We have had a girly vacation scheduled for quite some time now but no real plan on where to go. Options have ranged from Napa Valley to Hawaii but as our departure date approached we had made no plans or reservations so it was finally decided to go to SW Utah for Mountain Biking and to visit Zion National Park. I wasn't complaining.
I bought a cheap point and shoot camera to take mountain biking on this trip. The scenery was so absolutely stunning on this trip that I have decided to go big on the file sizes of these photos. Sorry for the slow load and I'm going to include less photos per post than usual.
First - the cast of Characters. Megan, Aaron, and the new official WTW trip brew: Stone Brewing (thanks Ted)
Our first stop was Mill Creek BLM Rec Area in Northern Nevada. I have camped here before and it's kind of a neat oasis in the Nevada desert. However, last time I was here I remember seeing redneck tailings which made me suspicious that this was a local party spot for Nevada's finest. When we were considering places to camp, I figured that Saturday night in May at Mill Creek would result in a 50% chance of drunk rowdy rednecks. We rolled the dice and lost, and as a result had a poor nights sleep.
Lesson: stay clear of non-hosted nevada campgrounds on weekends.
Megan's vacation requirements are somewhat simple:
Warm weather
Outstanding riding and hiking opportunities
Beautiful scenery
Spa
Unicorns
Wrapping all these requirements into a single vacation can be a challenge so to get the spa requirement out of the way we booked a room at the Cedar Breaks Lodge in Brian Head Utah. Of course, going to a ski resort in May isn't the best idea in the world and we found that the spa wasn't open so I got busted there but Brian Head was still pretty neat to see. At 9,500 feet, it's no joke of a mountain town. I had no idea that this kind of high altitude resort existed in Southern Utah.
Our next stop is Red Canyon, Near Bryce Canyon National Park. The main objective here is to mountain bike the Thunder Mountain Trail. We camped at the excellent Red Canyon Campground on highway 12. This is an area with a lot of trails and with Bryce Canyon nearby, there is much to do in the area.
The heart of the park, Zion Canyon, has been closed to the general public since 2000 and can only be accessed via the Zion bus system. Bikes are allowed on the road and this is probably one of the best road rides I have ever done:
On our ride, we stopped at the Zion Lodge and inquired about a room. Amazingly we were able to book a room with no reservation. The Lodge was awesome. The restaurant at the lodge sucked.
Angels Landing is an extremely difficult hike with more switchbacks than you can count and culminates with stunning views of Zion Canyon. However, it's the optional second part of the trail that is infamous. The trail continues along a narrow spine of rock for another half mile. Chains have been embedded in the rock to provide a measure of safety for rock scrambling tourists. The trail is often just a few feet wide and the drops on each side are around a thousand feet vertical.
I don't like heights and I wasn't sure I could do this. As we approached the chained section, a European tourist came down and said he couldn't do it, his "legs were shaking too much". Great. As we started the narrow ascent, I said jokingly to Megan "good thing I brought some spare underwear!". Right at that moment, I looked off to the side of the trail and, I **** you not (no pun intended), there was a pair of soiled underwear hanging from the branch of a twisted shrub. If I had my wits about me, and a spare hand, I would have gotten a photo for your viewing pleasure.
