Moab Boot Camp - Final Chapter

Shop Hard

We decided that we would arrange our trip so that we could spend the last half day or so in Missoula, Montana shopping. That did not mean that I didn't do any shopping prior to that. Besides having a favourite restaurant in Moab, I also have a favourite store - Gearheads.

Gearheads is an outdoor store that sells everything you might need (and want) for camping, canoeing and hiking and it was conveniently located right beside our hotel (and it opened at 8 a.m. so I could drop in there on my way to pick up coffee and baked goods, scope out what I want and then go back and purchase it later.) We ended up dropping some serious dollars here. Tim discovered his thermarest had a leak so we needed to get a new one. We ended up getting a thermarest NeoAir Sleeping pad and although it was Tim's thermarest that had the leak, I ended up being the lucky one to use the NeoAir. I think it was the most comfortable I have ever been camping. On the old thermarest, I would have to turn over every hour or so because my hips were sore but on the NeoAir, I woke up in the same position I was in when I went to bed. Besides the thermarest, I purchased some hiking socks, a 2L camelbak resevior, a camelbak drying kit, a head lamp and Tim also picked up a couple of things for the canoe trip.



We got to Missoula in the early afternoon, found a hotel, got some dinner and headed out to do some shopping. We first went to Ross Dress for Less and I was very disappointed in that I couldn't really find anything. I found a pair of jeans and camisole and when I went to try them on, who was coming out of the change room with an armload of clothes. You guessed it, Mr. I Hate Shopping. He spent more at that store than I did (but then again, I only spent $15 and got the jeans and camisole).
Right next to Ross Dress for Less was this REI (Recreational Equipment Inc.) store which was like a very small version of Mountain Equipment Coop. Their stuff wasn't cheap but they had some nice things. Let's just say my American Express got a workout here. Across the street was a Target and I was a little disappointed there too. However, I still managed to find a few shirts and socks. We also hit WalMart where I found some PowerAde Zero (and I bought a few cases) and a beautiful sparkly bracelet.














I must say, Tim was extremely patient and didn't make me feel like I had to rush at all (even though I kept him out until 10 p.m.) I think he was a little tired of shopping at the end but I didn't hear one complaint from him. I have to admit, even I was a little tired of shopping but if we had more time, I'm sure I would have gotten my second wind!

Well, that's it. The final chapter of Moab Boot Camp. However, I am hoping it is not the final chapter as I would love to go back there again.

Moab Boot Camp - Chapter 3

Canoe Hard

I wasn't sure about this whole canoeing thing but in my wanting to be a good wife, I agreed to this whim of Tim's to canoe down the Meander Canyon in the Colorado River. I like to be close to civilization and bathrooms (even if they are pit toilets) and I figured this part of the trip would be the most work. But, I will admit that I was wrong. It was very relaxing and a lot more fun than I imagined. However, saying all that, I'm glad it was only for 3 nights.

Our trip started at Potash and ended just north of the confluence and Spanish Bottom, a total distance of around 75 km.

We showed up at Tex's Riverways bright and early on the Friday morning to find we were the only people being shuttled that day, which meant we had the full attention of Kenny, our very informative and humorous driver. We got to the launch site only to find that we were surrounded by huge groups of rafters. Each group must have had at least 4 rafts, radios, tons of gear and I counted 19 cases of beer (and that was just the one group!). Kenny said that it would probably take them all day to get their act together and get on the water so to look for a small beach campsite the first night, one that could not accommodate more than 2 people or else there was a chance we might be sharing.

Kenny went over the maps with Tim and showed us where some good hikes were, where the good campsites were and where we could find some ruins. We also had to rent a washable, reusable toilet system that uses dry chemicals and enzymes to render solid human waste into non hazardous products acceptable for disposal in permitted landfills. Kenny had quite a few toilet jokes as he showed us how to use it. Tex's does not take very kindly to those who harm the ecosystem in the park and if the toilet weighs the same when they pick you up as when they dropped you off, there is a good chance you will be met at the launch site by a park ranger with a ticket book in hand. Notice it is for solid waste only. Liquid waste must be put in the river as there is not enough precipitation to break down any liquid waste in the ground. In simpler terms, we had to pee in the river.Yep, I'll tell you, there are not too many bushes to hide behind on the river. Oh, and guess where the this toilet fit perfectly in the canoe - under my seat. Good job it had a good seal.

We packed up the canoe and away we paddled. The weather was absolutely perfect - not too hot and not a cloud in the sky. Our first side trip was a short hike to a petrified forest where we saw tons of petrified logs that just sparkled in the sun.

