Spring Break 2012

Just before spring break, we headed out on a sunny day with the goal of skiing Kendall Couloirs.

We had a great day out in the sunshine but didn't end up doing much skiing. With a late start and a lot of sun on the slopes, we decided not to do a lot of exploring for the entrances that weren't obvious from our high point. Oh well!

With no new snow in the forecast and feeling the need for some adventure (and more sun), we hit the road to Moab, Utah.

Upon our arrival we were greeted with upper 70 degree temps, a nice breeze, and lots of mtn biking options.  The first day of riding we chose a network of trails called the Brand trails, and rode about 6 or 7 miles to get our bike legs back under us.

Heather on one of the Moab "Brand" Trails with the La Sal mtns in the background

Heather on some slickrock

After one successful day of riding (i.e. the 5-month prego Heather didn't fall), we decided to try the Slick Rock trail, a more committing and difficult trail.  Slick rock is a 10ish mile trail almost entirely on rock that is not slick at all.  In fact, it is very textured and offered great roller coaster technical riding that was Brandon's favorite of the trip.

Brandon starting up one of many short steep ascents

Brandon sticking to the 'slick' rock.

It turned out to be Jeep Safari week in Moab, so there were rock crawlers everywhere. It was cool to watch them on some of this terrain, but it's not a sport/hobby I could never get into.

and the slick rock goes on and on...

 Looking down into the Colorado River canyon from the Slick Rock trail.

Heather riding through a cool carved out waterway

For our third riding day, we did the Sovereign Trail. This was definitely the least crowded and the most varied terrain. It was a fun ride for sure, with some steep downhills, some slick rock, and many steps to ride, and nice views.

Heather on some slick rock

Heather descending

Indian paintbrush growing out of a pocket of dirt on rock

Beautiful country

Again, I dismounted quite a bit in order to protect Kiddo Kern from any potential falls. The good thing about that was that it gave me more chances to take pics of Brandon, here dropping over one of the many steps.

After three days of riding and very sore tooshes, we decided to take a break from the bikes and visit nearby Arches National Park for some sightseeing and short hikes, which we will post pics of soon.

The view from our camp on the dirty Colorado river with lovely desert rock for a backdrop.