24th of July - Traversing the state

In the past, the 24th of July is spend with our family at Bear Lake. We just go for the day, leave early and get home late, but this year we decided to do more. The 24th was spent at Bear Lake as the past, but the following two days were spent in St. George and Zions. We essentially went from one end of the state to the other.

 

Bear lake was nice, we got some snorkeling in, played volleyball, and tried to jump on the floating Trampoline. We just had a general good time.

 



 

 

 

 

 

We arrived home late on the 24th, and early the next day headed down to St. George. We made a stop before in a little town called Kanarraville to hike Kanarra Creek. I think this was the highlight of the trip for most. It is a short slot canyon that leads to three cool waterfalls. Crowded, but not overly.

 

 

Climbing the ladder is not near as bad as it looks, we all made it up with no problem.

 

This slide is fun and popular, we all went down.



 

Day two in St. George we headed into Zions. There all but Mom and Hannah (who was not feeling well) made it out to the top of Angels landing. We followed that by a hike in the Narrows.

 

 

Scout look out, deciding who is going up.

 

 

Josh at the top, I wouldn't let the youngest do this.

 

 

Angel Landing! We all made it, any were surprised how young the kids were. Especially when our youngest at only 7 was passing much older people on the trail telling them how fun it was while they held tenaciously to the chain or tree.

 

After that we headed into the Narrows, people were tired but once in the water loved it.

 

 

They wanted to keep going while others turned back. It was overcast so not as warm as it normally is, some were having more fun than others at this point.

 

Going back, shivering and all, they kids were obsessed with floating in the water as much as possible. Dad may have sparked this interest. The camelbaks act as life jackets and blowing air into the reservoir only made them float better.

 

Before heading home, we stopped at the pioneer town of Grafton (and the ending of a killer bike trail). We enjoyed perusing the cemetery and the old log cabins. Makes you thankful for what we have now. Those settlers were beyond tough.

 

We arrived home early Sunday morning (1 AM ), everyone was tired but loved the trip. I have not doubt this will be on everyones list to do again.

 

 

Horse tail Flat loop Hike

Hidden atop American Fork canyon is a short 3.5 mile beautiful loop that passes through three large meadows, a spring and a pond, not to mention a elk herd lives in the vicinity and can be heard frequently bugling in the trees. Last Saturday we took the kids on this hike and they loved it.

See how happy S Looks!!

R (the littlest) is so happy!

Is this the fam? Yes it is.

We make the outdoors look good! Or at least D'mom does.

The Hill we are descending are where the Elk Herd is frequently found.

Tall flowers, good picture of E.

The Foliage is so thick and tall you can't see S and R in front of D'mom.

It was a great hike, even the youngest were able to hike the entire way with minimal whining.

Beautiful country - close to home.

Mix it up trail runs

I am not much of a runner. Matter-o-fact I will not run on asphalt at all, I absolutely hate it. But I do enjoy trail running, it is much more of a work out and more adventurous, plus the scenery is amazing.

This year however, my Brother and I want more of a challenge, something to push us harder. So we have been looking into the spartan races, Warrior Dash, Dirty Dash and Runner Cross.

The Spartan is what we really want to do, but at 8+miles, 20+ miles and 30 Burpees per obstacle you can't complete...it is daunting. Admittedly I could run the miles (slowly) do the obstacles, but Burpees...they kill me...2 sets of 30 and I would be done. So we have put that off until next year.

So this year were looking at The Dirty Dash and Runner Cross being held in Salt lake city.

Training for this has been very different. You have to run, but also add Pushups (sometimes every half mile) Rock carries (10-15 lbs for maybe 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile for me), Burpees (Ugh), Squats, pull ups, push ups, etc. 

I have to say, I find it very refreshing and very challenging. I'm not even close to where I want to be, But I've lost ten lbs in a month and gained much more upper body muscle.

Next stop....Spartan 2012

Dawn wants me to look like wolverine in Xmen.

