return to deer valley

 Because of that major storm cycle early in the week, we knew the Cottonwood Canyons were going to be a complete zoo for skiing on the weekend.  H agonized over it for a while, then finally opted not to ski on Saturday, instead staying home where he rode his bike and cleaned the house.  On Sunday, however, the clouds and roads cleared and he was able to drive to Park City to ski Deer Valley with our friend Ted, plus another old friend who was in town from back east with his fourteen year old son.

There's snow in the Wasatch Back too

It's been a while since either of us has skied at Deer Valley.  The parking lot was full of out-of-state license plates (um, there's a pandemic going on, folks ...) but H got there early enough to get his ticket before they sold out; because of his Alta pass, H gets one free DV ticket - which is good because an adult Deer Valley day ticket is over $200 these days!

Well, that's pretty

He made two runs on his own before meeting up with the guys and then they skied non-stop for over five and a half hours: fast groomers, some trees for powder pockets, and lots and lots of bumps.  At that point, the other three cried uncle and they called it a day.  A good day too: when H got home, he said that had been the most fun he's had skiing all season, in large part because he had friends to ski and ride the chairs with.  He'd even skied hard enough that his quads were a little sore for the next day or so - a good day indeed!

I think it's hilarious that their jackets are all the same color

Meanwhile, Milton and I did three long walks, two medium walks and three short walks.  I got caught up on all the laundry (even folded it and put it away!), watched a movie and spent some time in the kitchen.  From my new recipe book, Drinking French by David Lebovitz, I put together two infusions to steep in the fridge: an "arranged rum" with pineapple and ginger; and a homemade strawberry liqueur (sugar and strawberries and vodka).  I also made a chocolate bundt cake with chocolate ganache; the cake was a little dense but quite yummy, especially when drenched in extra ganache.  And we went Asian-inspired for dinners: a yaki udon (noodles with carrots, onion, cabbage and broccoli) on Saturday and vegan bao filled with teriyaki jackfruit, TVP, cabbage and other veggies.  I do miss skiing (although not the crowds) but I am enjoying trying new recipes.  Glass half full - with a boulevardier, my new favorite French cocktail, bien sur!

poison spider

 Wow - that week completely got away from me!  We went to Moab for the Presidents' Day long weekend but it wasn't the best getaway.  We did manage to head down Friday morning early but then H ended up working for six hours; Milton and I did get out for a Pipedream Trail hike, doing about six miles.  Saturday was a complete wash-out, quite literally, as it rained all day.  We did a couple of errands - buying a squeaky toy for our neighbor's new Underdog puppy, Moscow; picking up a radio at Walker Drug - but the day was largely spent at home, reading and doing puzzles (and listening to KZMU on the new radio).  Sunday was gorgeous and cold (more on the hike in a minute).  But then Monday, we rechecked the weather and noticed that some snow looked to be moving into northern Utah sooner than we'd hoped, so we just got up and were heading back to SLC early enough to pull into our driveway around 10 a.m.

Still winter

That snow that was moving in?  It turned out to be an amazing nonstop series of storms, mostly in the mountains where Alta ended up getting over nine feet (!) and was under "maximum interlodge" for sixty hours, while the Little Cottonwood Canyon was completely closed for 2.5 days.  Wednesday was even a major snow day in the Salt Lake Valley, setting a record with over 11" of snowfall at the airport.  Driving to work was a little messy but not as bad as I'd thought.  Once the storm moved on, the skiers swarmed the canyons en masse.

Back to our hike.  Sunday morning we had a short discussion about where to go, realizing that anywhere with dirt/sand trails were likely to be wet.  We settled on Poison Spider, figuring that although that is a super-popular trail for 4x4s, the trail traffic probably wouldn't be too bad since it was February.  There were a couple of other cars already at the trailhead when we pulled in and a group of six jeeps rolled in right after us.  They were still adjusting tire pressure when we started out.

Support your local brewery

We had last done this trail in October 2019, when we checked out the petroglyphs and dinosaur tracks before heading out to Longbow Arch.  This time, we just went up the jeep road.  Skies were mostly clear but it was cold, mid-30s F at most, and the wind was colder.  The fact that the road starts climbing immediately from the parking lot helped warm us up; we actually shed some layers before reaching the plateau to avoid getting sweaty.

