Day Twelve: May 31, 2013

We woke up to my alarm at 6am. Wanting to get up quickly and pack up before someone charged us for camping, was the plan. It was $15 to camp at Red Canyon for the night, and we arrived so late we figured we should just leave uber early to save money. 

It worked.

It’s only +2 right now! Felt great to camp in cooler temperatures.  We are inbound to Zion now. Plan is to spend the day hiking and then sleep somewhere in Hurricane or St. George (climbing and biking!!).

Zion. This place is amazing. We arrived before the park gate officially opened and got in for free. SCORE! It’s $25 per car, so this was good for us (we ended up using the money we saved on a Utah Rock Climbing book. Money better spent!).

After driving through part of the park, we rocked up to the Visitor centre to gather more information. We thought rock climbing here would be a blast. As we researched more, we noticed that the climbs are ridiculously hard. They average from 10.b to 12.a … I have no problem with the 10’s and low 11’s in SPORT, but we are talking TRAD here… it’s a whole other story. We may scope out something easier. In the mean time, we have planned to go for a hike today and two hikes tomorrow.  We quickly found a camp site, as it’s the weekend and ridiculously busy, and set up camp.

Over breakfast, which consisted of oatmeal and dried fruit, we discussed what the hike of the day would be. It was a choice between The Hidden Canyon, Angels Landing or The Narrows. Ben figured we could bang them all off in one day, but I thought it would be a little much. We decided on The Narrows, and it was the winner. Excited, we packed our bags and caught the Zion Shuttle into the canyons.

The Narrows is a canyon hike, and you trudge through the river. This was one of the best hikes I've ever done! We walked around for 5 hours, deeper and deeper into the narrow canyons. The farther we got, the less people we encountered and it was quite the adventure. The photos we took speak louder than the words I could use to describe the place. So, I'll add photos asap.

When we finished the walk, we took the Zion Shuttle back down to our campsite and cooked up dinner. It was around 6:30pm, and we were hungry. We had a quick shower and curled up into our tent after dinner. We watched a movie... surprised? :) 

R&B

Day Eleven: May 30th 2013

We woke up to a brightly lite Indian Creek. What a crazy canyon valley. The climbing here is mostly cracks and trad. There is an abundance of it as well. We decided to pack up camp and scope out areas to climb next time we are back down here. There is just too much to do and we don’t have enough time on this trip to do it all! We had no idea what to expect when we headed down this way, and to be honest, Indian Creek wasn’t even on our radar. This area is a whole other trip in itself.

We decided to drive to Canyonlands and pay the $10 Park Fee to check it out. Using the washroom, I was able to feel a bit more fresh by splashing water all over me. Thank god for Park Visitor centres!!

We scoped out a 4x4 road and took it. The end destination was a Colorado River Outlook. The road was bumpy in parts and I had a fun time driving up shit I didn’t think I could. Another feature of the drive was driving in sand, if you haven’t ever done it, give it a go. It’s a crazy feeling. Super smooth. We didn’t even end up getting to the end of the road, as it seemed to go on forever. We pulled over around 11am and had breakfast in the sunshine.

I needed to shave. I figured this area was as good as any, as there was no one around. Now, when I say ‘shave’ I meant… SHAVE! I waxed my legs and armpits… so… if you catch my drift, shaving was important and it was about time to get ‘er done. It was hilarious, to say the least. Ben helped. I won’t go into detail with this story. Lets just say that it was a liberating feeling walking around with no pants on in the desert airing out my lady bits. ;)

After touring around the 6mile drive in Canyonlands, we left the Indian Creek area and started the drive towards Bryce Canyon. We drove through some incredible landscapes. In and out of canyons, along river sides, up into alpine forests, through birch and popular tree clusters, and across barren plateaus. Natural Bridges National Momument was awesome, up White Canyon to Hite – which is where Powel Lake and Green River connect (Green River and the Colorado River meet up as well). We really wanted to jump into Powell Lake, but couldn’t find a place to do so. It was hot and we were both feeling the urge to cool off.

We continued up the 89 to Hanksville, and fueled up. The wind was strong  and the sun was unbearable here. We finally climbed out of the canyons and into Dixie National Forests, which was a relief. The temperature dropped as we climbed to 9, 450 ft.

