Mowabb

Last weekend Lydia and I went to Moab to spend a couple of days hiking and hanging out in South Eastern Utah. Mostly we went to get away from home for a couple of days.

I had been most recently to Moab with some friends and found some great hikes, and thought I should take Lydia on a couple of them. We didn't manage to do any of the hikes I had planned, but got some great hiking and scenery in any way.

It is hard to explain what Southern Utah makes me feel. I don't handle the heat well, but there is still something alluring about the sandstone landscape down there.

We hiked the Devil's Garden, a five to seven mile loop depending where you go, and what you want to see. There are at least seven named arches on this hike.

But for me it wasn't the arches that were impressive, it was the whole landscape. And I will take the long, hard hike if it means I get to be out in nature with very few people. The road less traveled, if you will. Once we got past Private Arch, we didn't see another person until we were within about a half a mile of the main trail. Maybe it was because the trail we were on wasn't really a trail.

There is a trail wandering through the sandstone fins and washes, you just have to know how to look for it.

Anyway, The Devil's Garden and the sun took a little more out of us than expected. We went to dinner, and then just enjoyed being in Moab for the rest of the evening. We thought about catching a movie, but why, when we could manage that at home.

Sunday took us home, by way of Dead Horse Point, and some more impressive scenery. Every time I am in Southern Utah it makes me want to stay. It has more of a pull on me than I realize sometimes.

The pictures don't really do justice to the scenery or the scale. You really have to see it to get a sense of it. Standing 2000 feet above the Colorado River, and it still looks impressive.

As for the hikes I had planned, but we didn't get to, we will get to them in the very near future. And if you want to join us, just let me know.

Thanks for playing.

Maple Canyon

While I was attending Snow College, way back when, my roommate Jeff introduced me to Maple Canyon, and the glorious climbing there.

And every year I go back. It is sort of a pilgrimage for me. I always try to get Jeff to go with me. Sometimes our schedules coincide, but more often than not these days, they do not.

I go to Maple Canyon to get away from the stresses of life, and to just climb. Actually, as much as I would like to say that, life doesn't always allow it. But I always enjoy my trips to Maple Canyon, even if we don't actually get any climbing in. That really happened once.

There is one multi-pitch climb everyone always wants to do when we get to Maple, and I always dread it just a little. Not because the climb is hard, it isn't really, the hardest pitch is a 5.7, but because it is sometimes more work than I want to spend trying to get a bunch of new climbers up that 400 feet, and then back down safely. At the top of this multi-pitch is an ammo box placed by Jason Stevens, Maple Canyon expert, and first ascensionist of most of the Maple climbs.

Last year Lydia and I dragged her parents and her brother down with us for a little climbing. I think we all had a good time.

There is one climb in particular that draws us back every year, and that is The Great Chasm. it isn't a difficult climb by any means, but it is challenging because it is a multi-pitch climb.

Lydia has been up The Great Chasm with me a few times, and is familiar with the intricacies of the climb. So I felt pretty good about taking her, her dad, and brother up the route.

As I said, it isn't a difficult climb, but because of the height of the climb, and the exposure, it feels more difficult than it really is.

I always expect a challenge or two taking someone up The Great Chasm for the first time, and besides one of my quickdraws getting dropped I felt pretty good about the whole experience. And I think everyone else did too. It was a little bit of work, but what good thing isn't.

We haven't scheduled this years trip yet, so if anyone wants to go, just let me know.

Update:

I made it down with Jeff this year, and the only climb we did was The Great Chasm. I also made it down with Lydia. We scheduled a couple of days of camping and climbing, but I gave up after a migraine tried to do me in. No climbing on that trip, but there is still enough summer left.