Looking north up the Waterpocket Fold in the morning. As you travel east (right) you pass through younger and younger rock strata. The Waterpocket Fold of Capitol Reef might be best described as a bend in the earth’s crust where subsequent erosion has exposed the underlying rock strata. Whereas the layers of desert rock are normally seen in a canyon wall stacked vertically, the layers of the Fold are tilted...
We decided to check out Capitol Reef National Park last weekend. Like many people, we had long known of this National Park in south central Utah but had never spent any actual time there. One of its major attractions is the Waterpocket Fold, a 100 mile long exposed monocline
Start with a 100 mile race in the mountains, strip out any crew support or pacers and add a bunch of winter weather– snow up high, mud down low, and temps in the low 20s all through the night– and you have last weekend’s Bear 100. Lucky for us, Christy and I were both able to say we had a great time. I improved on last year’s finish by 45...
Through some of the narrows on the descent from the East Rim to Weeping Rock. We ran the Zion Traverse last week– a linkup of existing trails across Zion National Park that measures about 48 miles and reportedly gains around 10,000 vertical feet. Christy and I are big fans of established courses such as the Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim (or roundtrip) and the Four Pass Loop, so it was time to...
The coveted finishers buckle. It was about as smooth as they get for me. That’s my take as I reflect on last weekend’s Bear 100 run. Considering how many different ways one can come up short in these things, and that I ran the race without any crew or pacers, smooth is good. And to finish near the front with a sense of things being somewhat routine made it even...
When last weekend’s weather forecast wasn’t looking conducive to outdoor activities around Aspen, Christy and I decided to head to Moab.
Saturday’s Bear 100 was about as good as it gets for me. After three consecutive years at Hardrock, and running no other races at the 100 mile distance, I mistakenly came to believe all 100’s are like that massive San Juan suffer-fest. They’re not. And the early July date of Hardrock, being so close to the spring skiing season which has always taken priority, usually means I’m just barely feeling...
The Henry Mountains from the north as we drove past the Maze and Goblin Valley. Surrounded by canyon country in all directions, it feels kind of strange as you approach them with the goal of skiing in mind. “So then what are you guys doing in Utah?” asked our friend after running through the list of typical Utah desert activities, i.e. biking, climbing, boating and hiking. I interrupted and said,”We’re...
We made a trip to the Maze District of Canyonlands National Park for a little backpacking.
“I’d like to see the guy who can ride up that!” said the rude guy from California as he arrived to the top of Murphy’s Hogback, walking his bike. When it was revealed that not only did most of our group ride the steep hill but Jared managed to do it with his daughter, Maia, in tow, he started in about how his gear ratios weren’t the same (otherwise he most certainly...
We met in Aspen in 2000 and have been happily stuck in the rockies ever since, getting out in the mountains every day we can, in every season and by all means possible. Read More
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