We continued along the 12 as the sun began to set. We spotted a sweet little campsite called Calf Creek, and pulled in. Unfortunately it was completely full. We were disappointed, because it was perfect. Onwards we drove.

The road got a little gnarly, and we ended up on a high ridge, it was stunning. I spotted a forest fire in the distance, and it seems as though we were headed straight for it.

We arrived in a cool little town called Escalante. The people were friendly. We asked where the nearest campsite was, as it was around 8pm at this point. The women at the bar told us we could tent up on her property if we didn’t find anything. Very kind.

We didn’t find anything, and decided to continue driving to Bryce.

We arrived in Bryce Canyon around 10pm. It was touristy, busy, bright with neon lights and well, we said fuck it. The last thing we wanted to do was put up with people. So, onwards we drove and bypassed Bryce Canyon.

I felt like I had been there before, in my youth. I probably had. It was a familiar area.

We drove past the forest fire, as I ate the worst dinner ever. Chocolate, an apple, 2 carrots and a cliff bar. I need real food. Ugh.

It was dark, so we really couldn’t see anything we were drive passed. I noticed a couple neat underpasses we went through, red rocks. I looked a the map and we were going through Red Canyon. Eyes were peeled for the first campsite we could spot. Red Canyon Campsite was finally on our left. It was 11pm at this time, and we were pooped. We pulled in, took the first plot we saw, which was campsite #2, and setup our home. Not bothering with the fly, we crawled in and got comfy. Star gazed for a while before we passed out, both of us slept soundly. Long day of driving deserves a good night sleep.

R&B 

Day Ten: May 29th 2013

Waking up this morning was something else… we had camped in an absolutely outstanding place. I was awestruck when I left the tent to go pee at 7:10am. We were surrounded by towering red cliffs and beautifully carved arches.  Arriving quite late, we didn’t quite realize where we actually were. I went for a little stroll on the sandy road and took some photos. The moon was still up.  I was speechless. 

Packing up and heading off, we were geared up and excited to bike the Magnificent 7 trails.

We drove to the top of the world it seemed. Peaked out onto a high plateau, we could see for miles. The air was cool, only +14, which is perfect biking temperatures. Parking the car at the Mag 7 parking lot, we pulled the bikes out and kitted up ready to go. We chatted with a couple people about which way to ride, and met an adorable pooch named Bella. We met the Rossi Rep for Colorado and his wife, which I cannot remember their names now. They have friends in NZ they wanted us to meet.

Bull Run to The Great Escape to Little Canyon to Arth’s to the Getaway to a long ass ride uphill to our truck. We thought it was about 30 miles and by the end of it, we were fucking tired. It was an awesome ride though! I’d do it again and again and again.

Driving back down to Moab, we stopped at the local watering hole for a dip in the river. I actually just went in and Ben didn’t want to. It felt great. We stopped for a quick internet usage and update and some ice.

We are headed to Indian Creek….I've heard some things about Indian Creek. Mostly, it's been words about how the climbing there is hard. ha! We met a buy in Moab who mentioned that he was going to be in IC and we should join him. We didn't rush here, and I'm pretty sure we have missed him. 

The drive to the Creek was so beautiful. We stopped a couple times to take photos and check out Canyon Lands overlooks. Ben was stunned at the massiveness of the canyon. Wait 'till you see the Grand Canyon, I said!!

Indian Creek is beautiful. Obviously, it has a creek that runs through the whole area, lush greenery stream along the water way. We stopped at 'Newspaper Rock' which is Indian writings from many many many eons ago. Pretty cool.

We found a camping site closer to the Canyon Lands National Park. The road to the site was most defiantly for 4x4, which made it a lot more fun. We found a sweet little spot and hunkered down for the night. Made a nice dinner, watched a movie - you know, the normal routine - and fell asleep to a beautiful sunset and silence.

R&B

Day Nine: May 28th 2013

Ben and I drove to Potash road last night and camped in the trees by the Colorado river. It was quiet and cool. I heard weird cat growls at night, and it turns out there is a car feeder near by .. and we are suppose to call if we hear cats? Very strange. 

