Stardate 2017.060

Sandstone Dreaming
What can I say? I grew up amongst the stuff. I miss it.

I can feel the rough grit of sandstone on my bare skin. I can feel the gritty, suspended sediment load in the runoff. I can smell the heady scent of wet sand, silt and clay. I can smell the earthy scent of rain and snow wetting the stone. The ultra-fragrant wet sage teases my senses. I can smell the hard-to-penetrate river-lining tamarisk. Fragrant cacti blooms catch my nose. I can feel the cool, wet wind retaining a hint of winter. The high desert spring taunts my soul...

Catching a bit of weather, four major towers from the Fisher Towers group are shown in the following pic. Left to right rise Kingfisher, Echo Tower, Cottontail and the Titan. In short, big leagues climbing on dangerous and difficult mudstones with a colorful climbing history. Look them up.


I've previously posted the following pics along the way in one form or another. Since the Moab mountain bike and hiking season begins a little over a month from now, I thought it all right to have a little tease post of one of my favorite regions. Let's start with the Onion Creek area of Professor Valley. I hope you enjoy the pics.




Amasa Back, Moab, Utah




Behind the Rocks, Moab, Utah




Princess Plume




Horsethief Bench, Loma, Colorado




Big drop onto Horsethief Bench from Mary's Loop, Loma, Colorado




Horsethief Bench, Colorado




Moab, Utah




Behind the Rocks, Utah




Dead Horse Point, Utah area and a sand-trap




Climbers on Ancient Art, Fisher Towers, Utah.




Sunrise on Castleton Tower (far left tower), Utah




Success on Ancient Art's summit




Arches National Park




I hope you enjoyed the show.

Adios

Stardate 2016.419

Prickly pear cacti (Opuntia)

My Secret Place

Surreal rock colors and formations




Difficult to access creek




Towers from left to right: Mongoose and Sari (yes, they are climbed)




Above a hidden canyon




One-lane road access and watch for flash floods




24 stream crossings




Hindu (yes, it is climbed)




Peak flows carrying today's mountain snowmelt won't arrive until wee morning hours




Poppymallow (Sphaeralcea coccinea)




Prickly pear about to blossom... big-time




Professor Valley




Thanks for reading!

Adios

Stardate 2016.414

Island In The Sky And A Dead Horse
Snowcatcher and I continued our adventure with a trip to the Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands National Park. Dead Horse Point, which is on the way, always gets a visit too. In fact, we were going to mountain bike some of the Intrepid Trail System while at Dead Horse Point. Disappointedly, the weather put the kibosh on that plan. On the other hand, we enjoyed playing sightseer for the day. The below shot is a view to the southeast from Dead Horse Point.



Dead Horse Point legend is a bit gloomy. So, either read on, or skip this paragraph. Local lore has it that cowboys rounded up wild horses and herded them across a narrow bit of land out onto the point (Dead Horse Point). Being only 30 yards wide and surrounded by cliffs, the narrow neck was easily corralled with wood and brush. The cowboys would select their wild horses and leave the non-chosen penned up without water. Eventually the penned horses died of thirst. On a brighter note, the views downriver are outstanding! The Princess Plume (Stanleya albescens) was in full bloom as well.



Dead Horse Point and Island in the Sky tower 2,000 feet above the Colorado River. Farther south, the confluence of the Colorado and Green Rivers lies deep within the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park. From Dead Horse Point, Island in the Sky has many views, including a windowed portal.




Thunderstorms began approaching from the south by mid-morning.



This is one of the numerous Colorado River goosenecks found throughout canyon country. The river flows left to right. The road at the bottom of the pic is the Potash jeep road. It connects with the Shafer Trail Road from below. Shafer Trail is accessed from the top. Either road provides access to the remote reaches of the White Rim 4x4 Road.




The storm inched closer...



The storm quickly overcame us, and we drove an hour down to Moab to grab a bite to eat at Zax's Wood Fired Pizza. Better yet, Snowcatcher and I enjoyed our first date at this restaurant after a road bike ride through Arches National Park years ago. We enjoy eating here when in town, but the first date anniversary makes it a specially nostalgic locale. After lunch we took on a poppymallow excursion. The poppymallow (Sphaeralcea coccinea) was at peak, and we savored numerous massive patches of orange all across the desert.




Here's today's parting shot from Moab — enjoy!




I have one more blog post to go on this most recent adventure.

Adios

Stardate 2016.184

Moab Delights

Recently, Snowcatcher and I snuck in a mountain bike visit to Moab, Utah, while returning to Colorado from a trip to Salt Lake City, Utah. We decided to cut the distance home into 2 days, which allowed us to ride early the second day. We both are quite fond of Moab and surrounds.



For our rides, we headed north to the Moab Brands Trail network. The brand named trails are Bar M, Circle O, Rockin A and Bar B with the second-half letters spelling MOAB. From the staging area, we started together on the EZ Loop. Once to the Bar M trail, Snowcatcher rode the Rusty Spur route while I tackled the Bar M and Rockin A before returning to the staging area via the Bar M.



The hazy 11,000- and 12,000-foot peaks of the Manti La Sal Mountains rise in the background. The picture haze is the result of a controlled burn not far from where we were riding. Hopefully, the wind didn't make things too worse from an out-of-control fire standpoint.



The Rockin A route travels across ancient sandstone for its entire length. That's Arches National Park in the background. North Window Arch can be seen in the photo. It's a rather interesting line of site because there are numerous large arches around North Window Arch, and they aren't seen in this photo.



This is where a lot of snowmelt ends up along the Rockin A Trail. As summer beckons, the water will evaporate. This particular pothole (erosion feature closest to the bike) was about 3 feet deep and already teaming with aquatic insects. Many of the insects burrow until moisture returns. Summer thunderstorm events (and flash flooding) can recharge potholes and intermittent streams as well.



The Manti La Sal Mountains tower above a sea of ancient stone. Newer map nomenclature excludes Manti for some reason; the peaks are now simply referred to as the La Sals. Mount Peale is the highest peak in the range, touching desert sky at 12,721 feet. Moab sits at the western base of the Manti La Sal Mountains at an elevation of approximately 4,000 feet.




Bar M Trail landscape




Bike season is just around the corner, and I'm very much looking forward to it. More to come...

Adios

Stardate 2016.175

Utah's Green River Symphony

Snowcatcher and I had been in Salt Lake City, Utah, for a couple of days. On the way home – via Moab, Utah, of course – the early evening sky opened up for us. As is common in this tiny section of the globe, the sunset gave us a superb show of color. The following photos were taken about 15 miles northwest of Green River, Utah. The first shot is looking northwest.




This was our view west toward the northern San Rafael Swell area.




Far away to the southwest rise Utah's Henry Mountains. (very distant, bottom center)




Here's a zoom toward the western horizon and the northern San Rafael Swell.




One more shot west of the San Rafael Swell.




This year's high desert, spring mountain biking season begins with my next post.

Adios