For the first time since Utah's ski season began in mid-November I took a weekend off the slopes.
I've been itching to get out into the desert for several weeks, especially since I picked up a Toyota Tacoma with a camper shell. Those who know me know that I prefer backpacking to car camping, getting as far off the beaten path as possible. This setup, however, may get me to at the very least split my time between the two. No tent to pitch, and throw everything and the dog into the back. No fuss, no muss.
No muss other than desert dust, that is.
Mrs. Admin and I arrived at the Wedge district in the San Rafael Swell around 7 p.m. or so on Friday night. I was bent on getting a campsite on a peninsula jutting into Good Water Canyon where our Saturday ride at the Bike the Swell Festival last September ended. It features a sheer drop on three sides of the site for 1,200 feet to the canyon floor below. I was skunked, however, for a VW Westfalia and a Subaru were already sharing that spot, but I scored a place of our own mere feet from the canyon rim about a quarter mile away.
TheOtherAmy and Corey rolled in at nearly 11 p.m. They invited themselves along to kick off their dirt biking season.
We had a campfire burning when they arrived, and after a minimal setup we were all sipping whiskey until we hit the sack at 1 a.m. or so. It got cold overnight, with lows dipping to around 40. Mrs. Admin's claustrophobia kicked in during the middle of the night and I awoke with the lift gate and the tailgate wide open, losing any heat that we had managed to accumulate in the bed. She didn't get much sleep on Friday night, so neither did I.
After a quick breakfast of oatmeal and coffee on Saturday morning, Mrs. Admin and I prepared to head out. TheOtherAmy and Corey clearly outdid us with eggs, potatoes, bacon, onions and more. I was too lazy to even fry up our bacon.
As Corey and TheOtherAmy prepped their two-stroke steeds, Mrs. Admin and I decided to take the truck and explore an area in the Swell I had yet to visit: Mexican Mountain Road, which dead-ends after 14 miles at the northeastern area of the Swell near a backwoods airstrip, some mining remains and Swasey's Leap.
It was a beautiful drive, but not much of a test for the truck. We got to do the latter at the end of the day on some overgrown double-track with some mildly technical moments at the eastern end of The Wedge, and I was truly pleased with how it handled. In between, though, we made a trip into the hamlet of Huntington to pick up more dog food, more firewood and a couple of Red Bulls for the bikers.
We made it back to camp at 3 p.m., where the sleep deprived Mrs. Admin passed out in the back of the truck and I fell asleep briefly in my hammock under the warm sun, but only after beating off some ferocious gnats.
Once the others made it back we fired up the charcoal and prepared dinner. We had rib eyes, mashed potatoes and Caesar salad, and TheOtherAmy and Corey threw pollo asada on the grill. More cocktails, much chocolate, more whiskey and another roaring fire closed out our Saturday night, but only after some stunning sunset views across the canyon.
The only fly in the weekend's ointment was a jacka$$ who parked his RV within spitting distance of our truck for Saturday night, frequently firing up his generator for God-knows-what purpose. We weren't in a campground, we were dispersed camping. There were countless equally attractive sites into which he could have pulled his rig without disturbing anyone. What in the hell is wrong with some people? I was ready to crank some death metal from the truck to try to force him to move somewhere else. TheOtherAmy suggested The Melvins. :lol: We cheered loudly every time the generator quit, hoping that he'd get the message. He clearly didn't.
Mrs. Admin thankfully kept the doors closed on the truck Saturday night and sleep came much more peacefully for both of us as a result, and much warmer to boot. We packed up and headed home after breakfast this morning as TheOtherAmy and Corey prepared their bikes to head out for another day, this time across Fuller Bottom toward the Devil's Race Track. It took me a full two hours at home to get the dust and sand out of everything.
It sure felt good to get out into the desert for a couple of days! Now, however, it's time to get back to ski season.
I've been itching to get out into the desert for several weeks, especially since I picked up a Toyota Tacoma with a camper shell. Those who know me know that I prefer backpacking to car camping, getting as far off the beaten path as possible. This setup, however, may get me to at the very least split my time between the two. No tent to pitch, and throw everything and the dog into the back. No fuss, no muss.
No muss other than desert dust, that is.
Mrs. Admin and I arrived at the Wedge district in the San Rafael Swell around 7 p.m. or so on Friday night. I was bent on getting a campsite on a peninsula jutting into Good Water Canyon where our Saturday ride at the Bike the Swell Festival last September ended. It features a sheer drop on three sides of the site for 1,200 feet to the canyon floor below. I was skunked, however, for a VW Westfalia and a Subaru were already sharing that spot, but I scored a place of our own mere feet from the canyon rim about a quarter mile away.
TheOtherAmy and Corey rolled in at nearly 11 p.m. They invited themselves along to kick off their dirt biking season.
We had a campfire burning when they arrived, and after a minimal setup we were all sipping whiskey until we hit the sack at 1 a.m. or so. It got cold overnight, with lows dipping to around 40. Mrs. Admin's claustrophobia kicked in during the middle of the night and I awoke with the lift gate and the tailgate wide open, losing any heat that we had managed to accumulate in the bed. She didn't get much sleep on Friday night, so neither did I.
After a quick breakfast of oatmeal and coffee on Saturday morning, Mrs. Admin and I prepared to head out. TheOtherAmy and Corey clearly outdid us with eggs, potatoes, bacon, onions and more. I was too lazy to even fry up our bacon.
As Corey and TheOtherAmy prepped their two-stroke steeds, Mrs. Admin and I decided to take the truck and explore an area in the Swell I had yet to visit: Mexican Mountain Road, which dead-ends after 14 miles at the northeastern area of the Swell near a backwoods airstrip, some mining remains and Swasey's Leap.
It was a beautiful drive, but not much of a test for the truck. We got to do the latter at the end of the day on some overgrown double-track with some mildly technical moments at the eastern end of The Wedge, and I was truly pleased with how it handled. In between, though, we made a trip into the hamlet of Huntington to pick up more dog food, more firewood and a couple of Red Bulls for the bikers.
We made it back to camp at 3 p.m., where the sleep deprived Mrs. Admin passed out in the back of the truck and I fell asleep briefly in my hammock under the warm sun, but only after beating off some ferocious gnats.
Once the others made it back we fired up the charcoal and prepared dinner. We had rib eyes, mashed potatoes and Caesar salad, and TheOtherAmy and Corey threw pollo asada on the grill. More cocktails, much chocolate, more whiskey and another roaring fire closed out our Saturday night, but only after some stunning sunset views across the canyon.
The only fly in the weekend's ointment was a jacka$$ who parked his RV within spitting distance of our truck for Saturday night, frequently firing up his generator for God-knows-what purpose. We weren't in a campground, we were dispersed camping. There were countless equally attractive sites into which he could have pulled his rig without disturbing anyone. What in the hell is wrong with some people? I was ready to crank some death metal from the truck to try to force him to move somewhere else. TheOtherAmy suggested The Melvins. :lol: We cheered loudly every time the generator quit, hoping that he'd get the message. He clearly didn't.
Mrs. Admin thankfully kept the doors closed on the truck Saturday night and sleep came much more peacefully for both of us as a result, and much warmer to boot. We packed up and headed home after breakfast this morning as TheOtherAmy and Corey prepared their bikes to head out for another day, this time across Fuller Bottom toward the Devil's Race Track. It took me a full two hours at home to get the dust and sand out of everything.
It sure felt good to get out into the desert for a couple of days! Now, however, it's time to get back to ski season.
