nature
Another Freelance Hike
We went on another weekday afternoon hike on Tuesday, even though it was wet out and it was tempting to stay in. But we have good gear and getting out got us into some very Zen misty forests–plus we saw a bunch of jays! (This is Neffs Canyon for a change; Millcreek was closed for weekday road construction.)
Leaves Off The Trees
Weekday Hike!
This week’s Freelance Fun Day was a quick afternoon hike with Doc (he has Tuesdays off) and it was glorious. There was snow earlier in the week (the winter gate in upper Millcreek is already closed!) but the trees still had their leaves, so we got an excellent blend of fall and winter:
Freelance is still new enough for me that I feel like I’m getting away with something when I close my laptop at 1:00 and just…go on a hike on a Tuesday. Truly living the dream over here.
New (To Us) Trail
We found a new trail in Millcreek that takes you from the Alexander Basin to Elbow Fork trailheads yesterday. We don’t hike Alexander Basin/Gobbler’s Knob much (it’s straight up) so the trail could have been put in any time over the last few years; however, we saw the trailhead at Elbow Fork changed this year so it could be fairly recent?
Regardless, it was delightful–just a gentle rolling singletrack through autumn woods. I don’t even mountain bike but it looked like a perfect mountain bike trail (and all the riders we encountered were so polite!). Truly a magic little path.
Colors!
We went up a different canyon yesterday (along with the rest of the valley) to get some time in the aspens, and they didn’t disappoint:
This was a short hike but had a lot of vertical gain and wow, I am out of condition–I’m still going to the gym but we’ve done a lot more “sitting by the river” than “climbing a mountain” lately. Seeing the colors kicked my ass for the rest of the day!
Refilling The Nature Rx
I’ve found myself longing for the apocalypse a lot lately…and realized we hadn’t been up Millcreek to splash around in about as long. It was cloudy and hot in the valley but rainy and deliciously cool at the top of the canyon, plus all the wildflowers were in bloom.
Maybe I need to apply a dose of Nature mid week? It’s a pretty powerful prescription.
SUP Bros
or, “Messing About In Boats/Stand-Up Paddleboards”:
I’ve decided it’s “fake summer vacation week” for me, by which I mean I took Monday and Friday off and we’re doing things with our nephew. (Matt has the whole week off; we were going to go on an actual summer vacation but that was before Toby needed insulin every 12 hours.)
Yesterday’s vacation adventure included a rented inflatable stand-up paddleboard and a trip to Lily Lake in the Uintas. I’ve wanted to go see the lilies at close range for about forever, and this time we DID–along with big fish, schools of tiny fish, and a bald eagle looking for fish (!). The SUP was a lot of fun to try out and Skyler was a natural at it–highly recommend it as a water craft in which to mess about.
Now I just have to get through three days of work until Friday’s adventure: The amusement park!
Shorts Weather!
In classic Utah fashion, in about two days we went from 55 degrees and rainy to 85 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. But that meant we could revisit the trail we hit a couple weeks ago and turn it into a whole loop (along with just about everyone else in the valley).
But I’m glad everyone was out enjoying the green foothills and the sun–it really feels like it’s FINALLY not going to snow again for the season.
Back In The Canyon
I have a hard time voluntarily going back into snow when it’s melted in the valley, so our last trip to Millcreek was at the end of February. But we scoped it out yesterday and the first few trailheads are all the way clear! I’d forgotten what a mood lift being in the mountains is.
These pics are from a new route on the Rattlesnake Gulch trail, with switchbacks and a grade of 8% (vs the 18% from the old trail). A good way to get back into it.