Friday I decided to take advantage of the (relatively) warm weather (28 degrees) and went out and did a few laps at the Lunch Loops. My back was still sore from my skiing incident but a combination of IcyHot and an inability to be inside all day helped quite a bit.
I rode a nice little combo of trails that didnt involve too much climbing for a couple hours. The best thing about these trails are that they are a 10 minute ride out of the door, and they are the only trails that are dry right meow (one of the few redeeming features of trails becoming popular with the running crown).
Well mostly dry. A few spots on the north facing ledges still had snow/ice but it was packed in and rideable, and nothing spices up a bike ride like ice under the tires.
Monday after class I decided to head out to the desert on the north side of town and try and ride out to the 18 road trails. It should only be about 9 miles, i think... But I wasnt too worried about it because it was my first ride in short sleeves this year! I think it was somewhere between 40-45 degrees and sunny. Yay!
After avoiding dirt bikes and people shooting guns I could see the small pass that The Edge trail goes in but I had to turn back because the combination of more shade and runoff as you get closer to the bookcliffs also means more mud.
The best way to get around and not get lost out here it just to follow the powerlines and the road that goes beneath them, I rode this one for half an hour. Its easy on a mountain bike and awesome on a 'cross bike.
Now look at the picture above, that was 4 pm yesterday...
This is 15 hours later
6 inches of snow this morning. AHHHHHH it was almost all gone. WHY?????
Low snowfall is a relative term. There was about 2 feet of soft powder on the ground and some coming down as well. This week we got an add-on to our snowshoes to add some surface area and making it easier to walk on powder
Lunch! Does this picture look familiar?
The last picture we got before the camera died. This is actually a campground but is closed and not maintained in the winter. The best thing about shoeing is you can really go just about anywhere and just walk. Big fans.
Kelly making fresh tracks in the snow.
Hiking along. It was much easier going since the snow had melted just a little and so our snowshoes actually did what they were supposed to do and stayed on the snow, not in it.
Thats me! Its not really as far as it looks. Scale and depth are really hard to judge when everything is coated in snow. So 'we're gonna hike over there' turns into 'oh thats not very far at all' or 'Lets just stop here'.
Lunch. Ramen mixed with beef and veggy soup and washed down with cheap champagne. Delicious!!!
We set up the MSR Hubba Hubba with just the footprint and the rainfly, and it was more wonderful than a unicorn under a rainbow, or close anyway.
Im a reindeer!! Merry almost Christmas.
The sun started going down so we started to head on back.
I make this picture...
Heading back down to town. (That totally looks like the CRV but isnt, thanks random person driving down at the same time we were)