Our second stop was to the Concert Hall. It was incredible. It was like walking into a mini Hollywood Bowl made of red rock. It literally took my breath away. I'm not going to post any of the pictures because they do not do it justice. They have a music festival in Moab and they haul a grand piano down the river into the Concert Hall and have actual concerts there. Now that would be something to see.

It was starting to get into the late afternoon so we figured we should find ourselves a campsite. We found a nice little beach (big enough for us but not big enough for any of those rafters!) which had a little rock ledge for cooking.

We set up camp, headed out for a short hike and feasted upon an Indian dinner on our return. The sky was clear and we slept under the stars (first time I have ever done that). It was pretty incredible waking up in the middle of the night and seeing the stars. It cooled off quite a bit during the night and I was cold and in the morning I told Tim I wasn't getting out of the sleeping bag until the sun was shining on me.

Sunrise

Our second day on the river consisted of more paddling and a couple of hikes to see some ruins.





Coffee Pot Rock

A granary

Another granary with a view of the river and canyon.

We found another sandy beach for the night and enjoyed an appetizer of hummus, salsa and crackers and another delicious Indian dinner.






On our last day of paddling, we headed into the Loop. At the beginning of the Loop there is a trail you can access that leads up into one of the saddles. It took us a while to find the trail and it was quite the climb. At the top, we could look down and see the river on both sides of the Loop.

The saddle.

On the trail to the saddle

Views from the top of the saddle

That was the only hike that day and we continued paddling until we got just north of the confluence (where the Green River and Colorado River meet). We found a beautiful sandy beach to spend our last night. It had started to cloud over and the weather forecast has predicted rain so we put up the campfire tent. It was a good job we did because it did rain pretty good during the night.

The next day we packed up all our gear and waited for Tex's jet boat to pick us up.

The ride back to the launch site took about 2 hours and it was cold. From there it was back to Tex's to pick up the truck, unload our stuff from the jet boat and reload it into the truck. We headed back to our hotel to clean up and then out to dinner at my favourite restaurant in Moab, Miguel's Baja Grill, home of the MOAB burrito.

Next (and last!) chapter - Shop Hard.

Moab Boot Camp - Chapter 2

Hike Hard - Part II

It is hard to believe that we have been back from vacation for 2 weeks. I figured I'd better get my Moab posts finished before I forget everything that we did!

The Amasa Back Trail (also known as the Cliffhanger!)

The day after we got back from our canoe trip down the Colorado River, we did the Amasa Back Trail. It is actually a mountain biking trail but in talking with someone who has done it, I figured I would be carrying my bike most of the way and not too much fun in that. Hiking it was challenging enough. We hiked 25 km with an elevation gain of 766 m and I was one very tired girl at the end of the day.

From the guide book - "The Amasa Back Trail is a jeep trail that climbs just over a thousand feet to a mesa top overlooking the Colorado River and the Kane Creek Anticline. The trail surface is mostly Kayenta Sandstone and has many small ledges (less than 1’) and a few bigger ones. Challenging and fun for experienced mountain bikers only a short bike ride from town."

We took a couple of trails that branch off from the Amasa Back (Pothole Arch, Rockstacker and Jackson Loop and made a loop.

Some of the views on the way up the Amasa Back.

There is no way I could ride my bike up that (and that was a very tame section of the trail.)





Jackson Hole

Pothole Arch

I was a little too short to actually climb up Pothole Arch and take a look inside but Tim had no problems getting up. He said it was like sitting in the bottom of a bowl.

From Pothole Arch, we started our trip back down via the Rockstacker and then eventually Jackson Loop.

From a guide book - "Jackson’s is etched into the chalky red-rock cliffs high above the Colorado River. From the top of the Amasa plateau, Jackson’s sweeps off to the right and rolls along the mesa. After a few delicious high-speed downhill corners, the trail bends around a corner and everything closes in as it plummets toward the river bottom. Cliff walls loom to the right, a 100-foot drop hovers to the left and steep, dusty trail lies ahead. At some points the trail is no wider than a handlebar.

After emerging from the tightly wound cliffside stretch of trail, riders are rewarded with a fast, serpentine romp across rolling hills that slide into a broad floodplain. Here the trail is tacky and fast and ideal for opening the throttle and loosening the grip. Blood can finally return to the knuckles."

And it was just as scary hiking it.!

At the very end of the hike you have to cross a small tributary of the Colorado and at certain times of the year, it can be quite dangerous. Before we started, I walked the trail backwards for a ways until I reached the river and could verify that yes, we would have no problems crossing it. Imagine my surprise when we get to that point on our way down and it is not the same spot I had already checked out. This river before us would have been very difficult to cross. There was a pipe crossing it and Tim took a few steps onto it and I knew I would not be able to do it. I figured there had to be another way, there was no way other people had crossed here (I don't know how you would carry your bike across.) I look to my right and I could see a worn path on the rock around this hollow. So we climbed up it, stepped carefully across, hopped up to this little trail and there it was, the path that I had seen that morning. I was a little tense though, there was no way I was going to be able to turn around and hike the whole thing back.

