Sandstone Canyon

We started at the top of Sandstone Canyon (breaking the first rule of backcountry hiking) and downclimbed through a lot of snow and mud and muck.  I really wasn't sure that we could make it to the canyon floor without being rimmed out, but we did.  From there we hiked upstream briefly (in more snow and mud) until we decided to call it a day.  We'd only been out a couple of hours, but I was worried that it would take at least 90 minutes to climb the canyon wall.  In the event, we made it to the Chev in about 75 minutes.

Skiing the Park

Yesterday we went to the park:  Mesa Verde.  We drove to Wetherill Mesa and EDO broke trail.  The conditions were very good.  From the mesa top we had views of the Sleeping Ute and the La Plata Mountains and everything in between (including the La Sals and Abajos back in Utah).  One nice thing about skiing the park is that you don't encounter motors in the backcountry.  Aside from some vehicles on the entrance road, everything was very quiet.

Sand Canyon

Yesterday we hiked Sand Canyon from the highway to the switchbacks and back.  It is a tourist trap with well-worn trails and it would normally be banned, but the weather helped us out:  The ground was muddy, it snowed and rained all day, and we even had a thunder storm (thunder snow).  That thinned the crowds.  Along with the soaking, we saw maybe a dozen nice Ancestral Puebloan ruins, including one called "Tucked Away Two Story House."  At 3p, we turned around and slopped to the Chev, arriving by 4:30p.

Ruin Canyon

Yesterday, we drove to Ruin Canyon and parked at the rim.  We skidded to the canyon floor on a mix of snow and mud.  From there we worked our way upstream looking at a few small ruins, but mostly at bits of very nice Ancestral Puebloan pottery.  The girls are both very good at noticing sherds while walking; they spent a good part of the day crouched down examining broken bowls.  We thrashed back up to the road at dusk and couldn't remember where we'd parked.  EDO went one way; VSO and I went the other.  We found the Chev just before full dark.

Gang Tour

We did a little more skiing last week, including an outing with Matthew, Robyn, and Elinor.  It was a spectacularly nice day.  Unfortunately, Elinor wasn't feeling well, so she turned around early.  That meant that Matthew and I were escorting just three supermodels instead of four.

Boy Scout Tour

Last week, I was on the skis for just 30 minutes.  But, today, we all went out for the full Boy Scout tour.  EDO broke trail most of the way up, though I did take a pull on Treadmill Hill, and VSO packed it behind us.  It made for a fast run back to the highway.  Now that the track is in, tomorrow will be even better.

Brief Tour

I wanted to check out the conditions on the Skyline.  We've not had much snow in Price, so I wondered if there was a developing snowpack.  There was.  The conditions were pretty good, plenty of snow, though much of it unconsolidated.  Three things were less good.  First, we forgot VSO's ski boots, so she was only along for the ride. Second, this is motor country.  I should have known, but, of course, every place to pull off the highway was chock full of snow machines, snow cats, snow motorcycles, and snow monster trucks.  Well, I'm not sure about the last one, but there was a constant motor hum across the entire plateau.  Third, it is a long way from town.  We've been spoiled by having the Markagunt in our back yard.  From Parowan, we could be on the skis in 20 minutes or less.  From Price, it takes more than an hour.  So, we did a lot of driving and I had a brief tour.

Three Dollar Gas

Now that is more like it.  We were driving across the state yesterday and stopped in Salina for fuel:  Filled the truck for under $30.  Maybe that 'flation they say we got going on is coming to an end?  On the other hand, a friend of mine who runs a trucking business says that the cost of diesel is driving delivery rates higher (for everything), so maybe not?  In any case, during these times of woe and want, finding petrol for less than $3 is cause for celebration.

First Tree

We've been spending most of our time in Price and, on the first Sunday of Advent, VSO was ready for a Christmas tree.  (We may cut a second one if we are in Parowan for the holiday.)  So, we drove out to Second Water (above) to cut a five-foot white fir (below), which is generally considered to be the most attractive Christmas tree in central Utah.  Happy holidays!

Mexican Mountain

In the past, we have tried to find the so called "Horse Thief Trail" from the Smith Camp side of the reef, but have been unsuccessful.  Yesterday, we tried it from the other side.  We drove to the end of the Mexican Mountain road and walked out to the airstrip (which was in use).  From there we walked due east to the bottom of a rock slide below a break in the cliff wall.  Bingo!  We scrambled up in a hurry because the days are short and the roads are long.  We reached the pass by 2:30p.  I told EDO, "We've got two hours to make it to the Chev."  Down we went.  We were in Price by 7p.  Pictures HERE.

Cottonwood Wash

We drove out to Cottonwood Wash.  We started up the canyon.  I mentioned to the girls that the county map showed a hiking trail leading from Cottonwood to Nates Canyon.  We decided to try it.  Actually, I doubt that anyone from the county has ground-truthed the alleged trail.  We did some hand-over-hand scrambling to the rim and then 90 minutes of route finding over rough ground.  Eventually we reached a different trail—an old horse trail—that led to Nates.  By then it was time to turn around.  When we got back to the mouth of Cottonwood, EDO said, "That is the second time I've wanted to hike the canyon and didn't do it."  I guess we'll need to return next year.  Pictures HERE.

