Utah Canyonlands backpacking trip-- Pt. 1 (days 1-5)

April and I reserved some backcountry (hike-in-only, self supported) campsites in Canyonlands National Park (near Moab, UT) for the following week and are stoked to spend some time in the desert. I've traveled around the Utah deserts a fair amount, although have yet to get very far into the backcountry and haven't been to Canyonlands NP. This will be April's first visit to Utah ever, so it's going to be a real fun trip for both of us. Canyonlands is a large park, divided into four geologically distinct regions that are somewhat difficult to travel between.

We're starting the trip with two nights camping in the northern "Island in the Sky" district near the Green River, hiking out for a night in Moab, then driving south for two more nights camping in "The Needles" district.

After a day of driving from Denver, we car-camped the first night at a beautiful area on BLM land that we found on a whim while driving on a sandy 4x4 road north of Moab.

looking northwest into the "Island in the Sky" as the sun sets

The next morning we packed up and set off for the first leg of our hiking trek into the backcountry. We'll be camping at the western outlet of Upheaval Dome for two nights, but first have to hike 4.9mi around the northern ridge of Upheaval Dome. This sign cast us on our way, and we figured, "heh, it's a national park... how hard can it really be?!"

It was smooth sailing for the first several miles, meandering through a pleasant canyon valley that follows a seasonal streambed. Then we hit a section referred to as 'The Breach' where the canyon narrows into extremely steep walls of large broken boulders and loose scree. The streambed cascades over a precipitous dropoff, so the trail switchbacks up the north wall and then back down as a way to get around the seasonal waterfall. It got pretty sticky, some 4-5ft ledges to navigate and essentially no trail, just following rock cairns indicating the route. Doing all this with fully loaded hiking packs proved strenuous and sometimes stressful, but we pushed through and made it back down to the streambed... and soon saw a small rattlesnake crossing the trail ahead of us without incident.

looking west from "The Breach"

Got camp set up in the late afternoon and fixed a restful dinner. Today's 4.9mi wasn't a long hike, but wore us out. Camping two nights at the mouth of Upheaval Dome was worth just about any effort! (Note that the tent is the small, light green spot in the photos.)

Syncline camp looking east

Syncline camp looking west

We had the whole second day free and hiked 3.5mi down Upheaval Canyon drywash to the Green River. Flow was high from the spring runoff and it was actually backing up into the wash and flooding out parts of the White Rim Trail. Lots of lizards scurrying around and many interesting flowers, grasses and myriad of colors and textures of rocks.

"Hardscrabble Bottom" section of the Green River near Upheaval Canyon

We got some gentle rain on the second morning and packed up a wet tent, but the drizzle let up just about the time we began the 3.4mi hike out via the southern section of the Syncline Loop Trail. This leg regained all the 1100ft of elevation we lost on the way in and spent a good portion navigating through broad boulder fields. Luckily no real technical sections, just a lot of rocky switchbacks.

our trail ascends this rock field, then up the one above it on the right

April looking back into the canyon we hiked out of

We wheeled into Moab and got the cheapest hotel room we could find. Time to get a hot shower, buy some supplies, wash a load of laundry, dry the tent in the hotel bathroom, and enjoy a cold beer at the local brewpub. View from the room wasn't too shabby either!

Boulder working/biking 'vacation'

My dispatcher is on vacation this week, so that means I ride to bus up to Boulder to fill in for him in the office. It can be a nice change of pace and a welcome rest on the legs. (That our bike crews are really stellar makes my job of dispatching relatively low stress too!) The downside is wheeling out of the house at 7am to catch the bus in time to get a coffee before settling in. The upside is that everyday I get to take advantage of the foothills being only a mile from the office, whereas from Denver it's an hour of pedaling to get to the mountains. I rode four out of five days after work.

Batasso Loop never really gets old, a super fun mountain bike trail about a 15min pedal up the canyon. A steep climb up the connector trail brings you to a quick, twisty rolling (mostly) singletrack loop in the near foothills. A perfect evening after the office:

I made it up here twice this week. Next weekend Boulder County Open Space is unveiling their new addition to this trail, a second 3.5mi loop that hooks into it. Sounds like it'll be fun too, although the threat of getting a $60 ticket for riding it early kept me from poaching it.

