SNOWSHOEING SKYLINE DRIVE

Amy at the beginning of Skyline Drive- Fairview Canyon- Part of the Great Western Trail. 

Kim on top of a huge cornice (hard to see).

HIKERS: Kim, Amy

WEATHER: 40's (in January!). Beautiful and sunny!

KIM'S NOTES: Our first time snowshoeing. It was a great trek. We hiked for over an hour and a half over half frozen, half powder snow. It was a great workout with a great view. We will definitely do it again.

BOX CANYON

At the entrance to Box Canyon

One of the icefalls.

My car took a photo of us.

HIKERS: Kim, Sam, Sanjay

WEATHER: Sunny and warm (around 33˚). Too warm for January.

KIM'S NOTES: Sam had a friend from Florida come visit. It was his first time to Utah and his first time even seeing snow. It was a fun, quick hike and all would have been well if I hadn't gotten the car stuck. Cory, grudgingly, came to pull us out. Live and learn.

A SLIPPERY NEW CANYON

Amy with HopE and Juta.

The sun on the hill above us.

HIKERS: Kim, Amy, Juta, HopE, Mike

WEATHER: 20's, foggy with the sun trying to peak through

KIM'S NOTES: It was chillier than it's been. The snow was frozen into ice in the tire tracks and made for slippery hiking. Amy put on her ice cleats on the way home. Kim toughed it out (and thankfully didn't slip).

NEW SNOW

Hikers: Kim Amy Juta HopE Mike

Weather: 30˚F

Start time: 8:00 am

EZ PZ rock: ?

Cement structure: ?

Finish: 9:40 am?

AMY'S NOTES: Beautiful new snow and more snow while walking.  The lion hunter provided good tracks and all is well.  

BASE OF BALD MOUNTAIN

Kim sports her knee sock fashion. 

HIKERS: Kim, Amy, Juta, HopE, Mike

WEATHER: upper 30's, partly cloudy

KIM'S NOTES: So tired. Not feeling well this day, thus the easy trail. Great to get out though and wonderful for a sinus infection to breathe in the clean, crisp, cold air.

NEW CANYON

HopE, Kim, Amy's hiking boots.

Juta was there too!

Even Mike came this time!

Hikers: Kim,, Amy, Juta, HopE, Mike

Weather: 27˚F

Start time: 8:35 am

EZ PZ rock: 9:04 am

Cement structure: 9:19 am

Finish: 9:49 am?

KIM'S NOTES: Today the snow was frozen solid and icy. Just a little danger involved. Much more tired today.

NEW YEAR, NEW CANYON

Amy and Kim- fulfilling our goal!

New Year's resolutions!

HopE, always out in front.

Hikers: Kim, Amy, Juta, HopE

Weather: 27˚ F

Time: 8:40 am- 9:50am approx.

Kim's NOTES: Everything felt great! The snow was nice and soft and it was wonderful to be outside!

PACKIN' BALD

Hikers: Kim Amy Juta & HopE

Bald to the screen

Notes: Up the mountain. Down the mountain. Full gear, almost.

BACK ON BALD

Hikers: Amy, Kim, HopE and Juta

RT Time: 7:40 am- 8:47

Bald Mountain to the screen

Notes: We are doing a backpacking trip into Coyote Gulch. We have to 'hurry and get in shape.' We didn't do half bad this morning. Of course, we didn't have 30-pound packs on our backs either...

DYNAMIC DUO

Dynamic Duo HopE and Juta take to the hills.

FABULOUS FOOTHILLS

We're back in the groove!

Hikers: Kim, Amy, Juta and HopE

Time: 8:40 am- 9:30 am

Trail: Bald Mountain Foothills

Weather: overcast, 30˚ f

Notes: About 4 inches of new snow covered lots of thick slush to make hiking quite a workout. The snow-covered landscape was beautiful and so was the misty view of the valley. A great day to get back into the hiking groove.

EAGLE POINT SKI DAY

Left: Inga, our ancestor, Norway 1890's

Skiers:  Kim, Amy & Virgil
Notes:  Happy free ski day at Eagle Point in Beaver, UT.  Beautiful weather, smooth runs, and good laughs.  2.5 hour drive one way.

BUCKSKIN GULCH

Notes:  Wire Pass trailhead towards the Paria River confluence.  Got a late start around 11 am.  About 3.5 hours in with lunch.  On the way out I turned on the iphone app Gaia GPS.  New favorite app.  It charted 6.33 miles on the return trip at 2 hours 52 minutes.  For next time, shuttle at Buckskin trailhead or Middle trailhead, or bring a tent and camp on the Paria.  Mostly dry except for a few puddles even after a winter storm the day before.

BACKBONE BOONIES

HIKERS: Kim, Amy, Jen, Uta, Hope

WEATHER: sunny, with a little chill in the air at the start.

KIM'S NOTES: I was the lagger today, but it was still a good hike. It was fun to have Jen there for the first time. I'm happy to report- no bugs. As we reach our summit on this hike, there is a 'camp' there (that is pretty permanent) with a tombstone that read: 'Here lies the last person to call us white trash.' Words to live by.

NEW CANYON SUNSHINE

HIKERS: Kim, Amy, Jamie, Hope, Uta

WEATHER: 60˚ & sunny!

NOTES: Felt really good today. Amy remembered the bug spray, so we were in good shape. We just hiked our little hearts out and enjoyed the sunshine.

BACKBONE BUGS

HIKERS: Jamie, Kristi, Amy, Kim

WEATHER: nice and sunny, warm

NOTES: This is the first time we've done the Backbone this year. It was in great shape and we had a good hike. The sun was wonderful on our faces. We have missed it. One thing about a great water year, however, is all the bugs. We came home with quite a few new bites.

MUDDY CREEK

RAFTERS: Kim & Cory, Amy & Brook, Sandra & Danny, Brook & Jason, Tim & Ashley
WEATHER: warm, sunny, clear, 85˚ F
PUT IN: Tomsich BUTTE
TAKE OUT: Hidden Splendor Mine
TIME: 5.5 hours with a few stops
HWY GAGE: 2.3 (this run), 1.6 (last run)
DIRECTIONS: Exit 131. There are 2 major signs at forks in the road - head towards the seep and mckay flats. Red Canyon road is to be avoided due to length and condition.
DISTANCE: 15 miles (according to other sites)
AMY'S NOTES: The great and mighty Muddy Creek, a formidable torrent of switches and boils and drops deep enough to write home about! Well, OK, maybe not so mighty. But certainly a fantastic ride and worthy of blogging about. A very narrow slot called the Chute - 8 or so feet wide at it's skinniest with log jams 20 feet above crammed in the rock. It starts as a banal looking canal and slowly narrows into the chute with red rock walls towering up either side 200 feet into the blue sky above. I did this run last week with V. and friends and it was a VERY boney run. However the levels this weekend were perfect and the water swift. Note to self: Always bring a patch kit.

OLD HIKE, NEW SIGN

HIKERS: Kim, Amy, Jamie, Hope & Juta

WEATHER: warm, sunny, clear, 60˚ F

KIM'S NOTES: I didn't feel great today until I got to the top (of course;). Allergy season is truly upon us. Jamie kicked butt and so did Amy. With all the injuries she's had lately, she did terrific. We are so glad to all be back together!!

'Thumbs down' on the new billboard at the base of Bald Mountain.

This is Jamie as she left us in the dust. Energizer Bunny Award winner- again. (Amy and I have yet to receive this esteemed award).

We set up the self-timer to take a photo and Hope had to come sniff the camera. So you get a close-up of her hind leg and us laughing in the background.

BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN

NOTES: It's been so long I can't even remember how to blog. Finally WALKING AGAIN!!! Kim and I hiked up New Canyon to the concrete head gate. Hope and Juta came along and loved it, or maybe I'm just projecting... Sunny, but still cool end of May day.

TO THE SCREEN

HIKERS: Jamie and Kim

WEATHER: 60˚ƒ, sunny and beautiful!!

NOTES: This is the back of the screen (our destination) and view of our pretty little valley. There are three consecutive hills on this trail we have dubbed the Three Sisters. At the second sister Jamie consistently pulls away from me. I guess I just can't keep up the pace. I was huffing today!! I've learned that running and hiking aren't the same muscles. Cross-training is good... Cross-training is good... Cross-training is good...