Away for May!

A series of random events led to me escaping the misery of Portland's endless rain and cool weather for most of the month of May. Now that I'm home and tan and tired and one beer away from the dreaded muffin-top, I highly recommend this sort of escape for anyone who feels suppressed by the refusal of summer (or even spring) to arrive.

First, my one and only nephew was graduating high school in May in Georgia. My family didn't say so specifically, but I had a hunch that I better get my ass there. For a couple years the possibility of graduation seemed somewhat remote and this was rather a big deal. So last fall, in annual vacation bidding, I put in for the week with hopes of taking him on a trip as a present.

Sometime in March we got a phone call from our friends the Cattertons--they came from Wyoming last year to raft Hell's Canyon with us. They drew a permit for Utah's San Juan River and wanted us to come. Scott couldn't make it but I wasn't going to say no if at all possible. Launch date: May 30, just a week after the graduation and the tail end of the trip I would be taking my nephew on. I could foresee some logistical challenges getting from one place to the other in a timely manner and with appropriate gear, but figured I could make it happen.

Later in March, Scott was complaining about the weather and wishing we could go somewhere warmer for a few days. I suggested mountain biking in Moab and he immediately said yes. The only week that worked for both of us was the second week in May, two weeks before the graduation. Fortunately I had a lot of vacation time stored and with some creative schedule bidding at work, could make all this vacationing a reality!

We first left town on May 7 in a rented minivan, seats folded into the floor and loaded with mountain bikes, camping gear and dog. We spent the first night by the Alvord Desert hot springs, one of my favorite spots from my road trip last year. Then we drove all the way across Nevada and Utah in...you guessed it...pouring rain. Biblical, build-an-ark-quick kind of rain. So much for escaping the rain! We finally arrived in Green River, UT, near midnight with a forecast of rain the following day, so we sought shelter in a Comfort Inn.

The next morning, Moab's cafes and coffee shops were jam packed with cyclists hiding from crappy weather. We jumped on the opportunity to secure a campsite at Sand Flats near the Slickrock Trail where we sat in the car and waited out a mother of a rain storm before we could set up camp. But the weather was in an improving trend and would be mostly sunny and hot by the end of the week. We snuck in ride on Slickrock that afternoon despite a wind that could push you off the ridge if you let down your guard for a moment.


A neighbor moved in across the way from our campsite and stayed the whole week and then some. A retired fellow from Minnesota who spends as much time as possible traveling around, living in his truckbed camper, hiking, dirt biking, mountain biking and kayaking. I want to be him! He also became the social director of the campground, befriending everyone and hosting happy hours each evening.

Tuesday we drove north to the Sovereign Trail. Just as we pulled into the trailhead parking area, a deluge let loose, turning hard red dirt to a tacky mess. With another storm moving in, we exited the deteriorating dirt track and settled instead for Gemini Bridges. Although not as much fun to ride the sandy jeep road, the scenery was well worth it and we did stumble upon some single track we didn't know existed.

Wednesday we spent at Dead Horse Point State Park, hiking the rim trails with Tucker and exploring the short but super fun Intrepid mountain bike trail system. Thursday we made a more successful attempt at Sovereign, which turned out to be our favorite trail of the week with its rock ledges, steep slickrock descents and brilliant red Indian paintbrush. In an attempt to park Tucker in the shade, we turned into a remote BLM campsite with a big Cottonwood tree. Parked beside it was a lone Subaru with Wyoming County 11 plates and a mountain bike on top. It was our friend Jeff Parker from Cody whom we haven't seen for about 10 years!

With just one day left to ride, we splurged on a shuttle to the top of Kokopelli for the 30-mile, mostly downhill ride back to town via Kokopelli, LPS and Porcupine Rim trails. It was hot, so we left Tucker at day care before catching the shuttle for the epic ride.


We packed up camp Friday night, leaving just the tent for the morning so we could get an early start. Breakfast at the Jailhouse Cafe, then we would be on the road home. At breakfast, Scott discovered that Tucker had blood in his hear and upon closer inspection found a rather large slit through the skin inside his left ear, apparently acquired during a scrap with another campground dog the night before. So how to find a vet on a Saturday morning in Moab? There were only two listed on the web and only one with weekend hours. But the vet was out and only a tech. He cleaned the ear and suggested we see our vet when we got home--which resulted in stitches and a $500 bill to add to our vacation expenses. Ouch!

I admired Moab in the rear view mirror, a little sad to be leaving after such a great week of daily rides and warm sun. We planned to camp in eastern Oregon on the way home, but just west of Boise, the skies opened up again and the rain kept us from even wanting to get out of the car. We pushed through the 16-hour drive, getting home just after 1 am.

Middle of May and I'm already a bit tan and feeling fit!