I also got in two quickie road rides on the 'new' Cannondale after office days-- first was Lee Hill -> Left Hand -> Old Stage, then later in the week a big climb to the top of Super Flagstaff. This bike really scoots around... super stiff but equally efficient, especially uphill. I never owned a road bike (or anything similar) when I lived in Boulder so it was fun to tackle some of these favorite routes for the first time.

New steed in the stable

I happened to stop into Saint Marks coffeeshop for an americano and spied a few old bikes for sale on the sidewalk rack out front. One in particular caught my eye- a sweet old Cannondale Criterium road bike in nice shape. After a couple days of phone tag and some inner debate on whether or not I really need another bike, I finally caught up with the seller and took it off his hands for a cool $150. (Turns out he's the owner of said coffeeshop, a mellow guy who likes to tinker with whatever he gets his hands on.)

So, I've finally graduated from cyclocross to full on roadie. Turns out it's a 1987 bike, almost all original parts:

frame originally built on 8-28-1987, my 'new' Cannondale Criterium

I dug up a bunch of spare parts from my boxes of bikejunk, and was able to upgrade to Ultegra derailures, built up some wheels with combos of Ultegra/Campy and Dura Ace/Mavic and Maxxis tires, threw on a Thomson seatpost, SLR saddle, ATAC pedals, shorty Nitto stem and some low-end STI levers. My only cost was $12 for cable stops to replace the downtube shifters:

the upgraded setup: $12 and many hours of work later

Along the way I deconstructed an OLD front wheel that I used to ride on snowdays and never really serviced, in order to reuse the Dura Ace hub with a better rim. Unscrewed all the nipples to find the spokes held their cross-pattern from gunk and corrosion alone!

 

A bearing rebuild was clearly in order but it rolls smooth now. This bike is really fun, extremely stiff, and fairly light for it's age and components. I'm looking forward to some good exploring in the hills this spring and summer!

While in the mode of bike overhauls, it's time to lace up a new front rim on my mountain bike as well... a couple seasons overdue....

Rocky Mt NP- Emerald Lake

My National Parks annual pass expires at the end of March, so we took a jaunt up to Rocky Mt NP for a snowy hike to Emerald Lake at 10,200ft. Beautiful day in the high country. I'd done this hike back in August and it was cool to see both seasons in full effect.

Valentine's Day in the mountains

We took a long weekend back to the Bunny Lane Cabins near Buena Vista, including a ski day at Monarch Mountain. Got a nice hike at the Denny Creek trail before settling into the cabin for a couple of nights of ping pong, wine, good food and fun times. Cooked our entire dinner atop the toasty woodburning stove!

Skied a day at Monarch, which is one of the last 'old school' ski hills around. 4 fixed lifts (3 doubles and 1 quad), no big lodge, no condos, no hoopla. Just a great quiet ski hill with some avy controlled sidecountry terrain to boot up.

We checked out Cottonwood Hotsprings before heading back home, although would recommend Mt. Princeton next time. Then a cheapo dinner at Quincy's for some $6 filet mignon for Valentine's Day and back down to the city.

winter around town

A few photos from around Denver of late...

Denver Big Air freestyle ski/snowboard trick contest came to town. They built a 135ft jump in the middle of Civic Center park. I didn't make to the competition but it was a sight to behold.

 

Denver sunset

Sam with a bizarre delivery at work

Steamboat / Strawberry Park ski weekend

April's older sister Sandra came out from Illinois for a visit and a jaunt to the ski slopes. We booked a couple cabins at Strawberry Park Hotsprings and hit the road in my overstuffed car, skidding over Berthoud Pass, white knuckling it over Rabbit Ears Pass and rallying up the steep snowpacked road to the springs. Forecast called for snow that night, so I preemptively installed the tire chains for the ride out to Steamboat resort in the morning.

We woke up to a foot of fresh powder, loaded up the car with our gear and made it all of a quarter mile before getting stuck up the first hill. There was no hope making it up the slope, even with the chains on. So, we bagged the ski day and soaked instead. I took a nice snowshoe up to the ridge behind the springs with a great view that I forgot to photograph. They've had record snow this winter here, it was incredibly beautiful with everything capped in 4ft of soft snow.

We skied on Sunday instead, and what a great day it was. Turns out half the lifts were closed yesterday due to wind and whiteout, so lucky that we didn't make it to the resort on Saturday as planned. Perfect weather and wonderful soft snow. This is the first time I've skied in seven years, but like riding a bike it all came back immediately and I jetted around the entire sprawling resort. It was an expensive day at $98 for a lift pass, but lots of fun and absolutely no lines for the lifts. Time to learn to get into the backcountry and away from the development, clearcutting, and sprawl of the commercial resorts.

