Saving The World

Thinking so deeply
About how to save the world
Or, how to save me

Postponed...

...for a few reasons:  Patty just got back from Seattle and is in Orem today, the house is a mess (I really need to sweep, mop, and scrub), and, we are meeting with a potential foster child after school today.  The Grand Staircase, Skyline Drive, and Strawberry Peak will wait for me.  The next window opens mid to late September, right after I get back from Montana.

ID-AZ, Maps Days One, Two, and Three

View Idaho To Arizona, Day One in a larger map



View Idaho To Arizona, Day Two in a larger map



View Idaho To Arizona, Day Three in a larger map

Preparations

I'm trying to get my head around the start of Idaho To Arizona and gathering my things together:  bivy, bag, pad, food, tubes, water bottles, frame bags, and maps.  It looks like Tuesday is a go.  My heart rate gets higher just thinking about it.  On Tuesday it looks like I'll start from the Idaho line above Swan Flats, take the Sinks Road to Hardware Ranch and Ant Valley, head up Skull Crack Canyon and down Pine Canyon to Henefer.  There, I will sleep and resupply.  See the map above.

On Wednesday, I will take the rail trail from Echo Junction to Park City, for a big resupply.  I will then go to Midway/Heber via the Pine Creek descent (that's a big climb out of Park City, so I may just stay on the pavement, US 40).  From there it's all mountains up the big climb to Strawberry Peak and down to US 6 via Tie Fork.  Wednesday night I'll sleep near Strawberry Reservoir or Sky View/Tucker near US 6.  There is no resupply there so I'll be traveling light and a little hungry.

On Thursday, there's the really big climb up Skyline Drive which I will take all the way to I-70.  I will have to resupply off-route in Fairview, Utah or Mount Pleasant, Utah (big down and big up to get back on route).  There, I will coordinate with Patty and Lupine and try to update the blog and describe Friday, Saturday, and Sunday's routes, so stay tuned.  By Thursday night I will still be north of I-70, sleeping god knows where without any resupply opportunities.

It's too far out to know for sure, but I plan to be in Loa, Utah some time on Friday, and in Escalante Utah, some time late Saturday.  On Sunday I plan to meet Patty and Lupine in Big Water, Utah (home of polygamists and the Joseph Clan) after pedaling the Smoky Mountain Road Scenic Backway from Escalante through the Grand Staircase National Monument.  From Big Water it's just a few miles to Arizona.  Light and fast, light and fast.  Wish me luck and a strong pair of climbing legs.  Yes, I know the monsoon season is here.  Yes, I'm taking polypro underware.

Time To Go To Work

Hardware Ranch last night
Got my pants handed to me
On a B pace ride

Better than couch time
At least I went for a ride
And did some real work

Old Main this morning
Stairs 8X, cross laps tonight
3 easy, 3 hot

Six Days To Heal

Degenerative
Disc disease, herniation
Facet arthritis

Little time to heal
Idaho-Arizona
Begins next Tuesday

Six hundred hard miles
No paved roads and Sky Line Drive
Grand Staircase or bust

Just A Quick Update

I'm back from Montana.  And, I'm back from southern Utah, checking cameras on I-70 and US 6 for Patty.  Today we are going to Park City.  Drive, drive, drive.  My back is killing me, still about 40% on the Robert Scale (it means I could get 60% better).  The MRI said Degenerative Disc Disease and narrowed nerve channels at L4-L5.  Whatever.  I'm old.  Walking and sleeping are still really painful.  It does not hurt so much to ride the bike, which I have not done much of as of late.  I hope to change that today in Park City.  On Sunday, Patty flies to Seattle.  On Monday, Lupine starts fifth grade, and I will go see a sports medicine doc.  I have to get better fast.  The first Utah Cyclocross race is on October 1, just six weeks away.  When Patty gets back, I'm supposed to pedal to Arizona.  Remember that big ride I have planned, Idaho to Arizona?  Right.

Willow Mountain, Montana

I pedaled up Willow Creek today, up to the Lookout Tower at the top of Willow Mountain in the Sapphire Range, about 3000 feet of climbing.  Then I headed down towards Gleason Lake.  Patty, Lupine, Sen, and Berne were supposed to meet me on the trail.  I looked for them, their tracks, or a note.  Three hours later I found their note, about 3 or 4 miles from our designated rendezvous point.  An hour after that I found my family.  Better me than the Ravalli County Search and Rescue.  Patty may never walk normally again.  What a day.

Utah Wildlife Crossing Structures Videos

Montana US 93 Videos

The Latest In Fixed Gear MTB Downhill

Hanging Out With The Enemy

I took Peter and his Burger King Whopper-soured stomach up Green Canyon.

Then I served up some beer.

Then the sun went down over the Temple.