We didn't pay for tonight. HA. (since we had paid for Slickrock last night, I thought it just seemed right… ) 

It’s breakfast time, climbing.. and then biking. Sounds good doesn't it!!! 

As the day progressed, we ended up staying at the crag later than we thought. I on-sighted an amazing 10.a mixed climb and a 10.a sport. It was a wicked day, and we felt good afterwards. Around 3pm, we realized the time and came to the conclusion we hadn’t eaten since 9:30am. HUNGRY! 

Andy and Rhi had to high-tail it back to Salt Lake asap, so we said our goodbyes and gave our loving hugs. It was sad to see them go. I’m so happy we got to see each other though. I miss all my UK friends. 

We decided that biking was out of the question. We were pooped from climbing all day and felt like just taking it easy. 

Ben and I packed up the truck and headed to Gemini Bridges area to camp. It actually started to pour with rain around 7pm. It felt nice on the skin, as we have been putting up with scorching head for a week now. The rain made the air smell fresh. I liked it. 

This road we decided to drive up was gnarly! Totally off-roading in the rain, climbing higher and higher up a canyon. We explored a little bit when we got to the top, the road was sandy and long. Trying to find the perfect campsite was easy, as every single one was stunning! We finally chose the second last site down the sandy road. By the time we set up camp, it was dark. The rain had subsided and we were able to get a peaceful sleep. The air was cooler, only 14 degrees. Perfect. 

We crawled into bed and feel asleep immediately. We pass out so easily.. it's like, the minute I crawl into our tent, I'm out like a light. ZzzZZzzzZZ

R&B

Day Eight: May 27th 2013

Today we biked THE WHOLE ENCHALADA! We got a shuttle from Porcupine Shuttles for $25. They drove us high up to the Manti-La Sal National Forest. 

Most EPICLY long beautiful amazing bike trail Ben and I have rode EVER.  70km of everything. The name says it all. It was such a good ride, I'll be thinking about it forever. When we come back to this area in October (after NZ), we are most definitely coming back and doing this again! ... and again! With a mix of alpine meadow single track, fast and flowy (where I actually got a flat), into mini alpine forests, onto sandy trails and slickrock and then into the Porcupine Trail area... this ride just keeps delivering! I wasn't disappointed, not once. Ben had a huge smile on his face the entire time. We took loads of photos. 

It was a long and hot day, but SO worth it! 

After we came off the Whole Enchalada, we had to ride the road back to our truck. It was parked at Spider Bikes. 
 
We went to the Moab Brewery for dinner with Andy and Rhi. The food was great and the beer was delicious, so I am told ... as I couldn't eat most of it. I did, however, have a fantastic gluten free beer (or three) and a yummy salad. Ben spent $17.99 on beer… ha! It was a great day, and we are totally pooped. 

We ended up camping by Wall Street, as we planned to climb all day tomorrow. FUN! :) I am tired. I know this blog entry is short, but I'm TIRED. 
Night.

R&B

Day Seven: May 26, 2013

There is a slight breeze this am, and it’s partly overcast. It feels cooler. I know that won’t last though, as I can feel the heat in the air. The smouldering heat of the tent woke me up this morning. I was too hot.

My body feels a little better, my ribs still ache, but I am able to breath a little easier. I have to remember to drive a lot of water today. I can feel my body craving it.

The plan is for the four of us to ride Slickrock (10.5 mile trail) and then head to ‘Wall Street’ for some rock climbing in the afternoon and evening. I think today is going to be a fun, hot, adventurous day!

Slickrock was outstanding. I’d have to say that it’s one of my favourite types of riding. It’s so sticky, and it takes a bit to be able to trust your tires on the rock. We rode the 10.5 mile trail in the blistering sun. It was fucking awesome.

After we rode, we stopped to get food and headed to Wall Street for some climbing. Andy lead a beautiful 10.d sport climb, with the last move having to be pretty damn magical. I was impressed. We then top roped a 11.a crack which was almost impossible. We all tried to struggle up it.. and then quick moved on. I lead a nice 5.9 and climbed a smooth 10.a. It was a nice evening. We ended up leaving the crag around 7:45pm.

Getting back to our campsite at Slickrock and making dinner in the dark was fun. We were all SO hungry. Ben made us a delicious heavous rancarshos … hit the spot.

