7 people, 4 moose, 3 deer, 1 hike and a lake

Willow Heights

So my theory was correct. Give people a little head notice, make a plan before hand, and people will join. 

This rock we are sitting on is at the trail head; We were parked across the street, decided to turn back around to see if we had passed the rock, and ended up turning right into it.... Probably should take a better look next time.

This trail is surrounded by Aspens almost the whole time!

 

 

This hike claims to be a family hike and really easy. Which is true in the fact that it is short, and most members of younger family could finish just fine. However, this would be a tough hike for an elderly crowd. 

As you can see from this picture (kind of) it is pretty steep for the first bit. We were all huffing and puffing a little and the conversation was very minimal through the steep parts. 

There were a few times we would stop along the trail to take pictures, catch our breath, or just look around at the scenery... which of course was GORGEOUS! I know I say that about almost all my hikes, but hey it's true. Our Utah mountains are beautiful, no questions asked.

taking a breather....WHEW!

Don't be worried about the steepness or let it scare you away. After bit of hiking it will level out into a more conversation friendly hike.

It was kind of fun to have a larger group because of the variety in conversation. When it's only 2 of you hiking after a while conversation may come to and end. These are the times you stick in your head phones and listen to a bit of music. I didn't have the chance, nor really care to for this hike. There were different conversations happening between people keeping it interesting, so my Ipod got to take a break for this hike.

Lauren and I both noticed a lot of the aspen trees were being invaded by the pine trees, the picture I got wasn't to bad; other were completely engulfed in the pine tree. Well if the trees can hug, we can hug the trees too.

 

When you come to this meadow you're almost there!
 Just over that hill. 

And there is an awesome view on the other side.

The lake! This picture is from my phone, so you can't tell but there are three moose here...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These two male Moose were bucking for the female

and For good reason.... She's a beauty! (right?)

 Behind these moose is a little path that we could have taken... kind of happy we didn't.  I wouldn't want to be trampled by two male moose who are fighting of a lady... or any moose for that matter.

"Seeing 3 moose was awesome! 2 bucked horns and we thought one would mate with the cow, but it didn't. Scary and cool at the same time :)"

- Lisa Kane

You can barely see the moose in the back ground

We needed to head back before it got to late or dark, but look how pretty!

 

"The acoustics in the woods are great. Sounds of the breeze and wild life carry between the ground and the canopy. The canopy is also thin enough to allow the evening night through the shimmering leaves and reflect of the white aspen bark." -Patrick Kane

 

The deer were in the trees of the meadow.

 

This guy was in the trees on our way back. Took us by surprise

 I think going later in the day was a big reason why we got to see all the wild life. It was awesome, and I'm so happy I had a larger group with me to experience it. 

Location: Willow Heights

Directions:  Drive up Big Cottonwood about 12 miles. You'll see the Silver Fork Lodge on your right, drive 0.2 miles more and park on the right side of the road. The trail head and rock will be on the left side of the road. (BE CAREFUL, AND WATCH FOR TRAFFIC)

Difficulty: Easy/Moderate (steep)

Company: My Ma (Loni Smith), Lori Lawson, Patrick and Lisa Kane, Lauren Turner, and Norman Bryner

Time: 45 minutes up, 30 minutes down

Date: Sept. 11, 2012

Length: 1.5-2 miles

Snack: None
Sorry No dogs or mountain biking allowed on this hike
*Special thanks to Patrick for the pictures!

Good morning, mountain biking?

September 8, 2012
9:30 am
*phone rings*
Me: *Groggy morning voice* Hello? 
Eric: Hey what ya doing?
Me: ....laying in bed (I was talking through my pillow)
E: well dad said you like to mountain bike, so you wanna come?
Me: When you going?

E: Now



I couldn't ask for a better wake up call, and I don't recall any other time that I got out of bed, got ready and out the door in less then 5 minutes. But you know what, my brother never invites me to go do stuff with him so I was pretty excited! Unfortunately I don't own a mountain bike, so we worked it out that Eric would run back home to pick up his wife's bike that she let me borrow. Thanks Lisa! So he ran back home to get it for me while I got ready and headed to the parents to meet up.