It was a tough day. I didn't have enough water and it was sunny and warm but the thought of the yummy Mexican restaurant kept me going. We had gone there the night before and had Moabs (Mother of all burritos) and they were delicious!

And yes, Tim did get a new hairdo in Moab from Norm the barber.

Arches National Park

We saved Arches for our last day because we had heard from so many people how spectacular it was and they were absolutely right.

There were quite a few hikes in the park so we tried to figure out which ones we would have time for and which ones had the most to see.

We started at the Devils Garden Trailhead and just as we arrived there, so did 3 buses full of high school students from Korea. It felt like being in China all over again with all the crowds!

The first arch we came across was the Landscape Arch. It is considered the longest natural arch in the world. Since 1991, three slabs of sandstone have fallen from the thinnest part of the arch. You can see the pile of rocks on the ground on the right side of the arch.

From Landscape Arch, we continued north up some large steep rocks until we reached a little trail that branched off to Navajo and Partition Arch.

The next arch on the trail was the Double O Arch. I found this part of the trail a little hairy as it was along the top of fins which to me, seemed very narrow. But again, they don't look that narrow in the pictures!

As you can see by my face, I am not enjoying this particular part of the hike. I think once Tim took the picture, I fell to my knees because my legs were shaking so much!

I look a little less scared in this picture. Maybe because there was only a drop off on one side!

Double O Arch

From Double O Arch, it was a short hike to the Dark Angel.

We decided to take the Primitive Trail back Private Arch and the sign says it all. Of course, I didn't realize the sign said it all until we had gone about half way. At the beginning it wasn't too bad so I figured I must be an experienced hiker if they think this is difficult hiking. Boy, did I soon learn how not an experienced hiker I am.

This doesn't look all that bad.

Oh, wait a minute. What's this??? I actually made Tim come and walk beside me on the right so I could put my feet beside his so he could stop me if I slipped.

We had another difficult part. There was a bowl in the rock and the path went through the bottom of the bowl but it was full of water. The options were to go through it or to scale the edges of the bowl around it. We ran into one woman who went through it and she said it was up to her mid-thighs. I wasn't sure about that so I decided I would try to scale the edges. I probably should have gone through it. Tim went across first because he wanted to take a video of me. crossing it The sides were extremely steep and sandy, which made them very slippery. I managed to make it part way and then there was a part where you had to climb over this hump and I lost my footing. I thought for sure I was going down. The cameraman had to abandon his camera and come to my rescue. He grabbed one hand and then a stranger came and grabbed the other and they pulled me up to safety. Of course by now there was a crowd around to view my fall from grace. It wasn't that far of a drop but I would have been very wet if it wasn't for Tim and the kindness of this stranger. Too bad I don't know how to post the video.

From that point on it was fairly easy, some uphill and some sandy sections but not anything that made me feel like my life was in danger!

The next spectacular arch was Delicate Arch. It was a 5 km hike, 2.5 km up and then 2.5 km down. Most of it was on slick rock, some of which was very steep. Going up was no problem, it's the going down that bothers me. At the end of the trail, just before you get to the arch, the trail goes along a rock ledge for about 200 yards. My legs were a little shaky walking that part.

I was all ready tired from the earlier hike so I found this one to be quite the grunt. However, even in my tired (and Tim would probably add miserable) state, we still managed to pass quite a few people on the way up. I felt pretty good about that.




The last few arches we wanted to see were just short hikes, a couple of kilometers or less so we plugged away until we had seen everything we had wanted to see. There was still so much that we didn't have time for so I can foresee a future trip back to Moab.




North and South Window

Double Arch

Balancing Rock

This was our last day in Moab. At the end of the day we left and drove a couple of hours to Price, Utah. We figured just cutting a couple hours off the next day's drive would help. We had to make it to Missoula, Montana in good time the next day because that was the shopping day and I had been looking forward to that the entire trip. Price is just a small town in the middle of nowhere and we figured we would have no problems finding a hotel for the night. Boy were we surprised when that was not the case. There was a lot of highway construction in the area and the hotels were full of construction workers. We eventually got a room but it was a little dicey for a while. We thought we might have to drive a couple more hours to get to Provo and both of us were a little too tired for that.

I also have to mention the burger and fries I had for dinner at Ray's Tavern in Green River. It had to be the best burger I have had in a long time.

Two more chapters left of the Moab saga - Canoe Hard and Shop Hard.

Stay tuned!