We were all turning into bed, after star gazing for a bit, when I saw two bright flashlights coming out way. With a better look, I could see that it was Park Rangers, with guns. We were obviously in trouble. It turns out, they were pissed our cars were by our tents at the ‘walk in’ campsites. Long long long story short, we got fined $275 each for this. Fucking Utah! We were kicked out of the campsite and told to leave tomorrow morning… we had paid for Monday night… ugh. USA! WTF! Fun times! ha..

I am sure all four of us went to sleep a little peeved, but there isn't much we can do about it. Just pay the price and carry-on.

R&B

Day Six: May 25th 2013

This area of Utah is absolutely beautiful. I woke up to the sound of jeeps 4x4ing. It's Saturday, and everyone is up here for the Long Weekend.. drinking, jeeping, biking, drinking, jeeping.... biking. 

Once again, my body told me to DRINK A FUCK LOAD OF WATER NOW. So, I listened and did. I hurt this am, it hurts to sit up. My ribs are defiantly bruised. My other wounds are feeling ok. When I laugh or sneeze, it's a little painful.

We planned to meet up with my friends Andy and Rhiane this morning at 8am. We quickly zipped down to the car wash first, seeing as the truck is completely covered with sand, dust, grim and …. My toothpaste spit. Why? Well, about 4 days ago I was brushing my teeth inside the truck while we were driving and I thought I could spit out the window without it splattering across the side of the truck. I was wrong. Yup.

It was SO great to see Andy and Rhi. I hadn’t seen them since my travels in 2010 to the UK. With big smiles and loving hugs we reunited and quickly shared updates.

We planned to camp together at Slickrock, so we needed to get some supplies. Food, water, booze, and coffee. After a quick stop at the CityMart grocery store, we drive up to our campsite and Andy and Rhi set up camp. We made breakfast and planned to head to Arches National Park for a day of sight seeing and walks.

Arches National Park is stunning…. I mean, if you don't think so, something is wrong with you. There are incredible formations of sandstone, and it makes me wonder how the hell some of them are still standing. Weathered and cartoon like, these rock formations are something else. We spend a good time hiking around and taking lots of photographs of the area. Andy and Rhi had been here before, so they were able to tell us what was worth seeing. We came across some rock climbers on a pillar. It looked like a lot of fun. The climb was apparently a 5.8, totally doable! Unfortunately, we didn't have time and it was ridiculously hot.. and we wanted to ride bikes. :) We finished up the driving loop in the park, and headed back into town. 

When we got back into town, we quickly checked out the Wall Street climbing area on Potash Road. Yes, yes yes! We need to hit this up tomorrow. So, we are going to. It looks awesome. Trad and Sport climbing on beautiful sandstone.

We made it back to camp, hungry, hot and sunburnt.

The night went a little like this: made dinner, drank cider, rode slick rock training loop, took lots of fun photos, had a fire, loads of laughter, sleep sleep sleep.

R&B

Day Five: May 24, 2013

I’m stiff as fuck.

It’s to be expected I guess. I did have a ridiculous crash yesterday. I woke up at the break of dawn, sitting up hurt. I think I’ve bruised my ribs. Actually, I’m almost 100% sure I did.

It’s another beautiful day here in Colorado. It’s blue bird, a light breeze and warm sun. I got out of the tent and stretched. I needed to move. A 7:45am bike ride sounded great to me. I woke Ben up and we kitted up and took of down PBR. It felt good to move and sweat.

After the ride, we made cereal with almond milk and started to pack up camp. We are headed to Moab today!

We’re getting REALLY good at packing up the Truck. We have it dialed.

After packing up, we had a quick shower. Yes, that’s right. Before we left Canada, Ben bought a portable shower system. We filled it up two days ago and have let it sit in the sunshine to warm. It felt refreshing after our bike ride.

We are inbound to Fruita for a coffee and a free wifi check up and then onwards to Moab. I ordered an Americano, even though I felt awake. I think I’m addicted. It’s strange, I never really used to love coffee as much as I do now. Perhaps it’s an acquired taste. I have yet to find THE BEST one though… one day (but seriously, how would I know? I haven’t even been drinking it for a year yet… ha!)