April & Sandra at Strawberry Park

National Western Stock Show

It's the 105th annual National Western Stock Show here in Denver, good day to take in the sights and smells of the 'old west' or something like that.

Xmas v2.0 with the family

Headed back to the midwest for the holidays, but it worked better (and substantially cheaper) to celebrate a week after the official holiday. Really pleasant and relaxing week with my family. A special treat was making to the extended family's Christmas gathering at Aunt Lisa's place in Naperville, and then spending the next few days at home with my immediate family and Grandpa & Meredith.

Dad, Mom, Grandpa, Meredith

After the family time, I spent a day walking around Chicago before my flight left at night. I'd heard about the new glass viewing platform, called The Ledge, installed at the Sears Tower observation deck 103 floors and 1353ft above ground. I had gone up to the top with Dad once when I was really young but had never been back up, even while living in the city. (I did make it up to the 88th floor a few times for courier deliveries, but no view from the mailroom there.) It's worth checking out if you're in the neighborhood.

Merry Christmas

We got nostalgic and splurged on a real, cut, Christmas tree from a nifty tree lot nearby. It was a flat rate for any tree; of course we got the tallest one they had. Even at 8ft, it felt tiny amidst the 14ft ceiling in our place so we mounted it atop a speaker cabinet to get it up to 11ft. Homemade decorations and a robot angel on top. Tis the season!

Rocky Mt NP- Deer Mountain

Itching to get out of town, I drove up to Rocky Mt Natl Park for a quiet solo hike up Deer Mountain. Not much snow on the Front Range yet, so no need for the snowshoes I brought along. Blustery snow front blew in as I reached the summit, snapped a couple quick shots and jammed back down. Nice hike, nice workout, nice Saturday afternoon.

Chili Fest birthday party

Back in Boulder, each year for my birthday I hosted 'Chili Fest' where my friends and I each make a batch of homemade chili, potluck style. It's been a few years since I've done it, but finally threw down for Denver's first Chili Fest. It's not a contest or cook-off, just a celebration of good chili and creative cooks. We had 7 batches this time, including traditional red, vegan red, pork & veggie greens, a white chicken chili and veggie chili casserole. And a keg of local Hibernation Ale beer from Great Divide to keep it jolly.

I forgot to snap photos of the party, but documented my zero emission beer transport:

Buena Vista / Mt Princeton Hotsprings birthday weekend

April surprised me with a couple nights at the amazing Bunny Lane Cabins outside Buena Vista for my birthday! Fun times indeed- a large one room cabin with a pingpong table, vintage stereo system replete with a classic rock cassette library, and a toasty wood stove. Low key and rustic, just how we like it. Good homemade food, goofy fun times. Happy birthday to me!

"Rabbit Den" cabin

The cabin is just up the road from Mt. Princeton Hotsprings resort and we enjoyed a long afternoon soak (and another later at night) along the Chalk Creek. Natural hot water seeps up from the earth right next to the river, and rocks are arranged to form small pools of varying temps depending how much chilly riverwater mingles.

Mt. Princeton Hot Springs alongside Chalk Creek

We drove up to Saint Elmo, a preserved 'ghost town' up towards Mt. Princeton. Most of these buildings are now privately owned and restored, originally built in the mid 1880's.

St. Elmo ghost town

Hiked along the base of the Chalk Cliffs- a unique rock feature resulting from the effects of underground hot water chemically transforming the rock before it uplifted into the peaks we see now.

the Chalk Cliffs

Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO

 We thought camping might be finished for the year, but caught a good autumn weather weekend and packed up for the Dunes. Took off Friday after work and showed up really late to the campground, so it was another fun surprise to wake up to our surroundings.

Such a bizarre geology here, sand dunes like I grew up with on the Lake Michigan shores, yet nestled alongside the Sangre de Cristo range in the Rockies. Really beautiful, stark contrasts of sand and rock. They say these dunes are a deposit from wind currents carrying ancient desert sands across the San Louis Valley, then dropping the particles as the air stalls up against the Cristos.

Fun times slinging the Frisbee and running around the slopes.

Took the scenic route home, including tossing a couple rounds at the alley in Alamosa. 

 Safety first!