.  Being a pleasant Sunday in early October meant that it was busier than I've seen it in a while.  The campgrounds were full, there were lots of MTBers and plenty of jeeps/4x4s out on Hell's Revenge and Fins 'N Things, so we sat for a while at the Abyss overlook to watch the off-road shenanigans.

Kind of moody out over the La Sal mountains

Milton charmed a group of riders out on the Practice loop with us, strolling right through them when they stopped for a break.  The lone woman in the group was last and struggling a bit.  When she apologized for being so slow - "I'm a little freaked out here," she admitted - I just told her that I was so impressed that she was doing it at all.  That trail is so far outside my MTB skill level and comfort zone - she was a bad ass for just trying it.

I don't like PBR but I do for $2

That afternoon, we left Milton at home and took our road bikes to Josie Wyatt's to see our favorite bartender and drink some $2 PBRs.  That's another 2.5 bike miles to add to the running total.

upper millcreek and oowah lake

 Things cooled off in a big way overnight and Sunday, although rather cloudy, was very comfortable in the high 70s.  It was considerably cooler where we hiked, however: up in the La Sal mountains.  On prior drives along the loop road, we'd noticed a trailhead sign and parking area perched on the edge of Millcreek Canyon, at the head of the canyon where the creek comes out of the mountains.  We'd been hoping to explore the upper reaches of Millcreek Canyon and were hoping that this might prove a good entry point.

Truth in advertising (the more you know)

It wasn't.  We clambered down the very steep trail to a couple of hiking areas, where climbers' protection (spikes, carabiners, etc.) shone in the morning sun from the cliff walls.  There really wasn't any hiking to be done, however, and when we attempted bushwhacking downstream, the narrow canyon soon got choked with boulders and fallen trees, not ideal especially with Milton who tends to leap before he looks.

Totally shaded - great for summer climbing

We weren't far from the road to Oowah Lake (Piute name origin - it certainly isn't so spectacular that one would go, "Oo - ah!" upon seeing it).  The Forest Service campground (and road) are still closed because of snow so we were able to park at the gate and walk up the road to the little lake - not the most glamorous of hikes, but enough for all of us to get some exercise.  The dirt road was in good shape and it climbed steadily the whole way up.

Icy cold, right out of the mountains

There was some pretty decent entertainment too: Milton started up three turkeys and we saw two hawks and a partridge.  We also were surrounded by about fifteen hounds at one point, out doing training with their hunter-owners.  We heard them howling and baying as they crashed through the woods; it was a little disconcerting until we figured out what they were.  When they got to us, we had Milt on his leash so he wouldn't run off with them.  They were good dogs: they gave him a sniff and then kept on with their hunt, except for one friendly puppy who tagged along with us for a while before rejoining his pack.

Ice not entirely out yet

Hike stats:  6.95 miles; 2:26 hiking time/2.8 m.p.h. moving average; 3:01 total time/2.3 overall average; 1,250 feet of elevation

how it started

 Where to begin with our recent desert sojourn?  How about right at the beginning?  We loaded up the truck and scooted down early on Friday, getting in ahead of the late day traffic back-ups.  It looks as though the road widening project should be finished by June  - twolanes continuing all the way into town instead of narrowing to one lane at the river - so that will be fantastic.  We caught up with our neighbor Amelia and her Underdog puppy Moscow, and then strolled over to Woody's for a beer to usher in our days off.

Town flowers: clematis

Saturday was partly cloudy, with the day's high of 91F, and a 0% chance of rain.  To avoid the heat, we were out the door at 8 a.m. (Milton left behind to guard the house) and on our way with the MTBs to MOAB Brand Trails.  Although H has been MTBing all winter, this was my first time back on a bike since November.  

More town flowers

I didn't entirely forget what to do, however, as we did parking lot cut-off to south on Copper Ridge Road, to Rusty Spur, to Lazy E-Z, to the Bar M loop.  We saw just a few people out on the trails - surprisingly fewer than there had been during Jeep Safari - and no tour groups.

All my clothes are really baggy, apparently

Ride stats: 13.98 miles; 1:27 ride time; 9.6 average speed; 22.6 H's top speed

catching up and getting out

A couple of friends, Erica and Kylie, joined us (safely distanced and/or masked as necessary) for the last bit of our vacation week.  On Saturday morning, after breakfast and coffee, we headed out to hike Jeep Arch, which they didn't know about.  The day was sunny, completely clear and warm.  There were already numerous vehicles at the trailhead by the time we pulled in - although only a fraction of what was parked at the Corona Arch trailhead - but, amazingly, we timed it just right to have the arch to ourselves.

A, H and M

(all photos: Kylie)

We did the loop portion clockwise.  I think that's a better way to go as the steepest bit is short, plus you actually can get some shade on the final uphill approach (if you go in the morning).  Erica and Kylie are rock climbers and they were eyeing the hardware left in the slabs with interest.  On our way out, we picked up the fainter trail leading down into the wash.  E and K really liked this section: mostly shaded and some scrambling required.  We passed a dude out scouting locations and light to shoot an indie music video, then made our way back through the culvert to the truck.

"Do you guys see this view?"

Our stomachs were all growling at this point and H had the fantastic idea of having lunch in Middle Earth (this Middle Earth, not the Navajo Rocks trail), figuring it would be shady in there.  Once again, our timing was perfect as we passed a family coming out as we were heading in with our cooler.  We had the whole grotto to ourselves as we hydrated with beer and munched our sandwiches.

We three

That evening, we met up with another friend who was in town, off-roading with his family and friends.  They all had their trailers circled up at the Old Spanish Trail Arena, just south of Moab.  It was kind of a weird spot for camping - they had made reservations for the group site almost a year ago - but there was plenty of room for everyone to spread out, distanced safely around the campfire.

Heading down the wash

The next morning, Erica and Kylie hit the road early, heading back to SLC.  We dithered around for a little while, then decided that we didn't know what traffic would be like and maybe we should think about heading north ourselves.  We cleaned and packed and then went up to the Millcreek overlook for a quick walk (just over an hour) for Milton to burn off some energy.  There were a few other folks there as well with their dogs but not many.  It seemed like everyone else was queuing up to get into the Sand Flats Recreation Area - we could see the huge line of jeeps and 4x4s winding its way up the hill above us.  

It's like a portal to another dimension

After our walk, as the clouds rolled in, we loaded up and got on our way, stopping at Ray's in Green River for lunch.  As we continued up Highway 6, the storm that was at that moment delivering to Alta its first snow of the season brought clouds, high winds, blowing sand and rain sprinkles to us.  We soon enough drove out of it, however, and even though we had left our vacation a little earlier than we had intended, with the fast weather change, wrapping things up seemed like the right thing to do.

Hike stats: 5.56 miles; 2:28 time; 2.2 m.p.h. average speed

return to pritchett canyon

 It had been just over six months since we had done Pritchett Canyon for the first time but with the ridiculous levels of traffic to get to/return from anything north of Moab, we were looking for something on the south end of town.  The OHV lot on Kane Creek Boulevard had a fair number of vehicles and trailers in it but most of them must have been headed out towards Chicken Corners because we only saw six jeeps and four dirtbikers during our hike.

Super pretty Pritchett

The group of jeeps caught us at the Brickyard obstacle.  We stopped and watched them there and then at the Chewie ledges a little further on, chatting with some of the guys until one of them got cocky, tried to go up without knowing the line and broke an axle.  We left them behind then and continued up the canyon.

The lead guy really knew what he was doing

Pritchett Canyon is very pretty: narrow with high walls and intriguing side canyons for the first part and then widening out for the last bit.  The trail surface is varied, with chunky rocks, slickrock ledges and sand.  Because it has been so dry, the sand was like pink dust, puffing up with every step.  (Afterwards, even though we brushed him off, Milton's white feet stayed pink.)

This is the guy who broke an axle

We met up with the dirtbikers just after they'd come off the top of the pass at Yellow Hill.  They weren't really sure where they were - so we told them - and it seemed like a lot of the massive obstacles which this trail is known for were not all that much fun for bikes.  We made it up to the pass and then turned right around to retrace our steps (H had to be back for an afternoon video conference), passing them before they'd gotten very far.  We leapfrogged them back and forth - and had to work around the jeeps (only four of them now) who were working their way up Rockerknocker - until they finally got flatter ground after Chewie and took off.

The DBers were working hard

The midday sun was strong but temperatures were quite reasonable, now that we've gotten into October.  Milton overdid it (of course) but from overexertion, not overheating.  When we got back to the parking lot for a quick beer before H's meeting, there were more BASE jumpers throwing themselves off the cliffs, and the Kane Creek road was busy with side-by-sides and MTBers.  We said hi to one MTBer who was pushing his bike up the lot, having crossed the creek below, and I asked him if he'd just ridden Jackson's Trail.  "Dude!" he answered, "I came down it but I wouldn't say I rode it!"

Looking back down canyon from the pass

We finished our beer, put the tired dog in the truck and headed home, with no traffic delays.  H had his meeting and then we spent the afternoon working on my cruiser bike's brakes, reading and taking neighborhood walks.  Solid day all around.

Pink shoes!

Hike stats: 9.14 miles; moving 2:56 time / 3.1 m.p.h.; overall 3:32 / 2.6 

desert stoke

 It wasn't all MTBing, of course.  H prefers riding and I am better at hiking so we try to alternate; after the first Saturday's MTB at DHPSP, we took Milton for a hike at Amasa Back.  The parking lot was busier than it's been but not yet full when we started out.  We did have to keep an eye out for MTBers, so Milton - busy getting his crazy on since he hadn't been out on a trail for a while - didn't get in their way.  One kid, calmly pedaling up the slickrock, got a big grin when he saw Milt and said, "Your dog looks stoked!"  And indeed he did.  

Mustache with a view

We were all relatively stoked as temperatures were very pleasant and it was much less smoky than the day before, although the LaSal mountains were still mostly obscured.  I like this hike a lot because it is super-scenic, with dramatic views from the overlook, but it isn't terribly difficult and you can make a loop out of it if you're willing to descend via the jeep road.  Only twenty-four MTBers passed us on the way up but we saw 82 total riders (six women), plus seven side-by-sides, three dirtbikes and one jeep.  Moab is definitely open for business and the traffic on the trails (not to mention the traffic on Main Street) proves it.

Small pause in the stoke

Back in the parking lot, we talked with a lot of folks, including a Sprinter van couple from Seattle (dog people who gave Milt a treat) and their riding partners, who were parked on either side of us.  Milton, of course, charmed everyone in the vicinity.  As a bonus, we got to watch crazy BASE jumpers flinging themselves off the cliffs above us: it was only about a fifteen second ride from jump to landing but I can't imagine being brave enough to fling myself off a perfectly good cliff like that.  Those people are nuts.

Cruisin' on the slickrock

Once home, Milton crashed as we chatted and had beers over the fence with our neighbor Amelia, home from a summer on Alaskan fishing boats.  That night the stars were out enough to merit a fire pit and cool enough to merit wearing fleece and flannel while doing so.  Hooray for fall!

Fleece and flannel

Hike stats: 6.09 miles; 2:10 hours/2.8 m.p.h. moving average; 2:41/2.3 overall average; 890' vertical

mtbing is hard (part 2)

 We got a couple more MTB rides in during our vacation week, but we neglected to take any photos.  No huge deal as we've ridden both of these rides before.

On Wednesday we went up to the main Navajo Rocks parking lot.  These trails tend to be more challenging for me so we stuck with the loop I've had reasonable success with before: Middle Earth to Coney Island to Big Lonely to Big Mesa and back to the trailhead.  This is the recommended way to do this loop although someone has added a suggestion that going downhill on Coney Island is the way to go.  It's probably fun but it isn't a particularly onerous climb (except for the steep, sandy switchback sections) plus going clockwise on Big Lonely is definitely the better way to go.

H had his second crash of the week on Coney Island (again, ending up battered but not too bruised), this time in front of a witness.  Other than that guy and a couple people right at the start, we didn't really see anyone for the first half of the ride; we leapfrogged a few folks on Big Lonely and started seeing lots more riders when we got to Big Mesa, however, since it's closer to the trailhead.  One dude commented on my pristine Giant: "Have you ever ridden that bike before today?  It looks brand new!"  I laughed - it's like nine years old, this bike - and said that I preferred to crash in the soft stuff so I don't ding the paint.

These trails alternate sandy and rocky, with some very nice slickrock on top of Big Lonely.  My legs were getting fatigued as we finished the Big Mesa portion.  H thought he'd ride a ways out on Ramblin' (where we've hiked with Milton a couple times) but the further he went, the further down he went, and he soon turned around rather than face more climbing than he really wanted to do.  After the ride, our parking lot time included a really nice conversation with Richard, a kid from La Crosse, Wisconsin, recently relocated to SLC and out exploring southern Utah with dog Opie.

Ride stats: 10.85 miles; 1:46 riding time; 6.1 m.p.h. avg. speed / 15.7 max. speed

Our final MTB of the week was Friday, when we went back to Dead Horse Point State Park.  The skies were much clearer and we could see the LaSals, the Abajos and the Henrys - the southern Utah mountain range trifecta.  Without the smoke screen, the sun felt hotter but temperatures were still very pleasant after the scorching summer.  We saw a few of the same people multiple times as we did our loop, including four e-MTB riders who did the same route we did: we started after them, passed them, stayed ahead of them the whole time and finished about an hour before they did - even doing all our own pedaling!  Also impressive: neither of us crashed this time AND H rode a section of Twisted Tree that he's never ridden before.

Afterwards we chatted with a Seattle family, touring around in their Sprinter van and camping at the Up the Creek Campground in Moab, as well as those e-MTBers from Idaho.  Traffic was wicked heavy as we made our way back to town - which didn't seem to bode well for anyone arriving in Moab later that evening.  It's so strange to have to deal with traffic congestion after so many months without it.  

Ride stats: 17.03 miles; 1:59 riding time; 8.6 avg. speed / 16.5 max. speed

mtbing is hard (part 1)

We were lucky enough to get away to Moab for all of last week, although it felt like we were never going to get there Friday night when it took us an hour to get from the entrance to Arches National Park to the bridge over the Colorado River due to backed-up vacation/construction traffic.  But we made it and we were outside each and every day.

Saturday morning we drove up to Dead Horse Point State Park to kick things off with some MTBing.  It was cool in the morning (low 60s), with lots of blown-in wildfire smoke obscuring the LaSal mountains and even the canyons below.  There were a fair number of vehicles in the main parking lot when we started but the trails really weren't busy until we were finishing up.  We did the loop we like (Big Chief to Crossroads to Whiptail to Twisted Tree back to Whiptail to Crossroads to Ravens Roll).  H took a corner on Ravens Roll too fast, hitting a juniper root and going down hard; his wrist and ribs were sore but he didn't get scraped up or break anything.

Ride stats: 16.53 miles; 1:58 riding time; 8.4 m.p.h. average speed / 18.4 max. speed

At the Whiptail/Twisted Tree intersection

Our next MTB session was Monday, when we went to Moab Brand Trails.  Once again, there were lots of vehicles in the parking lot when we got there at 9:30 a.m. but we managed to pick sparsely-trafficked trails.  We did Lazy-EZ - where I managed to fall over at the start, on a rocky downhill turn to the right that always gives me trouble, acquiring bruises and small scrapes, no big deal; and H managed to ride an uphill rocky turn to the left that he's never ridden before - then three-quarters of the larger North 40 loop (which we've never done as it's a bit more technical than I'm comfortable with), then Bar M to Circle O and back to the truck.  My legs were a little fatigued but I felt like I rode Circle O better than I have recently.

On the rocks of Circle O

Ride stats: 12.38 miles; 1:43 riding time; 7.2 avg. speed / 19.3 max. speed

winding down

Unbelievably, our vacation was coming to an end, although we had at least been clever enough to schedule it around the Memorial Day long weekend.  On Sunday, we went MTBing - much to Milton's disappointment - heading back to the MOAB Brand Trails.  We got our tires in the dirt around 9 a.m., when there were around fifteen other vehicles in the parking lot.

 I need a cooler helmet

We started out on Lazy EZ, quickly passing a family of five.  Once past them, we saw no other MTBers on that popular trail.  After completing that loop, we cut through the parking lot and went out along the cattle-tracked double-track to Rusty Spur, then climbed to the high point of Bar M (again, encountering no other riders) and went out onto Circle O (where we did see a couple other folks).  I prefer the second half of that trail, where it opens up and I can ride more; I tend to do a lot more hike-a-bike in the front half, although I think I'm getting better.  When we came back out onto Bar M again, we went right to finish that loop, pausing to watch slackliners bouncing above the Seven Mile Canyon rim (including one topless girl - no tan lines for her!).  When we got back to the truck, there was lots to watch during our lunch/beers as there were now 60+ vehicles, with lots of comings and goings, MTBers of all levels, dogs and kids.  Given the holiday weekend, there was also heavier OHV traffic on the Gemini Bridges Road, which we could observe across the highway.

Sunday afternoon sky

Our afternoon and evening was spent walking Milton around the neighborhood, reading in the shade and napping.  We also had our one and only firepit of vacation that night, seeing how earlier in the week it had been too hot/windy/early bedtimes.

Millcreek Canyon

Monday morning came around and we did a short hike out to the Millcreek Canyon overlook so Milton could run off some energy.  We cleaned up, packed up and headed north, pausing for lunch at Ray's Tavern.  It was fairly busy there which was GOOD because their business dropped by 95% during March and April due to the pandemic (with no tourists and the town of Green River being too small to support them as carry-out only), and those months usually mark the beginning of their season.  There was some holiday traffic coming out of Spanish Fork Canyon but we were early enough that the drive back to SLC was uneventful.  And that was the end of a most excellent spring break.

We keep M on the leash when it gets edge-y

Ride stats:  14.79 miles; 1:52 hours; average speed 7.9 m.p.h. (the hike-a-bike slows things down considerably); H's top speed 20.8 m.p.h.

Hike (walk) stats: 2.9 miles; just over an hour

making connections

Having done both Hidden Valley into the Behind the Rocks WSA and the Moab Rim trail into the Behind the Rocks WSA, we felt pretty sure that we could link the two and make a loop.  We did our research and did it Saturday morning, leaving before 7 a.m. from home after H had shuttled the truck to the Moab Rim parking lot on the Kane Creek road and riding his bike back.

Hidden Valley is just lovely

It was cool and a little humid, the sun not yet up over the La Sals.  We got on the Pipedream Trail at Jackson Street and walked south to the Hidden Valley trailhead.  This would  be the longest segment of the trails we hiked and we both gained and lost a decent amount of elevation on the rolling, rocky trail.  We saw four MTBers and lots of desert cottontails out enjoying the morning.

View from the pass

From the Hidden Valley trailhead, we hiked up to and through the valley: one hiker, one trailrunner, lots of birds and bunnies.  It was a gorgeous day with clear skies and cooler temperatures than earlier in the week.  When we got to the pass, we continued over and down to the Moab Rim trail/4x4 road.  We met one ambitious MTBer and saw three trailrunners in the distance but otherwise had the whole thing to ourselves.

Desert goth

After going up and over Tire Test Hill - we opted for the main trail, on the sandstone swells, as opposed to the much sandier wash - we continued up to the Moab Rim with its views of the Moab valley.  We started seeing numerous hikers at this point, including a bunch of locals who were out exercising their dogs before the day heated up.

Homemade potato chips - mmmmm!

The last bit was the descent of the gnarly OHV ramp back to the parking lot.  Having the truck waiting for us there, as opposed to walking home along the road, cut around four miles off our total mileage.  Plus we had our cooler there, which meant we could sit on the tailgate and talk to other hikers while we watched the jeeps and side-by-sides attempting the Moab Rim ascent.  We even saw that MTBer we'd seen earlier; as it turned out, he did the exact thing we did only in reverse.

View from Tire Test Hill

This was a great hike.  Temperatures were fairly cool and it ended up being easier than we anticipated; we didn't need the extra water we carried and finally got our nutrition right.  In all honesty, we hurt Milton's feelings because we didn't take him on this hike (he got over it).  But in our defense, we weren't exactly sure how long it was going to be or how long it would take us; now we know and if we ever do it again, he can come with us.  It was really fun, so maybe we will.

Colorado River view from the Moab Rim trail

Hike stats: 10.18 miles; moving time 3:26/speed 3.0 m.p.h.; overall 3:59/2.5; 1,800' elevation PLUS

Ride stats: 3.73 miles; 0:15:28; average speed 14.5 m.p.h.; top 22.1 m.p.h.

return to horsethief

On Friday Sunday, when we did our Jewel Tibbetts Arch/Hellroaring Rim hike, we ended up at the Horsethief trailhead.  After perusing the map, we thought that we should maybe give the Chisholm trail, picking it up along Route 313 where the Big Lonely trail (from the Navajo Rocks system) crosses the highway.  We parked at the large-ish scenic overlook at the bend in the road and rode up 313 a bit, looking for the intersection.  We didn't go far enough, however, turning around before we got there (because we were sure it wasn't that far down the hill!  As H said, we know just enough to be dangerous.) and riding down the Dubinky Wells road to the Big Lonely trail.  This got us to the intersection with Chisholm that we wanted, but it also added 3+ challenging miles to our ride; for the record, the Big Lonely is much easier to ride going clockwise.

Sandy

When we finally got on Chisholm, the first section was not technical but pretty sandy; the middle was pretty technical (for us), requiring a lot of hopping off and on the MTBs; and the last part was pretty rideable.  The ledge-y middle section was quite pretty, as it followed the rim of a short canyon.  We saw one snake and only six other riders - this can't be a very popular trail since it is a cross-country-type point-to-point, too technical for beginners but not nearly exciting enough for expert MTBers.

Scenic

It was getting fairly hot by the time we got to the Horsethief trailhead.  We had planned to ride back along the same trail but we had gotten a late start due to some brake issues with my bike, and neither of us had eaten very well/enough before starting out.  To make things simple, we just hopped onto Route 313 which, as it was both paved and downhill with a slight tailwind, helped our average speed a bit.  We drove down to the Navajo Rocks trailhead for quick snacks and beers, then headed home to get out of the heat.  It wasn't our best day but it was good to see some new terrain.  And really, any day on the trail is a good day.

Ride stats: 13.95 miles; 1:58; 7.1 m.p.h. average speed (so slow - there was rather a lot of hike-a-bike); H's top speed 38.9 m.p.h.