View from the top of Clark's trail

I've only been mountain biking in Moab, and that's only been twice. So I'm really not experienced and I've been scared to try out the Wasatch; rock solid ground, dry heat, and sand verse soft dirt, roots, gravel and plants seem to be two extreme differences to me.  Even now that we are done I stand firm by my statement, Moab biking and Wasatch biking are not the same thing.


For one, falling is impossible to avoid in the mountains... However I'm pretty clumsy so that may not have been a beginner thing but rather just a me thing.  I had 4 very close calls to flying off the side of the mountain, flipping my bike on a sharp corner, or gracefully smashing into boulders/trees/whatever else is on that trail. That was only the close calls, there were many other slight skids, bumps, and occasional cuss words that weren't close calls but still got my heart racing and promoted colorful language. I am such a lady while in nature! My parents would be proud.


I legitimately fell twice, the first fall was at the very last corner of the Ann's trail. Sheesh, I thought I was home free, until:

My mind thought process (or possibly said out loud, I'm not sure)

OH dang this is Sharp....

okay brake, slowly, slowly *screeching brake*

oh Shoot a root *bike wheel tweaks sideways*

I got this *over correct*

Crap!

*bike tips*

Oh man *one foot down.* AH! *no balance*

Some sort of unintelligible noise *other foot down*

 ooohh *to low to the ground*

Umph *butt on dirt*

-Words are cleaned up for younger audiences-

After this uncomfortably slow process of falling I look over and my brother is watching me and says, "yeah I was gonna warn you about that; Matt fell right here a couple weeks ago too.".. Thanks for the warning :p

The second fall was on the connecting trail that takes us from the where the Ann trail ends, back to our car. This connecting trail was so much worse then the long trail. It was gravel and sand, steep and very narrow. Can't say I enjoyed it much. I guess you gotta do what you gotta do, and we needed to get back to the car. So this fall came quickly and it didn't have much of a thought process. Here's how it happened:

Come around a corner thinking "Gosh this trail sucks"

Lose control of the bike, hit side of trail

"SHOOT"

Head first into a sage brush bush

The final result; I'm in the bush still

Just seconds later a team of riders come around the corner so I have to scramble up to get my bike off the path. One of the more embarrassing moments of my life; Picking weeds out of my hair covered in dirt PICTURE OF BEAUTY! They were all nice and all 6 of them asked "Are you alright? Do you need any help", I just said I'm fine, but I wanted to add "Would feel better if you hadn't seen this". Again I'm hoping this is a beginner thing and not just a me thing.

Second reason it's different then Moab Biking- The scenery!  Now this isn't really a bad thing, but it is definitely different. We are riding in the fall so the leaves are all sorts of colors and that makes for some really pretty pictures. I love sunflowers, even though they are actually a weed, I still think they're pretty. So I was very pleased to find them during the ride. Find is probably the wrong word, because you don't have to look for them, they are covering the sides of the trail. Literally impossible to miss, they are everywhere!



There are more then just plants on this trail; Eric is a bird watcher and spotted a Steelers Jay. I honestly had no idea what that bird looked like so I had to look up a picture on google. This is what I found... I think that's pretty cool he can name the type of bird he sees while mountain biking. I wouldn't be able to do that if I was sitting on a lawn chair in my front yard. -Oh you see that bird? yeah it's.... uh.... blue.- Not very impressive.

Also there was a squished bunny on the trail. That was less then comforting. I can't imagine how fast you have to be going to hit and kill a grown animal. Poor Thumper, Bambi is going to be so upset. Also, Eric had mentioned that him and our older brother Chris had been riding this same trail a few weeks earlier and Chris had seen a Mountain Lion. That would be pretty awesome to see, though I'd probably be on my way pretty quick. I don't care to be attacked by a wild cat. For the less dramatic side of nature there were a bunch of squirrels and little critters too, that were not dangerous or run over...

