NEW CANYON CHILL

HIKERS: Amy, Kim & Hope the dog

WEATHER: 49 f, chilly and overcast

SUMMIT: we went to the irrigation divider in 29 min.

KIM'S NOTES: This morning was chillier than it has been for a while. The sun was hidden behind the clouds and it just never warmed up. It was a great hike though. I felt great today!

BALD MOUNTAIN SHRUBBERY

HIKERS: Amy, Jamie, Kim & Hopie the dog

WEATHER: 60 f, sunny

KIM'S NOTES: It is getting sunny and warm in the mornings. We go at 6:45, but the sun is over the mountain and shining on us the whole way. We went farther this morning- to the shade tree. I was sweating like a pig, but felt pretty good.

NEW CANYON SPRINKLE

HIKERS: Kim & JamieWEATHER: 53 f, cloudy and sprinkling

RT TIME: 60 min.

KIM'S NOTES: Nice hike this morning. After yesterday it was nice to do something a little more gradual. Jamie was nice and stayed with me. We went all the way to the irrigation divider.

BALD MOUNTAIN PHLEM

HIKERS: Jamie, Kim, Amy, Hope the dog

WEATHER: 48 f, sunny

SUMMIT TIME: Jamie- 22 min., Kim & Amy- 24 min.

KIM'S NOTES: Jamie wins the the Energizer Bunny award again. Amy and I couldn't keep up with her. She had made it to the screen and past and was jogging back by the time we got there. (Thanks for rubbing it in Jamie ;). Amy and I did shave a minute and a half off our time from Friday though (thanks to Jamie pushing us)- there's always a bright side!

BALD MT. BUTT-KICKER OR RETURN OF THE PINK SKIRT

click for link to get your own little hot pink number

HIKERS: Kim, Amy, Hope

WEATHER: 66 f, warm and sunny (woo hoo)

SUMMIT: 25 min.

RT TIME: 50 min.

KIM'S NOTES: Our summer is finally here. We were actually WARM on the way up this morning! We didn't talk much on the hike because we were too breathless. It was quite a chore to make it, but we did. Definitely not our fastest time, but it is great to be back in the groove and have a schedule again. Our summer hikes are here to stay! It was inauguration day for Amy's pink hiking skirt. Such a proud day when that comes back out after a winter in the drawer...

MAIN CANYON

HIKERS: Amy & Kim & Hope the dog

WEATHER: 45 f, sunny, but with a chilly breeze (we got ear ache/headaches)

TIME: ?

KIM'S NOTES: A beautiful sunny morning, but cold. We got 3 inches of snow yesterday and it was all melted. We did the main canyon again because we were concerned it might be too muddy.

EPHRAIM BY BIKE

CYCLISTS: Kim, Amy
WEATHER: 47 F, Mostly sun
TIME: 1 hour

AMY'S NOTES: Our first bike tour! We skirted the edge of Ephraim city streets proper with a short excursion onto some dirt trails on the east foothills. Thinking about "Same Old Mondays", "Bike Tour Wednesdays", and "Discovery Fridays." Or some variation of that.

MAIN CANYON MUD

HIKE: main canyon road

HIKERS: Kim & Amy

WEATHER: chilly wind (about 49-50 f)

KIM'S NOTES: It was muddy (already stated), so we stuck to the main canyon road and it was still muddy. Good workout, however.

WE'RE BACK!

HIKE: New Canyon

HIKERS: Amy, Kim & Hope

TIME: not very fast

WEATHER: beautiful, sunny day in the 60's!

KIM'S NOTES: It was great to be hiking again, especially in this lovely weather we are having today! (Wish it would last longer than just today...) I got tired easily because I haven't exercised for a MONTH, but we made it to the Lone Pine marker. We are back on the trail and happy about it!

NEW CANYON

HIKERS: Amy, Hope the dog
SUMMIT: 50 min, Petey Bishops TH
RT DISTANCE: 4.5 miles,
RT TIME: 1:30 approx
ELEVATION GAIN: 1000 ft

AMY'S NOTES: I love Gmaps Pedometer. It allows you to figure out all the mileage and elevations with sat images and road maps. Check it out. http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3659401

SOUTHERN LOOP (via 100 E 300 E)

BIKERS: Amy
RT DISTANCE: 10 miles (2 Loops)
TIME PER LOOP: 26 min average

AMY'S NOTES: The great thing about going uphill is that you get to go downhill. The loop is one I used to run and is a total of 5 miles. Today I lapped it twice for a total of 10 miles.

DIRECTIONS: Starts at the corner of 100 E 100 S, south on 100 E to the end of the pavement at the Christensen Rd, then back on 300 E.

LEGACY PARKWAY TRAIL

BIKERS: Amy, Brooklyn
RT DISTANCE: 16 miles

AMY'S NOTES: Started at the North Salt Lake Center St. trailhead and pedaled north. The first of 8 legs in the bike portion of the triathlon. Mile 4 brought a flat tire due to a staple, but with the help of a couple of strangers I was back up in a few minutes (thanks Alan). I did learn a few things I did not know before. I have a tube in my tire (as opposed to tubeless), compressed air cartridges are really cool, schraeder valves are old school, it takes a special tool to remove a tire, squishy stretchy pants are a good investment, and if the store you bought them at forgets to remove the anti-theft device don't try to remove it with a hammer.

