christmas in the desert (1)

 As everyone knows, Christmas was on a Wednesday in 2024.  Which is a silly day to have a holiday because it is very difficult to make a long weekend out of it.  We managed, however, with some creative work hours for A later in the week, and were back in Moab from December 20-25.  We drove down Friday morning, waiting for the sun to come up and the mule deer to clear out of the roadside in Spanish Fork Canyon.  Although it was a little weather-ish in northern Utah, it was clearing and pretty dang nice in Moab.

Cutie little dinosaur in town

Once we got unpacked, Milton and H got on Pipe Dream for a four mile trail run, which A did an hour-long town walk to finish up some errands plus get some exercise in.  That evening, we three went next door to our neighor's for solstice soup (and beers) with friends.  

That's a view

After it warmed up a bit Saturday morning, H did another Pipe Dream trail run (five miles).  A and Milton joined our neighbor and her dog for a hike out at Mill Canyon.  We drove out the Mill Canyon road towards Tushar Tunnel a little ways, then parked and tromped around on old 4x4 roads looking for views.  We found them, along with range cows, a big ol' jackrabbit that the dogs chased and a whole bunch of porcupine tracks - that the dogs fortuntely had no interest in.  We were both surprised that porcupines might be out there in the desert with nothing but twisted juniper trees, but later learned that those critters are indeed found throughout the state.  Who knew?!

Sunday was a little overcast, so H, A and Milton just went back to Pipe Dream: H and M did a six mile run and A did a 4+ mile walk.  We end up at Pipe Dream a lot in the winter but sometimes we just don't want to drive to a trailhead.

whither weather

Slow start to winter in northern Utah, looks like.  I hope all the Christmas vacationers have brought their rock skis.  Here's the weather forecast up to Xmas Eve:

H was saying that the conditions haven't been horrific because there haven't been many people skiing on the reduced available terrain.  It will be much worse when all the tourists come and there's double+ the number of people on that same reduced terrain.  Maybe Santa will bring some snow for the good little girls and boys.

auld lang syne

 Even though "winter" has "begun," the snow is pretty sparse around here.  And folks (skiers, people who use water) are nervous about it.  The horrific inversion/air pollution moved out finally, thank goodness, but the snowstorms are still underdelivering.  Friday brought 9-12" inches, and another 5ish over the weekend, bringing Alta's YTD total to 105" with a 38" base depth.  That's still not nearly enough.  Alta is really rocky.

So, Saturday, H took the early bus up - not crowded, mostly employees - and hung out with the locker room regulars until the lifts opened.  It was cold and windy and lightly snowing all day.  The Supreme lift is still not open and it is still considered "early season" conditions.

Meanwhile, A and M did a 5k morning walk, and then hung around the house doing chores and awaiting the arrival of A's college roommate, Jennie, her husband Josh (both in town from Boulder, CO) and their oldest son, W, who has scored a liftie job at Alta for the season.  W was an A-Basin liftie last year and Alta has been on his liist of Places to Ski and Work.  The gang showed up late morning, did some car rearranging, and then headed off again for a quick lunch and to drop W at Alta.  Later, they reported three cars off the canyon road on the way up.  The snow had stopped by the time they were done getting W settled in.

Small storm situation

Milton was once again perplexed at having overnight guests, keeping a watchful eye on us all from his crate.  But it was really, really nice to catch up with Jennie and Josh - I saw her about five years ago but I haven't seen him since their wedding - and to hear about their lives.  They are skiers and hikers and bikers too, so we picked up some inside information on some good potential future trips.

H took off early Sunday to catch the ski bus; Jennie and Josh dropped W's car at the longterm ski area employee lot and Ubered to the airport.  That left A and Milton to do a Dimple Dell walk, get caught up on laundry, bake dark chocolate oat scones and make a red curry noodle soup for dinner.  When H got home, he was chilled: although the sun had come out late morning in the valley, it stayed socked in (terrible visibility) and cold (but not as cold as Saturday) up at Alta - the problem was standing in the lift line for an additional 20+ minutes for an undisclosed late-opening reason, and he never got warm again.  Back at home, he said that of the six ski days he's had so far, I wouldn't have liked any of them.  So I guess that's some justification for not getting a ski pass, at least for now.

the same only different

 Sunday morning didn't bring any new snow but some weather vagary had scoured the air pollution out of the valley for the morning, which was really, really nice.  Milton and I did a slightly longer walk, with some off-leash zoomies in an elementary school playground.  When we got home, I was a little at a loss as to what to do with myself, what with the clean house and the up Christmas tree.  I soon made myself a list and started checking things off: more laundry; baking dog cookies; roasting a butternut squash (a CSA holdover); starting a Liqueur 44 infusion; finishing holiday cards; dehydrating unused fresh rosemary and thyme (leftover from the savory bread pudding); and making leek and potato soup for dinner.

Meanwhile, H took his first ski bus ride of the year to Alta.  It was not crowded.  The snow conditions were unchanged from Saturday, but weather-wise it was cloudier, windier and colder.  My goodness we need snow.  And there is just nothing in the foreseeable forecast.  I hope it's not going to be another one of those years.

All the other lifts are open though

friendsgiving

 Traditional Thanksgiving can be awkward eating-wise for vegans.  So when your vegan-friendly friends say they're available the weekend after T'giving for a vegan T'giving meal, you jump all over that.

But first, H went skiing.  Since the last we'd seen said that the ski bus wasn't going to start until 12/13, he drove up.  Of course, there was a ski bus there and when H went to talk to the driver, he found out that the ski bus has in fact been running since the previous week.  Good to know.  There has been no new snow since the Tuesday before (real) Thanksgiving so the conditions were thin and hard.  Being up above the smoggy inversion in the Salt Lake Valley was a nice change, however - being able to see the sun and breathe clean air.  H reported that most chairlift conversations centered around how big a shitshow Christmas week - with all its tourist families - is going to be if we don't get some snow.

No smog up here.  Also no snow, really.

Meanwhile, down in said smoggy valley, Milton and I did a shortened walk, needing the exercise but not wanting to breathe the air longer than necessary.  Then there was a flurry of vacuuming, bathroom cleaning, holiday decorating and clean laundry putting-away-ing.  I had prepped food the night before, so when our friends E and K, and their eight year old terrier mix Stevie arrived late afternoon, things sort of ran on autopilot, allowing us to catch up.  Milton and Stevie get along well, although Milt seemed completely mystified, watching her act like an actual dog: sniffing every inch of every room, getting the zoomies in the basement, getting up on all the couches and chairs, playing with a squeaking stuffie and snacking on whatever anyone dropped on the floor.

Milt, H and Stevie

I can't believe I didn't get any photos of dinner but it was really quite good (if I say so myself).  We had roasted acorn squash, carmelized leek bread pudding (a/k/a stuffing/dressing), mashed potatoes and gravy and cranberry-orange relish.  Dessert was from all-vegan restaurant and bakery Sweet Hazel: key lime pielette, German chocolate cakelette and a giant frosted sugar cookie.  It was a really nice evening for which we are thankful.

thanksgiving recap

 Another Thanksgiving in Moab has come and gone.  We didn't break any new ground but we did cover a fair bit of ground, so that's good.  We drove down Tuesday night and the weather was ... not great.  It was raining and spitting snow basically from Spanish Fork to Moab but we really lucked out in that there wasn't any snow accumulation - not even slush - on the roads.  And because we drove down Tuesday, the traffic wasn't that bad.  When we got to Moab, we caught up with our neighbor over beers while the house warmed up: she confirmed that it had rained all day.  The puddles and the wet trails throughout the weekend confirmed that.

Delightful weather outside of Green River

But then the storm system moved out, faster than expected - it was supposed to have dropped 2-3 feet of snow in the Utah mountains but hit Colorado instead - and we had gorgeous (and cold) weather for the holiday.  On Wednesday, we had trail time on Pipedream (3.4 miles for A; 4.15 miles for H and M) and bar time at Woody's, where it was a very local crowd.  Thursday, H and M did another six miles on Pipedream and then we all did a Middle Earth hike, away from the holiday crowds.

Good job, little 2016 Crosstrek!

By Friday we were up for triple sessioning: a return to Delicate Arch for A and H (3.7 miles), then up to Sand Flats so Milton could get some trail time too (3.1 miles), then over to Josie Wyatt's ($2/PBRs).  Saturday morning we braved the mid 20s F cold and did an early morning Moab Rim hike, stomping up the "Moab Stairmaster" trail and then out to the overhead arch off the jeep road.  We went back down the 4x4 road, pausing to watch a couple of Jeeps navigating the Devil's Crack obstacle - nerve-wracking, that.

The overhead arch

And that was about it.  Unsure about the holiday traffic, we left early Sunday morning.  The sun was out, the roads were clear and the traffic was actually light, so we made good time getting back to SLC.  And now it's December - how is that even possible?

mixed bag

On Saturday, H went back up to ski.  It was really windy and overcast - a system is moving in - and spitting snow all morning.  The light was very flat.  But despite the less than ideal (and still early-season) conditions, he wanted to go: with the ski bus not yet running, and without snow tires on the truck, he knew that he probably wouldn't be able to get up to Alta on Sunday, once the snow started.  On the plus side, he had two different lifties separately comment on his mustache: one saying "that's a wicked good 'stache" and the other declaring it the "best mustache on the mountain."  

Down in the valley, Milton and I did a warm but windy morning walk in Dimple Dell.  I am once again watching too much Great British Baking Show and decided to bake a loaf of bread.  With yeast.  With the usual results: I think I overproofed it (I've read that when baking at elevation, you should decrease the amount of yeast - which I didn't do) so even though it rose, the loaf collapsed and was quite dense.  Still really good for dunking into mulligatawny soup though.

By Sunday morning the little storm system had moved in.  We got a couple of wet inches of snow in the valley (Alta got six inches) which dripped off the trees onto our heads when Milton and I went for a morning walk.  The clouds broke up a bit by early afternoon, revealing the Wasatch mountains with their new coat of white.  Once the sun was shining, H had a momentary "I could have gone skiing" moment.  But we had already determined to hunker down for the day, however, for laundry, vacuuming and reading.  I also did more, and more successful, baking: dark chocolate oat scones (recipe from The Full Helping's The Vegan Week) and pumpkin-peanut butter dog cookies (PETA's recipe).  The scones turned out well!  It's yeast I struggle with the most, apparently.

See? I can bake (sometimes)

opening day 2024

 With a season total (so far) of 59" and a base depth of 21", Alta opened for the 2024/2025 season on Friday, November 22, 2024.  They had posted that they would open the Collins and Wildcat lifts at 10 and that the skiing was for "expert skiers" only.  Twenty-one inches is barely anything at Alta: the terrain is so rocky that they really need to have a five foot base before you can leave your rock skis at home.  They've been making snow but that only goes so far.

While Milton and I went to work, H went skiing.  He got his pass and a really good parking spot (the ski bus doesn't start until a couple weeks into December), and reacquainted himself with the Goldminer's Daughter locals locker room.  He texted me throughout the day, reporting on all the regulars he saw - the usual cohort.  There was at least one monoski guy and one ski-blades guy in attendance, as well as lots of 20-somethings skiing way too fast for the limited runs and thin conditions.

Looking towards Devil's Castle

from the top of the Collins chair

It was a gorgeous day, though, in the 40s and mostly sunny - good for softening the snow a little.  He skied until 12:45 and then called it good.  Here's hoping for a safe and snowy (in the mountains) ski season.

posting up at home

 Ah, a pre-ski season November weekend in SLC - the very definition of shoulder season.  Alta is expected to open on Friday 11/22/24, however, so we'll get some skiing stuff to post about.  For full disclosure, I did not get a ski pass this season.  I just barely got in all ten days for my ten-pack last year, begrudgingly going up on cold and stormy days (although I had a couple of sunny spring days that were just so much fun).  And for some reason, Milton is having some separation anxiety issues - after six years of absolutely no problems at all - and we've started to crate him while we're at work.  He doesn't seem to mind it too much, and it is safer for him and the window blinds, but I am glad that I will be with him on the weekends while H is skiing.

Meanwhile, shoulder season.  Friday night, H and I went out to a new (to us) bar, The Midway, to see a friend's band.  (Milton hung out in the car.) We'd never been there before: it's got a mixed vibe, part sports bar, part working class dive, and a huge outdoor patio with firepits.  The band was fun, doing 70s and 80s covers.  The bar staff were all super friendly (nothing vegan on the menu except fries and chips and salsa) and we'll have to find out if the patio is dog-friendly.

It started precipitating as we drove home, continuing overnight and into the morning, leaving a couple inches of snow.  Saturday stayed pretty gloomy and cold, with snow showers off and on.  Milton made out like a bandit on walks: a four-miler with A in the morning, a 3.2 miler with H early afternoon, and then another mile or so later in the afternoon.  It seemed like a good day to bake (chocolate chip cookies and a chocolate-zucchini bundt cake) and braise (tomato-fennel braised chickpeas for dinner).

The weather system moved out and Sunday was chilly and gorgeous: 25F and bright sun when A and Milton headed out for their walk.  H had hoped to go for a bike ride but, given the temperature and all the downed and damp leaves on the road, opted for a trail run instead.  Clouds moved back in starting around noon, which led to more cooking: pumpkin muffins, homemade vegetable stock and a Thai green curry soup for dinner.

holiday weekend, in summation

Oh hey.  So, in real life ("IRL," as the kids say) we are reeling a bit in the aftermath of the election.  We are worried and concerned for our friends and family, as well as the environment and public lands we love.  But that (for now, never say never, I guess) is not what this blog is about so we will compartmentalize as best we can and keep sharing our experiences.

Pipedream

For example, we just got back from a long weekend in Moab.  We looked at the weather report - mostly sunny, chilly overnight, mid-50s during the day - and said tra la la we won't pack our raincoats!  And so Friday it was cold and rainy, with a couple of snowflakes, at least until mid-morning.  Saturday morning was chilly and overcast too, but the system - which was lingering after a bunch of rain on Wednesday and Thursday, apparently - finally moved on, leaving us with sunshine in the desert and snow-capped mountain peaks for Sunday and Monday.

Also Pipedream

We didn't do anything extraordinary.  There were a couple of days of trail time on Pipedream (all stats listed below); on Sunday, Milton and A scored a Jeep Arch hike with our neighbor, her dog and one of her friends, while H did an eight mile trail run out at Moab Brand Trails; and on the Monday holiday, we three did a town walk before heading back to SLC.  We are pleased to report that, at least for the time being, the PBR tap is fixed at Josie Wyatt's.  And we did stop in at Woody's Saturday afternoon whilst the bar was being decorated in advance of an evening wedding.  Not just a wedding reception: one of the Meandercat band members was getting married right there.

Spire

The drive north Monday was about as easy as that drive can be: clear skies, dry roads and not too much traffic.  It was sunny and windy back in SLC as a weather system moved in ... and then Tuesday, it snowed enough to stick.  In case we weren't sure: summer is over.

Culvert Canyon wash

Trail time stats: Friday: A/3.2 mile hike and H&M/4.0 mile trail run, Pipedream; Saturday: A/4.0 mile hike and H&M/5.0 mile trail run, Pipedream; Sunday: A&M/4ish mile hike, Jeep Arch and H/8.36 mile trail run, Moab Brand Trails; Monday: A&H&M/4.64 mile town walk