You can get some great shots of the valley
Including the temple

All in all it was a fun ride. The last climb up Clarks trail is a little tough, once I started to feel light headed I decided to jump of the bike a walk a few steps. Be careful when choosing to stop to walk; Once your off that bike on a hill it is kinda hard to get back on it and ride again. Definitely stop at a few places and check out the scenery. The look out views can make great photos, but would be best on a clear day or maybe during the sunrise. Be sure to plan the trail your going to take because, as Eric had mentioned to me, the trails in the canyons are like spider webs. There isn't just one trail to take, the variations are endless.

Location: Clark's trail /Ann's trail

Directions: found on this cite http://www.utahmountainbiking.com/trails/draper-rim.htm
Difficulty: Easy/Moderate?
Company: Eric Smith (Brother)
Music: Brand New
Date: Sept 8, 2012
Length: 10 miles?
Snacks:  White Peach- Ate it after the ride

We did the red trail starting at Coyote Hollow

Moab, How I Love Thee

Moab

Moab is like the back yard playground of Utah, but oddly enough many native Utahans have never been. I confess until about 3-4 years ago I had no idea what Moab was besides where that rock formation on our lovely Utah licenses plate is located. Boy did I feel ridiculous when I realized there is a whole park dedicated to that arch and thousands more like it.

Actually looking through my scrapbook that my overly talented and hobby junkie mother made me (I place all of my hobby jumping tendencies on her), I found out I had gone to Moab when I was 2 years old. To bad I wasn't old enough to remember it, so many years wasted not enjoying the rocky vacations that are found in Moab. *sigh*

That's little 2 year old me climbing up to my brother Dan.

 

Well it's labor day weekend, a 4 day weekend, which of course means VACATION! Lucky for me my friend Chops (Jason Robertson) had set up a Facebook event for Moab.

"Oh heck yes, you know I'm  joining that group."

Chops has been on almost every trip I've ever taken to Moab, minus 2 out of the 15+ times, so he's always a safe bet to go with. Back in the day when the 30th ward group still hung out (before marriages, missions, job offers, etc) it was all about jeeping. Of course we'd do other things like the small hike up to the cliff diving hole, and rent life jackets to float down the river on cheap water tubes, but sadly like every other group of friends, we all went our separate ways. With the group break up came the need to find new things to do in Moab. 

Enter Hiking (and other activities if friends with toys come along) 

The real treat this trip was that Dallas Erekson joined us. That boy has always been invited but never made the trip, finally he decided to take the journey down to play.

About time Dal!

We had a total of 19 people with us at Moab, but we all split up to do our separate things. Chops and I  joined Dallas for a scenic driving tour of the arches. We followed the instructions from his national park app. (located under the arches, things to do.) We stopped at the visiting center to use the restrooms, because come on that's just good planning. It was there that Dallas talked us into staying for the 15 minute movie documentary.  In case you haven't seen this discovery channel special, spare yourself!  I'll sum it up for you here. 

Water is amazing it created the canyon, destroyed it, and now is rare to find there.

 Also, did you know that the canyon is constantly changing? Some arches have already fallen; The only redeeming quality of the film was the clip of the landscape arch from 1991, when the a part of the arch fell. There was a small history about Butch Cassidy and the wild bunch and how they would run to these canyons to prevent being captured.

Handsome crew yes? :/

Moral of the story is go see it now before it's to late (the canyons, not the film). 

The end.

Save yourself 15 minutes of your life and pass on the visitor center movie. 

Here is a short clip of the arch falling. Thanks Dallas for finding that for me.

http://youtu.be/4iSWGd3w1nw?t=1m53s

The Scenic Drive (including mini hikes):

Our group for the day
(Chops, me, Dallas)

Gossips and me

1.  Park Avenue- It's about a 1 mile hike that takes you out to see the 3 gossips. It is a very short and easy, which makes it achievable for everyone and allows for good conversation. There are some cool things to see along the hike on the way to the Gossips, and you can have some random experiences. For example, we heard some kids who were singing in tribal chants... it was interesting but humorous. The Gossips are easily visible from the road, but you won't get the boulders and fun picture advantages like you do from the hike. I only have one photo with my phone, but chops got a lot more with his fancy camera.  This is the only hike of the 5 that wasn't busy at all! We only saw maybe 2 other groups out there with us.

