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Zen Wall Approach
We take a very Zen approach to climbing today, hauling our gear a few miles up a mesa to climb nothing at all. Every plant seems to have produced different colored blossoms to compete for our attention. The boulders hulk right next to the trail as if ready to give us a good-natured nudge as…
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Personal Running Record
Since I’ve discovered that minimalist footwear helps me run without injury, I’ve been slowly increasing my range. Today, almost without realizing it, I break the 10 mile mark for the first time. It’s a cool, breezy, cloudy day that’s a little too cold standing still, but feels great in motion. I’m still curious to explore…
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Highway 18 Bike Path
We’ve seen much of this path on our drives north from Saint George to Prophesy Wall, but riding it is entirely different. The climbs get STEEP! One or two nearly break us. I ride ahead and double back for fun on some parts, but not the steep ones. The nice thing is that the short…
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Kelly’s Rock
We hope the wind will be less severe in the Woodbury desert study area this time around. Things are looking good when we are the first climbers to arrive in sunny, warm conditions. As we climb the wind picks up, and makes the last couple of routes less fun. Overall we have a really good…
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Red Cliffs Reserve T-Bone Trail
After taking a quick look over the online trail maps, I head out to find a loop in the Red Cliffs reserve. The mission is a success, but there’s too much pavement for my taste, much of it sharp on the feet. It climbs into the volcanic layer, which is equally sharp when I finally…
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Dixie Bike Loop
We’ve been wondering since arriving in Saint George what all the references to Dixie and cotton are about. Today I found the local answer. In short, the Mormon pioneers attempted to make southern Utah their own Dixie land with a robust cotton production. The canyon lands didn’t turn out to be well suited for that,…
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Green Valley Gap Climbing
Saint George is nestled among several mesas, which makes for interesting development patterns. Here at the edge of a development is a network of dirt roads crisscrossing haphazardly in front of a rocky gap in the mesa. People are camped here and there, and there is a little refuse blowing around, but I wouldn’t call…
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Red Cliffs Exploration
Starting from the Hillside Palms RV park, I set out on bare feet to find some trails. This part of the Red Cliffs Reserve isn’t too well marked, but I think I hit the Pioneer Rim Trail on one of three passes.
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Wind on Woodbury Road
We notice the drive from Zion is windy, but have no clue what’s coming. We stop at the Red Coyote cafe in Virgin for a nice lunch and internet session. There we meet Nathan, a traveling farrier whose rig we recognize from Mosquito Cove last night. He’s going up Kolob Reservoir road to scout out…
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Observation Point – Zion National Park
I want to see Zion earlier in the morning, and it’s worth the effort. After a short drive from our campsite along the Virgin River on BLM land, we take our choice of RV parking and enter an eerily empty visitor center plaza. Sunlight hasn’t yet reached the canyon floor, making a stark contrast between…