Get Off My Trail
OK, so staying on the road is probably more accurate. I can say as I really stuck to anything. We received 5″ inches of snow in the valley and probably around 11″ in the mountains last night. The trail was impassible and needed to be left alone for the groomers to work their magic so I followed jeep tracks and snowmobile trails up the road
I have to leave the house every now and then or my brain will explode. The past couple of days of storms blanketed Providence Canyon in white. A few riders had made it up the first section. I was alone in the climb to the top and ended up on the road to finish. The descent was in fairly deep unpacked snow. There’s something about
I will miss the pure thrill of mountain biking in the summer but there is something magical about getting out into a forest covered in a blanket of snow. The ride – Providence Canyon The bike – Salsa Beargrease
It was a beautiful winter Saturday to get out and ride The almost perfect trails. Without obligations pulling me back to my desk I had time to ride up to the top of the quarry in Providence Canyon. The last time I attempted this climb the road lacked the base needed to make the climb. The snow machines float above the snow and with being
rm today having been lovingly groomed by local volunteers. The sun reflected beautifully off the snow. The trail past the upper parking lot towards the Mt Naomi Wilderness was also in fine form for a while. The nightmare doesn’t begin for a mile or so. At that point the grooming ends and the only trail left is from hikers that attempted to wade through the
It’s really easy to make excuses for not leaving the house during the winter. It’s cold. The air is frequently bad. It takes less time to jump on the training and do the rounds in Zwift. However, there’s an enormous physical and mental benefit from leaving the house and getting out into nature. Sunny days with perfect trails fill my soul with delight. Today was
Late on this Saturday afternoon I managed to get away for a little bit and was rewarded with a perfect trail and spectacular conditions. I’ve been slow getting out of the canyon in the past and I’ve had to pick my way out in the dark. For years I swore I would by a bike light and I finally got around to it. I was
Green Canyon is almost always a beautifully groomed, hard packed, ice road. At the beginning of the trail the air bit at any of my exposed skin and pierced deep and painful. The hard packed icy snow crunched loudly but the trail was smooth, sticky and fast. As I ascended the last section towards the Mt Naomi Wilderness I didn’t expect much given that the
While the valley is wrapper in the bitter cold of winter inversion the mountains reward those who venture higher with an escape from the filthy air and the biting frost. It’s counter-intuitive at first but the higher you go the warmer the air becomes (if 30 degrees is warm). The sky is blue and the sun breaks out. Covered in layers of winter gear the
Some days are just perfect. Today was just perfect. I haven’t been up Green Canyon since I managed to repair the Beargrease. After taking the last spot in the parking lot I set out from the dark grey of a typically Cache Valley winter day and ascended into the sunshine and glittering snow. On the way up I passed the carcass of a dear recently