2. Balanced Rock- Suppose to be a .4 mile hike around the loop that surrounds the rock. I feel hike is a strong word, it's more like a nature walk, but sure we can go with hike. Again the Rock is completely visible from the road but it's kind a cool to get up close to it and take some pictures. Chops, Dal and I were personally placing some bets on which way the arch would fall if an earth quake hit, or when it decides to crumble because of that evil water we learned about in the visiting center. If anyone is truly planning on placing bets on such an event I would HIGHLY recommend getting out and walking around the loop. It's very deceiving to look at from the road.

Our name: "Saggy Ass Crack Rock"

On a side note there is another rock formation right next to the balanced rock. We learned in the visiting center that most formations got there names with a "call it as you see it" method. So we came up with our own name for this beauty, what would you call it?   

Where is the
tree of the
forbidden fruit?
-Chops

3. Garden of Eden- Pretty much a Desert Playground. Lots of rocks to climb on, and places to explore, there wasn't only one single trail to follow, there were paths all over the place. There was one very popular path that leads to a small climb and at the top there are some fun places to take photos. It got extremely windy while we were here though. :s I don't have a lot to say about this stop, it's chill that's all.

holy cow it's windy

Dallas in a mini window

Probably the most popular
arch of the day

4. Double Arch- AWESOME! this is the longest of the "hikes" it's about 1/2 miles from the parking lot (according to the guide), and it is 100% worth the walk out to the arch. There is a ton of area to climb around and relax or lay down in the shade. The arch is so cool, pictures can't really give the arch the justice I think it deserves but I did my best. The walk out to the arch is pretty cool as well. There are A LOT of mini arches being formed in the framing walls, kinda fun to look at and gave the walk a bit of excitement.

OOO, I wanna climb up there!!

So I did.

5. Windows- I'll be honest, by this point we were pretty tired, hot, and feeling done with the arches. However, we decided to go see the arches anyways. I mean why not? We are already there, might as well finish it out. It was a short easy trail like the rest and the arches were cool, but as the wise old saying goes "If you've seen one, you've seen them all." Dallas actually said that during the hike, and we all felt the same way. Fun day, but it was time to be done!

North

South

Turret

Location: Arches National Park

Company: Dallas Erekson, Jason Robertson

Difficulty: Easy

Music: My Ipod was dead, so Dallas and I sang some lovable tunes from such movies as Grease 2, Pete's dragon, Singing in the Rain, and others (Chops probably loved every minute of it)

Date: Sept 1, 2012

Time: about 5 hours; including driving, photos, relaxing etc. 

Snacks: Honey Roasted Soy nuts and craisins

Dog Lake

Destination: Dog Lake; start from Mill Creek Canyon (where I started) or Big Cottonwood Canyon

Directions: From the Mill Creek fee station, it is 8.5 miles to the end of the road. Look for the Big Water Trail to start your hike. 

Difficulty: Easy/Moderate; could be a fun family hike

Company: Norman Bryner

Music: Enya

Date: August 28th, 2012

Length: About 6 miles round trip 

Snacks: Oreo Flavored Pop tarts, and My Little Pony Fruit Snacks (I was out of cliff bars)

Final destination

Kinda funny story about Dog Creek; I was buying a Utah hikes book from Barnes and Nobles and the cashier had this conversation with me.
               Cashier: "So you're into Hiking huh?"
               Me: "Yeah I've picked it up recently."
               Cashier: "Well if this book says anything about Dog Creek, forget it. It's a real Dog."
               Me: *awkward, what I hope looked like a smile* "oh, well thanks."

Not sure what exactly he was trying to say about the Hike, but if he was bashing on it I'd have to say I totally disagree. I loved this hike, the people there were awesome, it was beautiful at the top (hence the picture which was taken with my phone and wasn't enhanced at all), and it wasn't to difficult.