IRONMAN TRIATHLON

AMY'S NOTES: Let the games begin! I'm excited silly about this. I've decided to do an Ironman Triathlon, newbie style. I have 2 weeks to complete all the mileage. A local woman participated in a similar event while living elsewhere and has decided to get it started in our rural outpost of a town. Interestingly, we have a strange abundance of very athletic outdoor minded people in these parts. (One of the things I love about this place.) Despite my prodding, cajoling, and general harassment, I couldn't convince Kim to do it with me. She did, however, agree to do a handful of the legs with me. Yeah Kim! (Why is everyone not as excited about this as I am?) Tomorrow we will do 9.2 miles up Bald. I am worried about the torn acl and IT band but plan to go slow and put in the time rather than focus on speed. This will be the first significant physical effort since last fall. I think it's just what my body and soul needs, injuries included. The loose plan is to break up the mileage by day and hike rather than run to save the knee. I also plan to swim at Palisade rather than the pool because I can't stand chlorine. I have the least experience with biking, and in anticipation of a sore saddle bought a new ergonomic squishy bike seat and gel filled bike shorts, which I've always laughed at in the past. :-) I'll be using the bike I've had since college and my kayak helmet as a bike helmet. Not exactly high tech, but it will work. This is the newbie version of a tri after all.

Swim 2 legs (1.25 miles ea) @ Palisade
Hike 3 legs (9 miles ea)
Bike 8 legs (14 miles ea)

TOTAL MILES:
Swim 2.5
Run 26.2
Bike 112

"WANNA COME OUT 'N PLAY?"

HIKERS: Kim, Amy, HopE the dog
HIKE: New Canyon
WEATHER: 55 F, or so
RT TIME: 1 hour

AMY'S NOTES: To which I responded, "YES! I'd love to run away from home for the afternoon!" And so began our New Canyon afternoon adventure. We both are clearly feeling the cabin fever of winter and work.

BALD MOUNTAIN- SIDE DOOR

HIKERS: Amy, Kim, HopE

SUMMIT: 40 min.

RT TIME: 3:25 pm- 4:38 pm

WEATHER: 40 F -- way warmer than we thought it would be.

NOTES: tough conditions today. lots of mud and slushy, heavy snow. we chose the cross-country route most of the time to keep the mud from the road from building up on our shoes. It was a great work-out and a beautiful spring day.

ICY CHILL - NEW CANYON

HIKERS: Kim, Amy, HopE the dog
RT TIME: about an hour
WEATHER: fairly cold

AMY'S NOTES: A few days of warm weather and a snow storm thrown in between made for an icy hard-packed landscape yesterday morning. Classic Utah. The signs and symptoms of the closing of winter are in the air. Hallelujah! Look closely at the picture of HopE.

SLUSH & MUD- NEW CANYON

HIKERS: Kim , Amy, Hopie the dog

RT TIME: 1 hour, 10 min. to Lone Pine Hill

WEATHER: nice, brisk hiking weather

KIM'S NOTES: Whew, this really got us back into the thick of it. We really felt it in our calves, so it was a good work out. Lots of melting, slushy snow, thus the mud, but a great hike. May I just stress again how great it is to get out and hike again!

MAIN CANYON TEST HIKE

{Insert Amy's Photo Here }

HIKERS: Kim, Amy, Hope the dog

WEATHER: cold, frosty morning

SUMMIT: 24 minutes (?)

KIM'S NOTES: Wow, it's been a long time since we hiked and posted. Amy's been holed up with her injuries, so I have been doing other things for exercise. It was great to get out on the trail again. Felt good to do something besides running or reps in front of the TV.

SANPETE FOOTHILLS

AMY'S NOTES: This is post #101. A really cold but beautiful late afternoon walk. Smitten with the light and fresh snow. A busted knee and a sick dog makes for slow walking. Call it a meander. Hope is the only one with any agility to speak of these days and she certainly has enough for all. The first big snow of winter. Soft, powdery, Utah snow. And the warm yellow light of the desert in december. The dogs love it - it's what Bernese Mountain dogs were bred for. They are utterly in their element.

LITTLE WILD HORSE & BELL CANYONS LOOP, SAN RAFAEL SWELL

HIKERS: Kim, Cory, Dane, Drew, Christian, Amy, Brook
WEATHER: 60's, Sunny
RT TIME: 3.5 hours
DISTANCE: 7.5 miles

AMY'S NOTES: This is a very accessible hike in San Rafael Swell about 5 miles from Goblin Valley State Park. We started at the parking lot trailhead for Little Wild Horse and looped back through Bell Canyon. The midsection connecting the 2 canyons is a multiple use dirt road with full sun exposure. Wild Horse is a great canyon for running up and down walls - demonstrated best by Christian! More detailed info and maps on Tom Jones' website: http://www.canyoneeringusa.com/utah/swell/little.htm