I had some serious internet business to take care of: banking, updating the blog, facebook photo uploads, emailing the parents….. see? Important AND serious.

The drive from Fruita towards Moab was beautiful. We took the ‘scenic route’ aka hwy 128. A very good option, as the views were beautiful. All the sudden, I knew I was in Utah. Those typical rock formations that make this area very unique. We traveled into a large canyon, towards Arches National Park. Red rock shot up from the ground. We passed the famous climbing area ‘Fishers Towers’ and ben and I decided we need to climb it! Later, we checked the routes and they seem doable! It’s just VERY intimidating because it’s HUGE. We pulled out the binoculars and took a closer look. We spotted some high slack-lines over some crazy gaps. I was hoping we would be able to see climbers, but no one was around. Photos to come…

Our plan was to hike Arches today, but plans always change. We spent most of the day driving in circles and checking out the area. Before we knew it, we were starving. Looking at the clock, it was almost 3pm and we hadn’t eaten since 9:30am. Oops. It was totally food time, as I could tell Ben and I were getting the hungry irritating annoying frustration symptoms. I hate those, and I can totally feeling them coming.

I felt like patience was limited today, on both Ben and I’s sides. We fought, as couples tend to do, over little stupid issues today. Obviously, I’m not going to get into it, because it’s common and we have all been through it.

We found some rock climbing routes today, in an area called ‘Wall Street’. It got me excited and I cannot wait to check it out. We have time to do so, as we decided we will spend at least a week here. The biking looks phenomenal and there is WAY too many trails to explore. Plus, now that we found that climbing area, there is even more to do! We have ‘till June 16^th anyways… so why not, right?

I’m currently sitting alone, at our campsite in Slickrock. There is a light breeze and the air is warm. Not too many bugs at all. Ben went for a 4x4 ride with some dude he just met. This dude was kind enough to give us his extra campsite, as we spent most of the afternoon aimlessly searching for one. Thank goodness we stumbled across this one. It’s our third time triple checking the Slickrock area too (the sign said ‘Campsites Full). It IS the long weekend, what the heck were we thinking? Either way, we are here for the night.

Bugs are swarming my eyes. WHY? Why do bugs flock to my eyes? … and my nose. It’s annoying.

I’m watching jeeps off-road in the distance. It’s NUTS what they do. Some of the shit they hit and ride over is insane. I am not sure I’d feel comfortable doing that. Before we arrived, we had a man from Edmonton tell us a story about last he was in Moab. He saw a jeep topple over and catch fire after trying some crazy line… gross. Not my cup-o-tea.

Ugh. I’m tired and my ribs hurt. Time for some rum and coconut water and sleep.


R&B

Day Four: May 23rd 2013

It was hot last night in our tent. I woke up several times over the course of the night covered in sweat. I pushed aside my down sleeping bag and star fished naked on the tent floor. I’m sure we don’t need our down sleeping bags out here, but since we are headed into another winter (in NZ), we brought them.

I wake up around 7am every morning, as that is when the morning sunshine pours into the tent, producing a warm glow. I must admit, I think last night was the worst sleep yet. That was quickly forgotten, as I popped my head outside the tent and felt a cool desert breeze and saw the perfectly cloudless sky. Another wicked day in the desert, I thought. You can’t really go wrong with the climate here, it’s pretty much always sunny.

I let Ben sleep in a bit, because I know he too didn’t sleep very well.

Today we are biking. Which makes sense, since this is a bike trip. I can feel the excitement entering my body, as it’s time to explore a new unknown area. We decided, the night before, that we were going to ride Lunch Loop Trails in Grand Junction, which is only about 25mins away from Fruita. We are told, by the local bike shop, that we HAVE to ride Holy Cross. It’s fast, technical and offers a great downhill experience. After taking a look at the trail map, we deiced to tie in a long uphill on Tabeguache Trail to a quick downhill on Pre-Nup, which opens up to Holy Cross (long tech downhill) into Holey Buckets, uphill on Miramonte, more upill on Leftover Lane and a long decent down Curt’s Lane. Day is figured out.

After Ben wakes up and tunes up his bike (for an hour), we are pretty much ready to make the 30mins drive to the Lunch Loop Trails. A quick stop for coffee, juice and wifi and away we go.