 

My Response...I guess I have to get a little white mustache, and claws.

Miner's Run...the trail with no trail

Okay, here it is, I love to bike.

 There it is finally out.

It sure feels good after so many years of keeping it in

to get that out in the open.

One of the things I love about biking is the adventure of finding and riding new trails, or non-trails in this case.

riding along the Rim

We heard about this trail through Utah Mountain biking.com. It is basically on the edge of the San Rafael swell, right off I-70 in the middle of nowhere. Its unique because there really is no trail and it winds in and out of old mining claims and equipment.

It begins on a dirt road then just takes off into the hills. No trail, only Gps tracks to follow.

This is an example of the non-trail, trail.

The trail itself is only about 11 miles long so we figured 1-2 hours maximum ride time. It took us four. Yes, we could have walked it faster. We got lost countless times and had to backtrack and find the right way, couple that with the rain the night before and sinking in about 3-4 inches, it made for a much longer more difficult ride.

The riding is very unusual, except for the return via dirt road there are no sitting sections. It is all on rough slickrock which required constantly changing of body and hand position.

On the way Back, Guthrie wanted to rest so faked a flat. I always believed that the moon landing was real until I pedaled through this place. Now...I'm pretty sure it could have been faked.

Now I know you are thinking...

"That ride sounds horrible"

O' Contraire...We loved it and plan to return next year. That is the adventure that leads us to bike.

Sometimes it's a lot like life. You know where you want to go, or think you want to go, but getting there is the real fun and it may require backtracks, retracing of steps, or just riding into the dark...

Like Miner's run.



My Personal Language. . .

You know how every family has certain phrases or words they use that have private or individual meaning?

Well apparently (my wife always says to me;  "when you say...It actually means...) I use many of those phrases and/or words and thought it might be useful for people so they can better understand me; 

Adventure: Anything dangerous, fun, exhausting, different, brings adrenaline or is fun.

Best Wife In The World: Lets me go on adventures, goes herself and lets me take the kids.

Vacation: Get ready for a workout, every minute we will be hiking, biking, swimming or exploring. There is no time to sit around doing nothing, (What some might call relaxation).

Relaxation: Biking, hiking, swimming or exploring.

Day Trip: Leave at 3 A.M., mountain bike, hike, canyoneer, or a combination, 20-100 miles (must do at least two separate trails or it is a waste)  then return home between 11-12 PM. Ex. Moab Hiking Trip: Leave 3 A.M. Hike; Delicate, Entire Primitive Loop, Professor Creek, Corona arch 27 miles total, home by midnight.

Easy Bike Ride: Aprrox. offroad 10 miles

Medium Bike Ride: 10-20 off road miles

Difficult Bike Ride: 20-100 off road miles

Adventure Bike Ride: No real map, I have only heard about the trail, and it is fairly long.

Yes: My response when asked if I would like to do an adventure ride.

Singletrack: Wide enough for one bike, what I like to ride.

Doubletrack: Wide enough for two bikes, it can ruin any ride very quickly.

Road Running: Satan's form of Exercise punishment

Trail Running: Not as bad as road running.

Wound: "Adventure Injury" received when being adventurous (it has many categories).

Scar: "Adventure Scar" - comes from good adventure wounds.

Whining/Complaining: What some do when they get an adventure injury - not tolerated unless a bone in sticking out of the skin then "some" is tolerated.

Someone I knew had that same problem and died the next day, so when you die, what should we do with your bike?: My response to whining or complaining about adventure injuries.

Some: Them - "oww this hurts (appropriate)" me - "That was a sweet fall and will leave an awesome adventure scar".

Celebrate: What we do when we get an adventure Injury

Doctor: 1- Who you go to for treatment of the best adventure injuries.

             2- Someone you go to when sick, so they can tell you "I don't know, it must be a virus."

Virus: Apparently anything that makes you sick with no explanation.

