Yesterday I found myself lamenting about how long it has been since I have been in Utah.
It was a photo of Bryce Canyon that had me realizing I've not been in Utah this century. There was a period back in the last century where I found myself in Utah once a year. Usually including a multi-day stay in Moab, the Mountain Biking Capital of the World.
In the Moab area there are miles upon miles of mountain bike trails. That would be the Slick Rock Trail you see above. Me on the left, Big Ed on the right. If I remember correctly, Wanda took the photo.
I did not complete the entire Slick Rock Trail. My mountain biking skills were not up to it. But, I did manage to bike the entire Gemini Bridges Trail. The Gemini Bridges part of the trail was a bit scary. To bike this trail required one vehicle to be left at the end of the trail, so as to drive back to the trailhead where the vehicle which delivered the bikes to the trail was left.
That same mountain biking week in Moab that I biked the Gemini Bridges Trail I also biked the Porcupine Rim Trail. This turned out to be the most difficult bike ride I have ever been on. This trail also involved multiple vehicles. My van was left at the end of the trail. I forget the precise logistics. I was so exhausted by the end all I wanted to know was where was my van parked.
The Porcupine Rim Trail starts with an ascent of a couple thousand feet, eventually reaching Porcupine Rim, a steep drop off to the valley below. From that point to the end it was mostly a strenuous downhill coast. I do not ever remember being so exhausted as I was by this bike ride.
Moab is also near to two of Utah's National Parks. Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park.
In Arches National Park you will find the Fiery Furnace Hike. This is a ranger guided hike, requiring registering at the ranger station at the entry to Arches, and paying a hiking fee. It was 10 bucks when I last hiked the Fiery Furnace, back in the late 1990s.
The reason the Fiery Furnace hike requires a ranger to lead is because the hike is a maze of slot canyons in which it is easy to get disoriented and lost. It can get way too HOT. The Fiery Furnace has seen some fatalities over the years.
In the above photo that is Big Ed helping his sister, Lydia, cross a deep chasm.
Deep into the Fiery Furnace the ranger calls for a rest stop. During this period the ranger regales the hikers with tales about the Fiery Furnace.
I am fairly certain I will never mountain bike any of the Moab area trails again. But, I sure would enjoy hiking the Fiery Furnace trail again, that and all the other trails in Arches National Park.
It was the view from Islands in the Sky, in Canyonlands National Park, back on New Year's Day of 1995, that I saw mountain bikers way below, thinking to myself, that looks fun. So, upon returning to Washington I bought my first mountain bike, and by the next Spring I returned to Moab and had myself a mighty fine time mountain biking.
I forgot to mention that after lamenting to myself yesterday about it being so long since I've been in Utah, this morning's email's Microsoft OneDrive Memories from this Day, included the photos you have seen in this blog posting.
However, these photos were taken in October, not March....
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