Hiking and Running

Last weekend, I took myself off down to Moab - a four hour drive over mountains and through desert to the south east corner of Utah.  It was well worth the trip!  

the desert

Monitor and Merrimac

Moab is a small town in the middle of a red rock desert.  It looks a lot like a more up-market version of Radiator Springs (for those of you who've seen Cars).  There are loads of places to eat, drink, make merry and spend (lots of) your money on 'authentic American Indian' crafts and jewellery.

Hiking trail markers

Dead Horse Point

On Saturday, I wandered around town for a few hours and mostly just wasted time before I headed out to Dead Horse Point for a wee spot of hiking.  The Point is a rocky outcrop reached across a land bridge that is just 30 feet wide.  There are 2,000 foot drops the whole way round.

Dead Horse Point

Dead Horse Point

Legend has it that each year, cowboys would round up hundreds of wild mustangs from the mesa, corral them on the promontory, pick out the good ones and then release the others.  One year, for some reason (the story is unclear as to whether or not the corral was removed or left behind), the remaining horses stayed on the point and died of thirst within sight of the Colorado River, hence the name: Dead Horse Point.

Me on the Point

Dead Horse Point

Starting Line at
Dewey's Bridge

On Sunday, I left my exorbitantly overpriced motel before sunrise and joined a group of intrepid mental cases on the shuttle bus to Dewey's Bridge, about 30 miles north of Moab, on Highway 128, by the Colorado River.

Sunrise at Dewey's Bridge

We huddled around open fire braziers for an hour, watching the sun come up and paint the canyon walls red, before making our way back to the road and running 13.1 miles back to Sorrell River Ranch.  I was very proud of myself, finishing a half-marathon at 5,000 feet elevation in 2:10, especially considering (a) the altitude and (b) having to stop and take photos every couple of miles.

mile 8

mile 5

It was one of the most amazingly scenic half-marathons I have every done.  It was literally awesome - breath-takingly, awe-inspiringly beautiful.  There was also free beer at the finish line, yeay!  (Yes, really, free beer, on Sunday morning, in Utah... go figure!)

Balancing Rock

I got back to Moab around midday and stopped off for some lunch before heading out to Arches National Park.  I spent about an hour and a half driving around the park and stopping at various viewpoints until I got to Wolf Ridge Ranch.

Park Avenue

Petrified Sand Dunes

Then, I'll admit, I wussed out of the 2 hour hike up to Delicate Arch and drove up to the viewpoint which was about 1km from the Arch.  

Delicate Arch
(in the distance)

After that, I turned tail and drove back to Salt Lake City.  It was a bloody awful drive... took 5 hours, in the dark, over windy mountain roads, through rain storms.  Ugh! I was a ball of sweaty tension by the time I got home, but it was still the best weekend I've had since I've been here.

Me at Arches

Delicate Arch
(official photo)