Winter Trips: Moab and Death Valley

Delicate Arch

Landscape Arch

Arches National Park

I went on an alone trip to Moab, UT and visited Arches National Park and Grandstaff Canyon(formally Bill Negro Canyon because I guess someone got offended).

Double O Arch

During that time, there was more snow in Moab than every else in Utah in my opinion.  So the trails were icy and slick.

Thanks to these ice trekkers during my hikes...lifesavers!  I was passing everyone.  Most people without trekkers were literally crawling all over the trails...on their knees and hands!

When I drove through the Arches National Park entrance, I was getting cash out of my wallet and the ranger noticed that I was wearing hearing aids.  He asked me if it was permanent, then I said yes.  He said I was qualified for a lifetime pass of all of the national parks!  Nice!  It totally cheered me up and I am excited about it.

I stayed the night in Moab then the next morning I hiked Grandstaff Canyon.  It is just east of Moab and it's not in a national park.  There were a lot less people on this trail.

Lot's of snow but I am sure now by February it's all melted.  I loved it better with snow.

Pretty with the fog and there were a lot of creek crossings along this trail.

Morning Glory Bridge at the end of the trail.  Got hike to somewhere for a reason, right?

Pretty big arch and I got this good picture of some random hiker.  Wish I can send this to him but oh well.

Morning Glory Bridge

Hiking back.

Ice trekkers are a must have for winter hiking!

On the first weekend of February, my parents and I visited Death Valley National Park.

Because we went in the winter, we didn't feel the 120-130 degrees temperature Death Valley get in the summer.  Death Valley has recorded the hottest place in the world (134 degrees).  In the world!

After visiting the visitor's center and ate lunch, we checked out Badwater Basin, the lowest point in the western hemisphere.

Dad proving it.

So cool to be below sea level.

We walked about a mile out and back.

I grabbed some salt and tasted it.  Good!

Then we went on this fun 9 mile drive called Artist's Drive.  This one way road was fun and winding.

Badwater Basin down at the bottom.

Then I went on a hike for a couple hours at Golden Canyon area while my parents went back to Furnace Creek.

I hiked up to Red Cathedral.

View from Red Cathedral.

Then after that I took the trail up to Manly Beacon.

Top of Manly Beacon

Manly Beacon

Hiking down.

At the end of the day, we all walked on the boardwalk trail at Salt Creek.

There's supposed to be pup fish in the water but we just saw little ones.  Very rare to see water in the desert.

After the night stay in Stovepipe Wells, we checked out the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes.

Pretty cool place to play in.  We should of brought plastic sleds.

Imagine walking in this at 134 degrees, talk about torture.  The temperature was in the 70s and 80s when we were down at Death Valley.

Then after leaving Death Valley, we stopped in Beatty, NV.

There's some good bike trails at Spicer Ranch just north of Beatty.  Some guy built these trails and he did a nice job.  I loved the trails.

I rode for about 2 hours but I wanted to ride more of the trails but we had to get back and my parents were waiting.  They went back to Beatty and visit a museum and ate lunch.

A canteen along Canteen Trail.  Fun trips!  Trail maps of the MTB trails in Beatty:

...And the rest of the year

I've been doing a few more hikes in late fall/early winter.  This is up to Virgil's yurt.

Then I went a little higher up along Maple Syrup Trail.

The trails in Ephraim Canyon may be hard and too steep to ride with a bike but they sure do make good hiking trails!

The cat in the shop has grown a lot in the past year.  I give him lots of food, even the canned ones sometimes.

I went to Capitol Reef one day to hike.  First, I did Chimney Rock, a trail I've never done before.

The top.

Then I went down Chimney Rock Canyon.  It's a wash that goes through a slot like canyon.

Pretty cool.

I walked on the wash for like 2 hours then I went back to Chimney Rock Trail and back to the truck.

I ate a light lunch then I went to do the Frying Pan Trail, which is my favorite there.

The views are amazing!

I got a nasty sliver in my hand at work from a Baltic birch plywood.  It was in so deep that I had to take a trip to my boss's house and he took it out with some tweezers, a surgical knife, and his wife holding the flashlight.  It took him 2 hours to get it out.  I kept telling him that I could go to a doctor but he said that he can get it out with his EMT skills.  So I guess he did.  It was painful.  But it felt better when he got it out.

I went on a late afternoon/early evening hike in Bear Canyon near Nephi Canyon(south side of Nebo Loop).

Good thing I had a headlamp with me for the hike back!  This was during the way home from my audiologist appointment that afternoon in Provo.

Then it snowed!  I put on some boots and ice trekkers and hiked up Bald Mountain up to the screen and more above that.

This was the highest I got.  Good view!  On the way down, I met two more hikers.

On Thanksgiving day, I hiked up Bear Canyon Trail again.  This time in the middle of the day so I can go up further.

Duke and I made up all the way to the top of Bear Canyon Trail.  It ended up at the Nebo Loop Road about 2,000 feet vertical from the trailhead.

Nebo Peak in the background.

I got trees with my family.  One for us and one for my little sister, which I took up the week after.

Some more riding around Black Hill.  This was the final Vike on a Bike race loop ride of the year.  It was fun.

Bonfire with friends.  We burnt old furniture and old magazines.  What a fun night.  And some LDS missionaries came too.

I caught the prettiest sunrise ever when I got to Spring City to work at around 7:15 in the morning.  I took this picture and did a 360 degree view video.

Our tree decorated.

Bald Mountain hike again after a day of work just before getting dark.

I went to my little sister's house to take her tree up and to do a bike ride in the North Ogden area.  I did the North Ogden Bonneville Shoreline Trail.  It's one of my favorite trails there.  Very fun.  It was around 50 degrees but a little smoggy at the city.

More riding on my gravel bike.  I did some dirt road riding. No snow at all in December.

I did a photography shoot one day.  I tried to get in the exact spot where the photographer from 1920 took the picture of Guard Knoll.  But close enough.  Next time, I will do better.

Another late afternoon winter ride before it got dark, but it was cold as soon as the sun went down.

It snowed!  But not much.  So I did a ride on my fat bike.  I went around Black Hill.

Duke in Tractor Supply.  Hey everyone needs to try this, to take your dog to the store.  It's fun but Duke wasn't very thrilled at it.

Red Ryder BB gun hiding in the corner behind the piano.  Santa Claus probably brought it.

The traditional Christmas morning snow bike ride.  I do this every year ever since I bought my fat bike.  It's a fun personal tradition!  Then after I do my ride, I open the presents with my family.  They usually don't open presents until 10:00 or noon.

Jasper got caught in one of the tomato cages we had laying around in the yard.  One of the holiday disasters we've had.

My dad got this bird feeder stand and sunflower bird feeder from me and my mom.  I mostly got it for me, I was more excited for this than my dad was.  But he really likes it.

The winter has been warm lately and the snow had melted a lot.  So I am back to road/gravel biking again.  This ride, I went from one side of the valley to another and back.  From my house to the west mountains, turned around and went to the east mountains.

Then the second of the last day of the year, I went to Richfield and did the Big Rock Candy Mountain ride.  I love the bike path there.  I did it two times from the rest stop at the bottom of the canyon to Big Rock Candy Mountain.  It's a good ride, about 27 miles total.  It was so warm too...about 55 to 60 degrees.  I loved it because I had the whole place to myself, I didn't see one other soul there.