Into The Wild: My response when my wife asks me where I am going.

Cell Phone: The reason you go into the wild.

Camera: For documenting adventures.

The Average Man...: My response when asked about adventure related items. Ex; "Does your broken neck hurt?", "The average man would be screaming in pain, but I feel okay" /  "How was your ride?" "It was really good, but, "The average man" would have died."

Christmas tree hunt: 1-3 feet of snow, colder than 20  degrees, stiff wind blowing and everyone on snowshoes.

Walk Faster: My response to most people who have to walk with me. "A slow walk is no walk at all"  -President Gordon B. Hinckley to James E. Faust.

Blah, Blah, Blah: What I think when someone's story is boring or too long.

Reader's Digest Version: What I say when someone's story is too long.

We Are Leaving In Five Minutes: We really are leaving in five minutes, if you are not ready you will be left.

Tabegauche - 18 Road Trails - Fruita, Colorado

Starting out

I love new trails, new adventures and new places. Because of that for some time I have been wanting to ride Tabegauche and 18 Road in Colorado, close to Fruita and Grand Junction. We were planning another trip to Moab to test out the new Pipe dream - Hidden valley - moab rim trail, but the weather looked decent so we opted for Fruita instead.



G heading up andy's loop.

Heading up Andy's loop


I used my phone (Very cool having a smart phone, I used it for pictures, video, trail directions and maps, gps and music) to find directions and the trail maps on juicyfruita.com. So off we went. Rolling into and past fruita there was frost on the ground and a heavy mist in the air. We began questioning our decision, but decided that we were here and there was no turning back. 

 More of andy's


We started off climbing up the tabegauche trail, but it was a double track and we didn't drive four and a half hours to ride up a road, so we left the road on pet-e-keys went up to eagles wing then down to Andy's loop. Andy's was gorgeous, it involved a lot of steep climbing, and some walking, but it was worth it. (at the tops we saw another trail that went around the mountain we climbed and ended up in the same spot - next time we will try that). After climbing over and back down into a wash, we carried our bikes a little up a very unrideable section. Still worth it...We were finally at the top. There we picked up Lunch line to eagles wing, and climbed to the highest point. The view was amazing.

These are all views from Eagles wing.

From there we descended eagles wing to Holy Cross. All these trails are technical, but Holy Cross was our favorite, ramps, small drops, chutes, tight turns...it was awesome, the kind of riding I would drive 4.5 hours to repeat. 

From holy Cross we descended via Ali Ali, then Curtis lane. We ended up riding about 15 miles and climbed about 2000 feet. What a great ride. This is one we will do every year.

But we weren't done yet...

We had heard a lot about 18 road...ridge line riding...fast descents...so I found the trail map again on  Juicyfruita.com...it turned out to be more like a glorified lambert park in Alpine. It is fun, just not what we expected.

We rode up Prime cut and came down kessel run the first time...a short 7 mile loop. Kessel run is very similar to rodeo in lambert, descends a gully and curves up each side, but much longer...it was fun, but after tabegauche kind of a let down.

The next loop we ascended prime cut again, this time a little bored, then headed over to Zippity Doo Da, just as we were getting to the good stuff, ridge line steep descents, I snapped my rear shock linkage in half...that is the second time,  it wasn't fully broken however, so with some zip ties, wire and duct tape I was able to lightly ride my bike to the road and return to the parking via th dirt road.

G went on and rode the entire loop.

G riding down a fairly common section on Zippity. Very Cool.

We were going to do a little more riding, but my broken bike negated that possibility.

Back in the car.

Change in Green river at our favorite gas station with clean bathrooms.

Buy mountain dew to stay awake.

Cross the street for dinner at Arbys.

Return to Orem.

It was an amazing trip and we will definitely ride those trails again.

Now on to the next adventures...Moab in April, San Rafael in May, Boulder Mountains in June, Rainbow Rim, Virgin Rim...

It's going to be a good year...