Dead Dog

We parked at the bottom of Ben's switchbacks and walked to the top.  From there, we circumnavigated the mesa on the north Dead Dog loop.  It might have been 40-ish when we started but the north wind was blowing and once the sun set, the wind chills were in the mid-20s.  It was beginning to feel a bit nippy.  The map says 3.7 miles.  We finished in just under 90 minutes.

Cat Canyon

Cat Canyon is near town and well-roaded.  But, the tread is rough:  After a mile or so, I got out to walk.  I strung a series of small ridges and hilltops into a long loop.  It was very quiet and the late autumn sun was warm.  I returned to the Chev at sunset and drove back to Price before full dark.

Patchy

This was another weekend for working on the house.  I had noticed a crack in the exterior stucco below one of the western windows.  The problem with patching stucco (in addition to me not knowing how to do it) is that you feel like you need to keep making the patch larger and larger to try to blend it in to the rest of the wall.  Or, you just have to stop and concede that it looks, um, patched.  On the other hand, one nice thing about old stucco is that it has a patchy appearance no matter what you do to it.

Upper Pasture

Today we got into Pasture Canyon from the upper end, and had fairly good success going down for thirty or forty minutes until we hit a crack we weren't sure we could navigate in reverse.  So we turned around.  Obviously we would have done better if the girls weren't so fat.  At one point, I told VSO that, if she got stuck, she would have to starve her way out.  What I didn't realize is that—afraid of being cold—she had started down the canyon in four layers of clothing—top and bottom!  If she had really gotten stuck, we would merely have had to peel sweatshirts and long underwear (from the outside of the onion) to free her.  Pictures here.

Home to Roost

We left Price at 8:30 and reached the bottom of the White Roost by noon.  It took about an hour to hike to the main stem of the Robber's Roost and we stopped at the confluence for lunch.  From there we headed upstream into the North Fork.  By 2p, VSO turned back and, with EDO, I worked on the shortest finger of the North Fork.  We reached the end by 2:45p.  From there, it was about three hours to the Chev.  We got into camp (on the knoll) just before sunset.  Pictures here.

Outlaw Cabin?

Today, we started in the Price River Canyon, but eventually found ourselves on a ridge above Little Park Wash.  There was a stacked rock cabin on the flat.  Very nicely built, but long abandoned.  What was it for?  It is not near water, wood, or forage.  Butch and Sundance?

Weekend Choices

This weekend, VSO decided to stay in Carbon County.  She wanted to do some sketching and painting.  Unfortunately, it has been overcast in Price and the light has been flat.  As for me, I traveled to Iron County to do some work on The Homestead.  In Parowan, the sun has been bright and the light strong.  (Which means that I quit work early to climb the Castle.)  It doesn't seem fair.

Art Space

Today, I finished clearing the art studio at The Homestead.  It is a very nice space—large, light, and airy.  It only feels cramped when it is full of paintings!

Mounds, Utah

As I may have mentioned, the forecast was for snow.  In the event, we got a few drizzles, a lot of wind, and some colder temperatures.  We took advantage of the latter to visit the area around Mounds Railroad Depot.  It is hot and dusty in the summer, but clear and cold now, with 100 mile views and ragged clouds. We headed out on the “Buried Forest” Trail, but soon veered off into the wash and made our way back to the Chev by walking cross country.  With winter on the way, this looks like a good place for further weekend wandering.

Change is Coming

We've had at least three weeks of clear, dry, sunny weather.  It has been quite nice, though hotter than I would prefer.  But, by this afternoon, the rain is scheduled to begin; by tomorrow, we are supposed to have snow on the ground; by Sunday, lows should be in the mid-20s.  Summer's end?

Listed

The signs are up.  It is a terrible time to sell a house.  Actually, it is a terrible time to buy a house.  In short, it is a bad time to be buying or selling real estate.  So, naturally, we listed The Homestead.  We don't necessarily need to sell it right now.  But, with EDO at Utah State and VSO working in Price, the house is sitting empty.  It doesn't really make sense to heat it and furnish it if we are not living in it.  So, we'll see?  It has a certain rustic, not to say ramshackle, charm that may appeal to someone.

Supermodel

We made a bunch of pictures today.  I used two of them in the first post.  But, as I looked through the rest I found a pair of beauties.  I really like the downed log with the big toothed maple (above).  But, the show stopper is the one of VSO (below).  She is gorgeous:  A supermodel in the canyon.

Slacker

Today we went all the way up Grad Canyon to the bottom of the big wall.  There is some difficult fourth-class scrambling, but VSO has the moves.  On the way down, she took the camera to make a picture of me slack lining on a peeled pondo.

Repair by Removal

I have never liked the plastic skirting added to many modern vehicles.  About the only thing it is good for is to be torn off the first time you cross a wash.  GC2 came with two levels of plastic.  The top one was (is) integrated into the bumper and housed a pair of fog lights.  The fog lights have never worked since we bought the truck (and I've never encountered fog in southern Utah), but there didn't seem to be any reason to mess with the plastic.  Until now.  With a few of the (plastic) snaps broken, the skirting has been blowing in the wind.  I repaired it by cutting it off with a pair of tin snips.