August 28th was the first day of school for fall semester; My last semester till graduation! Yes, yes, thank you all for the enthusiastic cheers, I am excited too. Well I was a little high strung and needed a break from all responsibility and pressure that school tends to bring on. So the obvious choice for time to commune with nature- HIKE;  I as really lucky that Norm was up for a hike and he just happened to not have plans so I had some great company.

The only way he'd smile is if he got to do something goofy.
*rolls eyes* :)

The drive up to the mill creek trail head was about 9 or so miles up which just so happens to be the very end of the road so easily found. It's a very pretty drive, only bummer is that it has a $3 fee to get into this canyon. LAME, I don't like the idea of having to pay to get to enjoy nature but whatever.

I didn't see many other hikers on the trail but we happened to be going on a Mountain bike day. So we had LOTS of mountain bikers up there with us. They were all very friendly, Norm and I just had to be on alert when we heard bikes coming so we could hop out of the way. I'm not big on the idea of being involved in a bike accident. I've heard bikers complain about hikers and hikers complain about bikers, but I do both so to me it just makes sense to be friendly and follow etiquette. That way we can all enjoy the great outdoors without the animosity towards others right? Here is a link to some hiking etiquette

http://www.dailyhiker.com/news/hiking-and-trail-etiquette/


So my company for this trip was Norm, who is AWESOME! He's actually a road biker and a REALLY good one. You could google Norman Bryner Cycling and the first site will bring up all his status with racing; Very impressive stuff. Well Norm is around bikes so much that he actually is a bike mechanic as well (has worked in bike shops for years). This became useful on our way back down the trail when a group of bikers were stopped due to one guys gears not shifting like they should. So being the nice guy Norm is he stopped to help, I don't know many people who would be carrying around tools to fix bikes but with Norm I wasn't surprised. If you are going to mountain bike on this trail, or any trail for that matter, always take a spare tire! While helping the first guy fix his bike another biker was walking his bike down due to a flat. Norm had a spare tire in his bag (surprise again) but it wasn't the right size for his tire. To bad, that's a long walk back down. The man made a comment about having a bike shop somewhere along the trail. Interesting I thought, why not just carry a spare? Silly man.

The boys obsessed.
NORMAN, THAT'S A TREE NOT A BIKE!

I chose to listen to Enya for this trail, real unique isn't it? I had good reason to make this choice though, I really needed to relax and calm down after the day I had. School didn't end well at all (lines, fees, parking, all that jazz) Driving home in rush hour traffic, and not having ate food.. I think we can see where this is heading. So yes I went with the nature inspired music of Enya. Something I didn't expect was how much it reminded me of my trip to Italy.

On my study abroad trip to Italy I would listen to Enya on the train rides, which we took a lot. It was so easy to day dream and kinda get lost in my own mind.

Christina caught me in a
day dreaming moment on the train

I expected that same thing to happen for the hike, day dreaming of random things and letting my mind just wonder. What I didn't expect was how much in reminded me of Italy.  I was day dreaming about Vineyards, Art work and Churches, Cobble stone walk ways, and missing my Italy group of friends. Funny how music does that, Listening to a song or an artist will bring back memories, feelings, and ideas that haven't entered my mind in such a long time. In the end I suppose my choice of music did what I wanted, It helped me relax and forget all my problems and wasn't so distracting that I could still hold a conversation with Norm.






All in all, the Dog Lake hike was really enjoyable, I would say it reins in the easy to moderate difficulty level. It felt easy for most of the trail, it wasn't until the last 0.3 mile that it got a little more steep and the altitude made it more difficult to keep my breath. Since we went up during a week day and a little bit later in the day the lake was pretty much empty of anybody else or dogs. It was nice to have the lake to ourselves because it was so quiet and really lovely, but It could have been fun to see some puppies playing around in the water. Can't complain though, it was definitely worth the trip. So don't let the cashier of Barnes and Nobles convince you otherwise.

Oh you know
Just relieving some stress...

 Mill Creek trail Map: