Our Canyonland Adventure

Over the April 24th weekend, Heidi and I went camping. We headed out not sure of where we would camp...either primitive on BLM just outside of Moab, or head down to Needles in Canyonland The weather was sketchy at best and even a bit of snow over Soldier Summit. After seeing the mosh pit that was Moab, being mobed by 4 wheelers and classic cars, we opted for the longer ride.

Arriving at Squaw Flats campgroung, it was of course, filled, and BLM Indian Creek area had some high male testosterone thing going on, we opted for Canyonland Outpost campground and were quite happy with the choice. It was run by a couple of hippy retreads, but very very nice people who were trying to please. After a simple, but delicious hamberger dinner topped off with smores over the campfire, we hit the sack. Glad we were in our VW Eurovan, as it rained quite constantly that night.

The next morning broke to a brisk and clear day. Not a cloud in the sky. We had our bikes in tow and were ready to do some riding. We opted to take the "overlook trail" which is a 4x4 road starting at the Needles visitor center. The first mile or two had some sand which is difficult to ride on but was minimized due to the rain the night before. This ride was about 15 miles round trip through beautiful desert meadows set in basins of rock outcroppings. The stark cliffs surrounding the river were in the distance and these were crowned with the LaSal mtns even further in the distance. It was very apparent that these mountains had seen alot of snow this past winter. About half way down the road, it began to get technical and I even thought that a jeep in some part flat out would not make it. This was a bit of a concern as Heidi had never been Mtn biking before and only had a crossover bike. But she was a champ and dealt quite well with it.











At the end of the road, we were rewarded with a spectacular view of the Colorado River below and other stark drainages that fed it. We were the only ones there and the quiet and wisp of a breeze was wonderful to meditate to. We enjoyed a little bit to eat and headed back. It was only then that we encountered human life in the form of a jeep convoy and one biker. I can hardily recommend this ride, just be warned that the first two miles might have some sand to deal with.


After lunch and a little recovery period, we headed back to Elephant Hill to start a hike into Chesler Park. This is about 6 miles RT, and after the ride in the A.M., our legs and stamina were feeling it. But it was fun and we enjoyed the views. The parking lot was mobbed, in fact I thought the whole park was as crowded as I can remember. But I usually am there in the fall and perhaps people are all camped out by then. Back at our camp, we started our dutch oven dinner, which was some kind of stew Heidi has seen in a DO cookbook. While cooking, we had an opportunity to take a shower (they charge for the shower, and my water pump on the van wasn't working, so we managed to double up and get all showered and feeling refreshed). So, side story, just before we left for the trip, a package arrived for Heids. It was a Churango, a ukelelee type string instrument that originally was made out of armadillo shell, though much to Heids disappointment was only an immitation of the shell). Anyway, we just threw it in the car and not having a turning fork she was frustrated in not getting it tuned....so back to dinner. While cooking dinner we noticed a campsite that had guitars, so Heids went over to see if they could help. Would you believe that the teenage son actually had a Churango himself (not with him) and was familiar with how to tune. What are the odds? Anyway dinner was good and sleep came quickly.


Sunday morning we broke camp and headed up the highway to Moab. One of my goals was to do the new Intrepid trail which starts at Dead Horse Point visitor center. This is a 9.5 mile loop (although they have two other shorter loops one can do). I have to tell you it is a winner! It follows the rim for some way with the views that you get at DHPoint. The trail is quite rideable but does have alot of areas that provide some challenge, though none that would be expert. Just beyond half way you get into what I call cruisin trail with roller coaster type up and down and round and round. Throw on the cushy shock and just enjoy! This is a trail I would be happy to do again and again. We only encountered one other rider, but there must have been dozens on it as the parking lot was mobbed. Somehow we missed the crush.










All in all, a wonderful weekend. I'm afraid I may have created a new monster in Heidi and she has caught the MB bug. Should make for many fun trips in the future.
Dave 4-29-10

My Heliskiing Adventure

OK, so a huge dream of mine was to do some backcountry powder skiing, and if you could throw in a helicopter, all the better. The opportunity came to me in January as the hunting outfit who operates the lodge and hunting on my employers property were exploring using the lodge as a base for heliskiing in the Uinta mountains.

The lodge itself is the finest log structure I have ever seen, and I have seen many in my time. It is beautifully constructed and you do not see any gaps, or caulking between the huge logs it is contructed from. From the picture I have included you can see a suspended tree truck holding up one of the roof trusses. This along with a fine chef for the meals really set a nice vibe to the whole trip. I arrived the evening before the adventure and we had a nice gormet meal. Our guide arrived that evening and we went over some of the safety points and other details to save time the next morning.

With heliskiing, weather is everything and there is no guarantee that the bird can fly. So all of us (there were six in the party), kept our fingers crossed that the weather would cooperate. The next morning our wish was granted and after a night time dusting of new powder the skies started to clear. We contacted our bird and he was headed over from Bountiful where it is based. It was really exciting when it flew in and landed.

I was with a group of six skiiers and 2 guides. We were ferried from the lodge to Uinta Mountains on Thousand Peaks Ranch...and then all the fun began. Wide bowls of untracked snow. I would say the powder was about six to eight inches deep. Blue sky, untract snow, and wide open spaces.

The guide always were first and indicated which side of his line we were to stay on. I usually hung back and went toward the last, perhaps my lack of confidence. But I never took a fall and never held anyone up.

It was interesting to see the guides work to create a landing zone for the "bird" as it could not land on a powder base. They really hustled and I would have been exhaused doing what they did. So a few more pics showing some of the bowls, and if you are real good you can see the tracks we left in the snow.

The guides provided for lunch, which consisted of superb soup and sandwitches. Here is a pic of the snowcat which was also utilized in the afternoon and us eating lunch.

Anyway, it was a great experience and I'm glad I did it. Would love to try it again some time.

The Cattle Drive

OK, on September 24th Heidi and I played cowboy. We rounded up about 1000 head of stears (that a casterated bull, in case you did not know) and helped drive them 5 miles to their eventual impending doom. A beautiful day, crisp mountain air, the sweet smell of bull s*it and I kept hearing the tape loop music of "the Big Country".

Heidi looked like she belonged there (and probably does), my horse had a mind to try to kill me, which he nearly did, our friend Dave Moore loved the action and helped take these pictures. He looked like he'd been doing it his whole life, which being from Wall Street just isn't the case.

Anyway, it is nice to get down and dirty and do something tangible rather that play with numbers behind a desk all day.

Red Canyon Fall Trip

So another successful bike trip to Red Canyon just outside of Panguitch, Utah. I call it successful when one comes back in one piece. After doing an "endo" on my last trip to Moab, I am all too aware of the perils of mountain biking.

This trip was with my Sister and husband Jan and Jim, and my niece and husband, Lisa and JJ with their two very cute daughters. Also Jim's grandson CJ was with us. Heidi was not with me as she was enjoying a "Painting with the Masters" trip to Colorado with some friends. Again we camped au natural in a BLM campsite away from the established campgrounds. A beautiful view of the canyons and surrounding valley where Panguitch is located. I had my VW camper which worked out great except I found my auxiliary battery was dead and needs replacing. The first night we enjoyed a great foil dinner, cooked in the coals. A hardy breakfast the next morning (made by moi) was french toast, bacon and eggs...a good hardy meal for what lay ahead.

What lay ahead was Thunder Mounting which lay at the beginning of Hwy 12 as you head toward Bryce Canyon. It is a little jewel which contains within its bowels and miniature Bryce Canyon. Since one cannot ride a bike in Bryce Canyon (a far less destructive mode of transport) this is a great proxy for Bryce. We parted at the end of the trail and took a paved bike path up Hwy 12 about 4 miles. This then cuts off on dirt road and leads to the beginning of the trail up the mountain. It winds through Ponderosa forests, rocks and boulders and a narrow trail...sometime with precarious drop offs. It tops out with a fabulous view of the whole region where Bryce Canyon is found and then drops into a bowl similar to Bryce. On one ridge and fell off on both side making it all that more important to not do too much sight seeing along the way. As we went into the bowl, the trail was quite hairy and technical and one had to really be on their toes. The final 1/4 of the trail was a rolling race to the bottom that one could really open up on. The ride took about 2 1/2 hours with spectacular views and a great trail.

That afternoon we just chilled at camp recovering. Mtn biking is very anaerobic and really can take it out of you so the break was very welcome. Dinner that night was courtesy of Lisa which was marinated pork loin, rosemary potato, pears and asparagus. This was topped off with a homemade peach cobbler. You could not have found better in a fine restaurant.

The next morning we headed back to Red Canyon and the Cassidy trail. This is a big loop that goes over to Loosee Canyon with plateaus and lookouts. At my ripe old age I huffed and puffed but was not too far behind the pace setter, JJ. You can tell what 14 years less in age can do. Anyway the views were again spectacular and again the trail had some great cruisers and enough technical spots to keep you awake and watchful. The ride was about 2 hours and a great way to cap off the trip.

Overall I like this area as much is not more than Moab. It has higher elevation, thus cooler temps, trees (did you know that Ponderosa Pines, if the bark is pealed back, smell like vanilla) and wonderful hoodoos and rock canyons. Unfortunately the season is shorter due to elevation, but a great destination.

Our Lake Powell Adventures

OK, my last adventure was my 100 miler bike ride for MS. As a result of all this stress I came down with an outbreak of shingles which afflicted my left chest rotating around to the back spine. At least Heidi attributes it to my ride.

So on July 22nd through the 28th we headed to Lake Powell with some friends, the Kings, and another couple Cara and Jeff Edwards. The Kings also had their two college age kids and their cousin. We started the trip auspiciously with a boat trailer blowout right before the last Provo exit (lucky us) which delayed us an hour. After a six hour ride finally arrived at Bullfrog Basin at 4:00 p.m. and about 105 degrees. Heidi managed to acquire a migraine headache. After a fireman drill of offloading the cars and on loading the house boat (we also had a nice ski boat and two jet skies and two kayaks).

Our intent was to motor up to Good Hope Bay which is way up stream, but due to late arrival we pulled in for the night for a temporary one nighter. Mother was getting over her migraine and I was coming down with some stomach flu. That night I slept poorly and woke up feeling absolutely punk. We headed out for our final camp at Good Hope and after two hours were set at our location for the week. What a beautiful setting (see pic). A huge Bay almost to ourselves, calm water and beautiful backdrop. That night was our assignment for dinner. We did a dutch oven lasagna which and a cherry cobbler which was a great hit (unfortunately I hardly ate a bite due to my stomach).

That week the temperatures were all in excess of 100 degrees and the house boat had no AC so we spent alot of time jumping in for a cool down. This was fine except that some fish in the lake likes to nibble at human flesh! I was still recovering from my biking accident (elbow) and the fish seemed to like sluffing off scabs.

Anyway with two jet skis and boat and lots of food and drink, we were all set. After the first full day I felt alot better. The heat was oppressive and the evenings were very warm. Of course the stars were spectacular. One night a storm came in and we were forces to sleep "in". It was soooo stifling and hot some were jumping into the lake in the middle of the night for relief.

On Sunday, we had to take one of our party back to Bullfrog as he needed to be back to work for Monday. We all (ten at that point) took the boat. While there a storm started to brew (see pic) and the ride back up promised to be a rough one. As we head up up channel the water became very rough so we found a side canyon to take refuge in. I think it was Spring Creek. As we went further we looked for a shady overhang as the sun was still blazing where we were. Eventually we found this fantastic amplitheater. Some of us elected to take the opportunity to bathe (we had biodegradable soap). While floating on my back, staring at the roof of this desert cathedral we put "Miserie" by the Thomas Tallis Singers on. This soaring choral music was fantastic as we rolled and reverberated off the rock and the natural amplitheater was a natural amplifier.

After a couple of hours we headed back up channel to our camp. It had pored on the camp and chairs were strewn around and wet. But by the time we arrived the sun was out and the lake soon turned to glass. That night we had alot of fun doing strobe photos of summersalts off the diving board.

On one of our side canyon trips we encountered this shallow cave. I soon dubbed it Gatorade Grotto for the lime green water. The reflection of sun and water and the dark shaddow cave were really surreal. Unfortunately some fish took exception to our presence and soon nipped us out of there.

It was fun to be with friends who were kind and generous to invite us. The dinners were almost gormet. So after a wonderful week we headed home...for a wonderful respite from the heat.

Everything you want to know about MS..or the 100 miler

OK, so on June 27th I did my first 100 miler on my bike. It was part of the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation fundraiser, the Utah Chapter, which is held in Logan, Utah and Cache Valley each year. I joined "Team 24" which was sponsored through my fitness club, 24 Hour Fitness. I had signed up in March and really didn't understand it to be a big fund raising event, which meant I needed to hit people I knew up for a donation.

Then I Mike and Lindsey advise that they are coming to Utah and happen to be here during that weekend, so I kind decided to drop the idea and not really train for it and all (though I continued to do a weekly spin class). I had paid the fee and bought the Jersey and when I went to pick it up the Team captain suggested I still do it, but instead of two days at 75 miles each, one day at 100. It was then that I committed myself mentally to do it.

I then find out it is $250 minimum money raised to enter and so I quickly hit up business associated and friends. There are many kind and generous people and I was able to raise $635 which also qualified my for a very cool bike jersey. I raised this in less that a week and money still is coming in as recently as yesterday. It really is a good cause, so that makes it allot easier.

Since the ride started at 7:00 am, it necessitated a stay over. The whole thing takes over the Cache Valley Fairgrounds and our group had a nice spot where maybe 50 people (another group as well) were camping. Nice mellow party atmosphere interrupted by one of the many rain events we have been experiencing in Utah this year. But after the thunder burst, the evening turned out perfect. I stayed in the VW Van as well as cooked my dinner.

Next morning the sponsors had a breakfast, if you call a muffin breakfast. We then had group pictures and were ready to go. I estimated there were about 3000 cyclists. The people on our Team were of various levels and abilities, so I just rode at my own pace, which was not too bad. I seemed to pass the same people, and then they would pass me. I must say that Cache Valley, one of my ancestral homes, is a beautiful place. It was great for biking being relatively flat with minor changes in elevation. This made things allot easier. The ride went northwest past some rivers and bird refuges, then headed east, then north up into Idaho, then west then northwest with a loop at the far north end of the course then head south, east, south, west, then southeast to the start. Many rest stops along the way with oranges, apples, bananas, energy bars, water, Gatorade, sunblock, etc. A nice lunch in Lewiston.

Along the way they had signs about various fact of MS. It was very informative. By the time you were through, you had a good basic knowledge of MS and who it affects.

It was at mile 60 where I took a rest that I assessed that my legs had good staying power, but how on earth I was going to sit on that seat for the next 40 miles was a true mystery. Needless to say, I'm glad I had all the children I intended, cause after that ride was over, I wasn't sure I could have any more.

After getting back to the fair ground/camp I was pleased at how well my legs felts...even if there were other parts without any feeling at all. After about an hour rest I headed back to SLC. As I was leaving I looked at my trip odometer which I had set when I left Salt Lake. It read 90 miles. It was then I realized that I had just pedaled a distance further than from Foothill Village in SLC to Logan. It really put it in perspective. Anyway it is nice to have a new things to say I have done and I'm grateful I have the health and ability to accomplish it.

My Moab Bike Trip

As you all saw from an earlier post, I started to mountain bike, my first trip being down by Bryce Canyon. So I told Jim, my sister Jan's husband, that if he is interested in doing any more I'm game. So he suggests that we go as soon as he's out of teaching school for the year. The only problem being that that weekend was when Heidi was coming home from the Philippines. Fortunately Shari was visiting making it a bit easier to bug out on Mom for three days. (disclaimer, these are not my photos, they are from the Internet).

So Jim and I head down on the 14th of June. I have my VW camper and bikes on a tail rack. Jim has our itinerary mapped out and we head straight through Moab to the Slickrock trail getting there about 1:00 p.m. (Oh, we decided to go to Moab since it had been quite cold and rainy in Utah and we figured, rightly, that it would be cooler and dry).

So we arrive at the slickrock trail and I'll have to confess I was initially terrified by it. Not knowing the technique, my new bike or my capabilities it was a bit intimidating. But after getting into it and the hang of things, I did just fine and we had a great 2 1/2 hour ride through gorgeous rolling slickrock (see pic). I unfortunately forgot my bike gloves and paid a price with a bad blister.

After a nice Mexican dinner in town we headed to our camp site which was primitive camping on the Dominion trail north of Moab and directly west of Arches. We had it all to ourselves. The next morning we started from camp on the dominion trail. It was very technical and a little hairy has we came off the ridge, and below us arose this fantastic white slickrock stretching to the horizon. It looked like some kind of glacier. When we got off the ridge we headed up this "glacier" of slickrock, which was quite different than the slickrock trail (it been very smooth). This slickrock was river bed or sea bed rock and had allot of undulations, large indentation, etc which make it interesting. We rode and rode up this gradual climb and then had to park the bikes as we hit the Park boundary, and walked a while enjoying the scenery. But as they say, what goes up, must come down and the ride down was a blast. My rear shock proved its worth (it is adjustable and I put it on what I refer to as Cadillac mode). It really made the whole ride a super fun experience. At the bottom was a wonderful pool which had tad poles and other creatures and allot of birds. Due to the rains they had received the whole desert was quite beautiful, we even say an evening Lilly. A lot of cactus in bloom.

We continued on the ride which was a big loop and about 200 yard from camp Jim suggested we take a little side trail. Well, about 5 minutes into it I was initiated into Mounting biking with an official endo...which is to say my front wheel went off a ledge and my rear wheel decided to go over my head. If landed on my right elbow, then arm, then right knee/leg. Lying there amidst the initial pain I slowing assessed the damage and determined I was quite lucky to have nothing broken. I washed off the blood which was now forming with my water bottle and we continued on the ride for another 15 minutes or so. As I was quite close to camp I used the solar shower to wash the wounds thoroughly and then did the iodine treatment and rested.

After resting and a great lunch, we put the top down and headed to another trail called the Monitor and Merrimack (after the two Civil War ironclad ships). It was a great mix of road, slickrock and varying conditions. Unfortunately we had a good 1/2 to 3/4 miles of sand road which we ended up walking, but the scenery and ride were really great. Needless to say, by the time we were through I was bushed. After two Gatorade I finally felt human again.

That evening we had a nice steak dinner with tortellini and Alfredo sauce. Jim and I had several games of backgammon on top of the rocks above camp with a 180 degree view of superb country. The next morning we broke camp and headed up to the Klondike bluffs trail. Again, this was a bit different than the others with a gradual climb over streams and slickrock (undulating) which had really good dinosaur tracks. This trail terminates at Arches and we walked the rest of the way to an overlook near Tower Arch (Shari and John, we hiked there and were below this outlook where we found that helmet). After a good rest we headed back down and again, nothing like going down on slickrock with great shocks. It is fun, but you need to really keep awake. This wrapped up our rides and we headed back to SLC.

I'll have to confess, mountain biking is extremely stressful on the body. Very anaerobic and the 2 solid days of riding really was felt the rest of the week. I felt like I had hit a wall or something. But it was very memorable and I hope to do it again soon.