Beautiful day

That group of jeeps caught up with us on those ascending switchbacks, but then stopped to navigate some obstacles.  We ended up leapfrogging with them the whole way out: they would catch and pass us on the straightaways; we would catch and pass them at the obstacles.  Since Poison Spider is rated a 6 out of 10 for difficulty, there were a fair number of obstacles.  We spent a fair amount of time watching the jeeps, and later more jeeps and side-by-sides - it's very entertaining and incredible what good drivers can make their machines do.

My favorite view

This trail is a point-to-point, connecting with the Golden Spike trail and then Gemini Bridges system.  That was too far for us to go on foot, especially with Milton who really hasn't learned to pace himself.  We went out to an overlook, with my favorite view of Behind the Rocks with the LaSal mountains behind them, then added our layers back on and went back the way we came.

Town deer

Trail traffic had certainly picked up by then.  We counted eighteen jeeps, thirteen side-by-sides, five hikers and two dogs.  When we got back to the parking lot, it was close to full and there were a fair number of people climbing the hillside to check out the dino tracks.  If Poison Spider is this busy in February, it must be a zoo in high season - good enough reason to find other places to go then.

Hike stats: 6.74 miles (Milton probably did around 10); moving time 2:28/average speed 2.7 m.p.h.; overall 3:16//2.0 (slow from all the stopping to watch the 4x4s); 1,120' elevation

keeping the home fires burning

 Another pandemic winter weekend in SLC ... I have to confess to being slightly less productive this time around.  Milton and I did our 3+ mile walks Saturday and Sunday mornings, and Sunday was so gorgeous - and even spring-like - that we went further by returning home through Dimple Dell.  Lots of folks out walking dogs and we met a very polite husky puppy named Kai.

Looking west across the Salt Lake valley to

the not-so-snowy Oquirrh mountains

On the homefront, I cleaned the bathrooms, swept the garage and did laundry; I did not have to vacuum because H did it all midweek.  While he was skiing, I made brownies and a golden milk cake with vanilla icing, plus a batch of Moroccan harira (soup) for the freezer and another batch of tofu jerky.  We tried new recipes for dinner as well: a stew with dumplings and a chana saag with kale and rice, both from Isa Does It.  Photos are lacking because all these dishes were resoundingly un-photogenic (and I am no food photographer) but they were all tasty and that's what counts.

It can't be that bad when you have first tracks

all the way through Catherine's Area

H skied at Alta both Saturday and Sunday.  Unfortunately, he's not having all that much fun.  He has to go up really early to ensure getting a parking spot as parking is filling around 8:30 a.m. these days, long before the lifts start; Sunday he was up there at 7:39 a.m. and had to sit in the truck until the lifts opened at 9:15.  People are being schmucks about wearing masks and complying with the new lift line procedures, lift lines are 20+ minutes and there's just not that much snow, plus it was very windy up there both days - even though there wasn't any wind down in the valley.  In all, it's not making for rad times up on the hill.

Beautiful and breezy on Sunday

On the plus side, there's cake down here at home.

speedy (not speedy)

We figured the trails would be dry for MTBing on Sunday.  Since we'd driven the car - which has no trailer hitch (yet) down, we could only bring one MTB with us.  H was itching to ride while I wanted Milton to get another hike in, so it all worked out.  There were a few vehicles already at the MOAB Brand Trails parking lot when we rolled in but, as it would turn out, neither H nor I saw hardly any people out on the trails. 

West towards Seven Mile Canyon

H did our new regular route: the front side of Lazy-EZ to Rusty Spur to the back side of Lazy-EZ, to the L-E front side again, to Bar M and all the way around the long way.  Milton and I went up the cut-off (with M very concerned that H wasn't coming with us, until we got over the first hill and out of sight), right/south onto Bar M, then left/east onto Circle O, then left/south onto Bar M and right onto the cut-off back to the trailhead.  The plan was that if H didn't find us on the cut-off or Bar M, he'd go out backwards on Circle O until the gang was back together.

As it turned out, we three remet when M and I were more than halfway back on the cut-off.  H was surprised to see us, saying either he was slow or we were fast.  What we figured out was that M and I walked Circle O in the same time that it takes me to ride it on my MTB.  Since we were walking instead of riding, we were able to cut off some of the curves, plus I didn't have to keep stopping to hop off my bike to push it over obstacles.  To be honest, I'm a little appalled that my hike time = my ride time - but I've decided to own it.