It’s REALLY REALL REALLY windy today.  Like I mean… REALLY WINDY. Sand in my face while biking, windy. Gotta love it.

We parked the truck at the Trail Head and suited up. We randomly ran into Mike (my phyiso from Whislter) and a couple other people from BC. After a quick chat about what they rode in the morning, we were off. The Tabeguache Trail was a long, gradual climb. It felt good to get our legs moving. The wind was ridiculous, but I’m glad there was a breeze, as the heat and sun were even more ridiculous. After a good, long climb, we made it to the top of the trail and entered the Pre-nup trail head. Lets the decent begin!! This is always the part that I love. Going doooowwnnnnnnn! With smiles on our faces and dust in our teeth, we started the twisted, technical decent.

We were about 15mins into the ride, loving life, when I crashed. HARD. I got a little too confident and followed Ben’s line over a little rock drop. I went way too fast and landed with my front tire a little crooked. This, as I have experienced before, whips your entire body over the handbars and smashes you into the ground… extremely hard.  I haven’t had a crash like that since Whistler, in 2009. I had the wind knocked out of me so bad, that scared me initially. Then, I instinctively thought I broke a rib and thought I re-broke my collarbone. After laying there for 2 mins, I started to  think that I broke both my hands. Coming from many injuries, I know what it feels like to break body parts. I was still, trying to breath and Ben came running back up to me with a frantic worrisome look on his face. He assessed my entire body and helped me up. I came to the conclusion that my collarbone isn’t broken, my shoulder, however, is extremely ripped to shreds. I seem to be missing a little bit of skin from that area. My palms are badly bruised, but I don’t think anything is broken…. I slowly hopped back on my bike and rode the rest of the trails back to the truck. I was thirsty.

It felt like hours. I was riding so slowly. I stopped in the middle of a trail, and cried. I really begged my body not to be broken and that this trip wasn’t ruined. I spent a little time listening to the sounds of the desert and taking in the beautiful views.

After about 2 hours, we were back to the truck. Ben grabbed the ice from our cooler and I jammed my hand into it. It immediately felt better. I kept it there until I couldn’t stand it anymore. My body felt like I’d been hit by a train.

I think I am getting old.

All the sudden it dawned on me that I didn’t buy Travels Insurance. Oops. We headed to the nearest wifi we could find, and I quickly bought one months worth. That would have been ridiculous. As if.

It was REALLY time for food and water.

We drove into Grand Junction and found an awesome Nepalese restaurant. They were closing for the afternoon (it was 2:25pm), but they still let us come in and eat the delicious buffet of Indian, Nepalese and Tibetan food. Ben and I stuffed our faces full for $17. Yum.

Feeling extremely dirty, we decided we would pay $6 each for a swim and shower at the local rec centre. Remind me never to do that again. It was total culture shock. All the sudden I REALLY felt like I was in the USA. Nonetheless, it felt like to swim a couple laps (which was hard, because I was REALLY sore) and shower. We came out of the rec centre feeling physically fresh and mentally exhausted.

Arriving back to our campsite at 18 Road trails, felt like home. We unloaded ourselves and the bikes and spent a little time relaxing in the evening sunshine. It felt nice to just lay still and let my body heal.

Ben wanted to ride PBR (which is a new trail they created up here recently). He started to get ready for the ride… and I joined him. I wanted to see how badly my body was, so this was a good tester. The trail head just starts a little ways up from our tent, so the approach was easy. Pedaling into the tight single track, whipping in and out of little berms felt good. PBR is fast. It’s a downhill trail which has little jumps scattered throughout. For the first time since noon, I smiled. I was so happy my body wasn’t broken and I was able to enjoy what I love to do. We zipped down PBR so fast, it was over before it started. Pedaling back up to the campsite felt good, uphill sweating, with the wind at our backs.

We didn’t really eat dinner. Ben had corn chips with hot sauce and I had a little salad with red pepper and cucumber. We crawled into the tent, watched a couple episodes of Star Trek and passed out.

Good day, I thought. Good day. My only worry now, was that tonight is going to hurt and the next morning is going to be worse. Ugh.

R&B