Dog on the rocks

cliffhanger

 It rained a little last Friday night in Moab so when we got up Saturday morning, uncertainty about the condition of the trails made H decide against MTBing.  We headed over to Amasa Back for a hike instead, since those trails are more rock than dirt, and were only the third vehicle in the parking lot when we started out.

Nearing the high point

It was an absolutely gorgeous morning, with clear blue skies and great temperatures: high 40s to 51 F, plus all that sunshine to make it feel even warmer.  I didn't have to wear my gloves the whole hike and even wished for shorts at one point.  There was still ice in the shady sections of Kane Creek, however, although the water was low enough that the two creek crossing didn't soak our boots.

Looking down into Jackson Hole (Moab's version)

We went up the jeep road this time - which is noticeably steeper than the Hymasa MTB trail, climbing the same elevation in less mileage - and there were plenty of puddles in the potholes for Milton to drink out of.  When we got up to the canyon rim, we continued along the Cliffhanger jeep road, so-named for how narrow and edgy it is.  We put Milt on the leash for this section, letting him off again as we neared the Jackson trail intersection, where the jeep road moved back from the cliff's edge.

Circle of life

At this point, we discussed making a loop by descending Jackson but finally decided against it, not knowing if it would have ice on it.  We've put that loop on our to-do list for future reference, but going up Jackson as the outward-bound portion; that trail is so steep that it feels much safer going up.  

At the top of Jackson's Ladder

As we were looking at the trail map, we noticed a trail called Jackson's Ladder which goes down a weakness in the cliff wall into Jackson Hole.  Retracing our steps a little, we found the turn-off and followed it under the powerlines to the cliff edge.  There were small cairns marking the way to the edge and from there we could just make out the trail steeply switchbacking down through the rubble.  It was like the Gooseberry trail in Canyonlands: right down the side of the cliff and you'd never know there was a trail there.  We went down a little ways but it was loose and steep enough that we wanted our trekking poles for it.  So we put that one on our list too.  I'm stoked about that one: I had no idea there was a way down into Jackson Hole and now I really want to do it.

The one weakness in the whole cliff wall

We went back the way we came: across the Cliffhanger portion and back down the jeep road.  At this point we started to see a few people and every single one remarked about the gorgeous spring day we were having in January.  By the end of it, we'd met sixteen MTBers, five hikers and/or trail runners and three dogs - a far cry from our last time here in October when we saw 82 MTBers, plus a number of 4x4s.  We didn't see any motorized vehicles on the trail this time and the peace and quiet was lovely.

One of my all-time favorite Moab views

Hike stats: 7.77 miles; moving 2:47 time / 2.8 m.p.h.; overall 3:10 / 2.4; 1,130 feet of elevation 

instead of standing in line

 We finally got a nice little storm in northern Utah this past weekend, which dropped around two feet up for the ski areas but only a couple of inches down in the Salt Lake valley.  The roads were never even very bad - which is how I like my snowstorms.  The new snow led the hordes to the mountains, however: by 6 a.m. Saturday morning, vehicles were lined up at the bottom of Little Cottonwood Canyon, ready to head up as soon as allowed.  

I've never seen lines like that [PC: DCW]

H had some work stuff get in the way, plus he didn't want to tangle with the crowds.  From the picture above, you can see what the morning lift lines looked like at Alta.  That's nuts.  You would never know there was a pandemic on, to be honest.  So while he did fretted about not skiing and did deep dives into western ghost towns and van build-outs, Milton and I did our morning run loop.  And then I cooked.  A lot.

Vegan kaldereta

I started off with a pan of scratch brownies Friday night.  I've made those so often that it scarcely counts as baking anymore - I've nearly got the recipe memorized and we go through a pan a week.

Lentil soup (we eat a lot of soup)

Saturday, I dehydrated tofu jerky, made three meals' worth of lentil soup to freeze and baked sixteen whole meal muffins (tasty and hearty, with oats, carrot, apple and raisins).  Dinner was a vegan Filipino kaldereta: a stew traditionally made with goat, ours had soy curls (eats like chicken) plus potatoes, carrots, peas, green and red peppers and chilies.  It was absolutely delicious and a little miso and peanut butter made the tomato-y broth velvety.

Whole meal muffins

On Sunday, I tried a new applesauce bread recipe (it seems stodgy but should be okay toasted, so I stuck it in the freezer for later.  I also made a chickpea, sweet potato and kale soup, also for the freezer, some kale chips and for dinner we had a spiced lentil tamale pie with a cornmeal crust.  It was quite good and made enough for leftovers.

Lentil tamale pie

I won't say that flexing my cookery muscles is as much fun as skiing.  But I admit that I am getting a lot of satisfaction out of exploring new recipes.  I have always loved to collect recipes and cookbooks.  Now I have the opportunity to actually make what's in them.

snow in the desert, part two

Now knowing that the Moab area dirt roads had a solid coating of snow on them, we decided to stick closer to home for Sunday's hike and go up to the Sand Flats Recreation Area to do the Slickrock trail.  Actually, we had plans to do part of the Slickrock trail, out to the portal overlook, and then take an alternate route back, stopping to check out a notorious 4x4 feature, Mickey's Hot Tub.  There was no line to get in - there wasn't even a ranger at the entrance - and only a couple other vehicles at the trailhead.

South-facing

The difference between the south-facing and the north-facing slopes was evident immediately, the former bare of snow and the latter completely snow-covered, often to a depth of several inches.  We noticed some bike tracks careening down some very steep snowy sections and couldn't decide if that would be fun or terrifying.  A bit of both, most likely.

North-facing

There were a few other people out on the trail - this is one of the most popular/iconic trails in Moab, after all - but just a few.  There were three trail runners with two dogs who started just before we did, plus a handful of other hikers; we saw three dirtbikers, no more than five MTBers, one side-by-side and two white jeeps.  More on them later.

H and M at the portal overlook

We went clockwise on the main Slickrock trail, heading for the alternate spur at the northwest end of the loop that would take us to an overlook.  As we came down through the big intersection by the Abyss overlook, we paused to watch two white jeeps with Texas plates creeping cautiously down the snow-covered rock.  It didn't look like much fun to me: when the slickrock is dry, there's tire grip for days but with a coating of snow, which packed down and iced up quickly when anyone drove - or even walked - over it, would make for challenging off-roading.  There are far too many spots on this trail that could have major consequences if you, or your MTB, or your jeep, just started sliding downhill.  Later, we walked past them as they were trying to go up an icy dome.  As we watched, they gave up and turned around, trying to get out the way they came in.  We hoped they'd make it - in high season, there would have been plenty of other vehicles around to help them but not so much this time of year.

The boys looking into Mickey's Hot Tub

We got out to the overlook (putting M back on the leash for bit since there were ravens roosting on the cliff edge) with its view of the Moab valley and the portal where the Colorado River continues on its way out of town.  From there, we planned to follow an alternate route that would cut off some mileage in addition to bringing us to Mickey's Hot Tub.  We had to do some route finding in a couple of spots, actually, because the snow covered the trail's blazes.

That's me on the far/lower lip of the Hot Tub

Mickey's Hot Tub - go ahead, I'll wait while you google it and watch a bunch of insane videos - is a big, deep, steep-sided pothole on the Hell's Revenge trail, named for local Dan Mick who was the first to drive it.  The rock around it is stained black from all the scrambling, screaming tires trying to fight their way out.  

Peekaboo

When we got back to the trailhead parking lot, we hung out for a little while, talking to a guy we'd seen on his electric MTB out on the trail.  Milton also took the opportunity to meet some dogs: two French bulldogs puppies, whom he found overwhelming because of all the barking; and an Australian shepherd-ish mix that he ran all the way across the parking lot to go see.  There's fun for everyone on the Slickrock trail (unless you're the driver of a white jeep from Texas).

Hike stats: 7.89 miles; moving time 2:59 / speed 2.6 m.p.h.; overall 3:35 / 2.2; 1,660 feet of elevation 

snow in the desert, part one

 We were in Moab for the MLK, Jr. Day long weekend.  Every time we go down in the winter, we are surprised at how cold it is, although we shouldn't be since the town's elevation is practically the same as Salt Lake City's.  This time we were also surprised at how much snow we found, once we got out of town.

Gorgeous winter day, not a soul in sight

I had found a new hike to do Saturday morning in the Gemini Bridges area.  But as we turned off paved Rte. 313 onto the Gemini Bridges road, we had second thoughts: the dirt road was well-caked with snow, more than we expected, and as the sun was out, we could see it already starting to melt.  Envisioning getting the little Subaru stuck in half-frozen mud out in the middle of nowhere, we prudently turned around, saving this new hike for later in the spring when the roads are dry.

The boys

We ended up parking at the Monitor & Merrimac viewpoint, crossing 313 and getting on the 7-Up trail.  We've MTBed this trail a couple times before and both times remarked that it would be a good winter hike for Milton.  Once we were far enough below the road, we loosed him from his leash and he got his crazy on.

Milton-prints

On foot, this was very easy hiking, gently climbing all the way out with good footing and following the MTB trail/old double-track.  Our boots got soaked with all the snow but with the sun shining, the temperatures were extremely pleasant.  We had it all to ourselves too; there were old footprints right at the beginning but we went out much further than those people had gone.

Well-marked with flap poles at intersections

There were lots of animal tracks too - birds and rabbits and squirrels and tiny critters and coyotes - and Milton seemed determined to follow all of them.  As usual, he completely overdid it: on our way back, he started walking behind H for small stretches (he never does that - he likes to be in front) and when we were walking back up 313 to the car, we were the ones pulling him on the leash (instead of the other way around).  He took a power nap on the tarmac back at the car, not even lifting his head as other cars drove in.  "Is your dog alive?" one lady asked.  He did lift his head at that.

There is NOT much snow in the La Sals

He managed to rally for a few minutes when a woman with her dog, Mesa, rescued two months ago from an Arizona reservation, stopped to say hi.  Mesa greeted Milton politely but was shy around us, preferring to chase her ball.  Milt, who is afraid of balls and doesn't know how to play with toys, just sat and watched her, trying to figure it all out.  When we got home, though, he went straight to bed and crashed until dinner time.  Gotta rest up for the next hike!

Hike stats: 7.17 miles; moving time 2:31 / speed 2.8 m.p.h.; overall 2:43 / 2.6; 630 feet of elevation

prelude

I had intended to get at least one post up about our long weekend in Moab, but here it is, late Thursday night and I still haven't downloaded all the photos.  So for now, here's one of H, out in the desert on Saturday.  Milton is there too, in the distance a bit, snuffling about.  More to come.

Snow, sand, mountains

thin in spots

While I was getting my domesticity on, H went skiing.  After the hottest, driest August on record, the entire state of Utah was under some sort of drought.  That hasn't changed - in fact, has gotten worse - as the state's snowpack totals are way, way low: Alta, for example, has a base of 40" right now and it should have over 100".  Most of the state is in "exceptional drought" (the worst) with the best case scenario up in the very northern parts of the state still registering as "moderate drought."  We need us some snow.  There's slight hope for weak storms to come in Saturday and Monday but nothing to get excited about in the ten-day forecast.

Saturday view from Collins mid-station

That makes for bluebird days up on the hill.  H was up and ensconced in his parking space by 8:10 a.m. Saturday morning, reporting that there were a lot fewer cars than in the previous week.  By 9:30 he'd made his way over to the Sugarloaf chair, where the lift lines were full, and then Supreme at 10:30 a.m., also full.  One run later he'd fled back to Collins where the lines weren't as bad.  He stayed there, cruising groomers - so he wouldn't trash his skis on the off-piste rocks - until his last run at 12:40 p.m.

Now that's what I call a parking spot

His parking spot (8:10 a.m.) Sunday morning was about the best one could hope to get.  It was colder, at least until the sun came out.  The runs were still hard and fast and scratchy but he was at least able to talk with a couple of nice folks on the chairlift rides; Alta has adapted their COVID-preventing lift-loading strategies to allow two singles on one quad chair sitting as far apart as possible.  He rode with one girl who was an environmental studies student at the U and, later, with a different girl who was an environmental studies student at Colby College (in Waterville, Maine), taking a semester off due to the pandemic.

Never get tired of the view

He skied until 12:20 p.m. until he got chilled and then headed home.  He did see all the people poised atop Baldy: it opened for the first time and frankly, it looked better than I thought it would: