The beaver and the bobcat

We took the sleds up the rapidly melting Warner Lake road today to the snow line and rode into the Warner Lake campground. We then skiied over Warner Lake and up into Mill Creek to look for some more loop opportunities for our nordic trail grooming program. I had never skiied in this part of the range so it was great to get up there. It rained over 9,000 feet in the La Sals last week which left a bullet proof crust on everything, but as warm as it has been the south faces are already starting to corn up. I am still in powder mode, it is too early for corn.

I skiied out onto Warner Lake where we spend a lot of the summer canoeing and fishing and found a set of bobcat tracks (see photo) he had been hanging out at several holes in the ice that I think the resident beaver has been keeping open for his use. I did not see any signs of carnage so I think so far the beaver has evaded the bobcat.

Holy Wasatch

I wish I could say the incredible turns displayed above were mine, but they are not. Todd sent me this photo of his ski tracks from last week in an undisclosed location, and since he never posts anything on the blog I thought I would do it for him. These lines are just too good to not show to the world. It is like scripture in the snow showing mankind how to attain eternal happiness, just looking at them makes me feel good. Thanks Todd for sharing. (and now Alina will mock me for all of my spiritual references)

Wandering the Maze

We drove out to a relatively remote portion of Arches on the weekend and hiked out to an area called the Maze, not to be confused with the larger Maze District in Canyonlands. It is a large outcropping of Entrada sandstone that is eroded into numerous canyons that are intertwined. We saw nobody else while hiking which is pretty rare for Arches. We did run into two lost Germans on the road out.

A small natural bridge we found
Walking the wave

Side canyon

Happy Birthday Rowan, Abe, Darwin and Mom

Most of the Murdock Clan came south for the long weekend to celebrate birthdays. I took Todd out for his first runs in the La Sals, and later went to Red Canyon Lodge for dinner with Alina. The last day they were here, we hiked out to the very end of Grandview Point and climbed some Fins in Behind the Rocks.

Skiing into the slickrock

Julies Glade

Climbing a fin

Behind the Rocks

Ty creeping up on the big jump-off. Todd holding the rock down.

Abbey had a chapter called "Dead Man at Grandview Point" in his book "Desert Solitiare" I really like his description of the view. So here it is

" The big jump-off is only a few steps south and beyond the edge lies another world, far way. Down below is the White Rim; deeper still is the gorge of the Colorado; off to the right is the defile of the Green River; looking past Junction Butte we can see the the barren point where the two rivers join to begin the wild race thorugh Cataract Canyon; beyond the confluence lies the wilderness of the Needles country, known only to a few cowboys and urnaium prospectors; on the west side of the junction is another labrynth of canyons, pinnacles and fins of naked stone, known to even fewer, closer to anything else in the forty-eight United States to genuine terra incognita-The Maze. Far beyond these hundreds of square miles of dessicated tableland rise the sheer walls of futher great mesas comparable in size and elevation to the one we stand on; and beyond the mesas are the mountains- the Abajos and Elk Ridge forty miles south, the La Sals and Tukuhnikivats forty miles to the east and teh Henrys fifty miles soutwest"




Grandview Point

Todd and Ty making sure the old man does not accidently go over backwards. The Abajos and Elk Ridge in the distance

Little Canyon

The boys and I went up a small canyon off the river the other night looking for an old stock trail that I had read about that the old timers used to get horses up onto the mesas above the river. We found the trail but did not have time to go all the way up it to the mesa top.

We also found this bottomed notched quartz arrowhead in the wash. And yes the arrowhead is still out there, where it has been for the last 1,000+ years, where it belongs.

River and weapons

The dryfall at the end of the canyon, the boys thought they could climb out

Laccolith Tour

Yesterday we did a tour up in the Abajos. I had not been down to that part of the District yet in winter so we decided to go down and see how much recreation use we were getting there. We also looked at the snowpack and mapped a trail we are working . It has not snowed for 10 days so I was not not expecting any good snow but we actually found some great turns on the north faces. We took the sleds up to North Creek Pass and then skinned up to the top of Abajo Peak the tallest in the range and skiied back down into North Creek.

The views on top are pretty amazing you can see all of the big laccoliths (baby volcanoes that never quite made it to the surface) on the Colorado Platueau. To the north the La Sals, to the west the Henrys (last mountains mapped in the lower 48), to the south Navajo Mountain and to the east the San Juans (not actually laccoliths).

Dave skiing back into North Creek with Horsehead Peak in the back

Looking south towards the Bears Ears and Navajo Mountain in the distance, the smoke is from a BLM burn

Looking west across the Needles District of Canyonlands, Beef Basin and the Henrys in the distance

North to the La Sals

The big runs and avalanche paths in Gold Queen Basin

Mill Creek

The days are slowly getting longer and it gives us a little time after work to get out so I took the boys up Mill Creek on Tuesday as the sun was setting. Mill Creek is one of my favorite places. It starts high in the La Sals at Warner and Oowah Lakes where we spend alot time fishing in the summer. The canyon walls up in Mill Creek look like they are fire when the setting sun hits them. The beavers have really been busy up there as well, we counted three seperate new dams that will get washed out in the spring high water.

Rowan and Ridge traversing above the creek, with rock art above them

Rowan up Mill Creek

New Terrain

We went back north last weekend to go out for Alinas birthday and to get another one of Rowans cavities filled. I was able to get an early morning ski in Saturday with Todd and some other friends (retired forecaster Dave Kikkert and one of Todd's college friends Kelly). We left at 5 AM and met at the trailhead at 6. Creed told me Dawn Patrol was only for college kids and heroin addicts and I have to partly agree. It was nice to be skiing before the sun came up in the dark. We skinned up Mill B South (I want to find out who the pioneer was that came up with the very descriptive Mill A,B,C,D South and North classification, what an imagination) and skiied to the ridgeline between Mill B and Broads Fork. It was all new terrain to me and it is very impressive. Massive peaks and miles of untouched snow everywhere. Mill B is in the Twin Peaks Wilderness so the helicopters can't dump the rich doctors/dentists/CEOs off on top of you in there and you see a lot less people than other parts of the Wasatch because it is a ways in to the good skiing. But it is worth it.

Skin track to Heaven, Sundial Peak in the background.

Todd, Kelly, Dave on the Mill B/Broads divide looking down the run. Dromedary Peak in the back

Looking back up the run. 3 telemarkers and one randonee


Looking over to the legendary "Bonkers" in Broads Fork. There is one lone skiier on the up track he's hard to see tbecause the terrain is so massive. The run had slid on the last storm cycle and had debris in it.

First light on Mount Olympus across Big Cottonwood

Bouldering at Big Bend

Boys on the Mushroom Rock

Big Water Yurt

I spent last week at a Fire Resource Advisor Training in beautiful downtown Ogden. I only drove the wrong way on a one way street once, not bad for me and my city driving skills. After the training I met up with Creed, Ty-Ty and Nate and we skiied into the Big Water Yurt up Mill Creek Canyon.

We decided to get into the yurt via Big Cottonwood Canyon up Mill D and cross the ridge into Mill Creek. The snow was surprisingly good after 10+ days of no snow and high pressure. Enormous facets are growing on the snow surface which could make for some sketchty avalanche conditions after the next big storm. Sam, Craig and Brandon came in later and got to the yurt at about midnight after a very cold ski/hike up Mill Creek.

After getting out of the mountains on Sunday I found out my Dad was being taken in for an emergency gall bladder removal, so I stuck around Springville Sunday night to make sure everything was ok and now I am back in Moab.

View out of the yurt dome

Always a nice sight after a cold day in the mountains

Looking through the window at the Yurt Dwellers Creed, Ty and Nate devouring key lime pie.

Heading up towards Dog Lake

Hauling in the essentials including a 6 pack of Henry Weinhards (Root Beer of course) and a key lime pie.

How Many Osmonds in the 3rd District?

If you have not seen this you have to watch Colbert take on our new Congressman from Utah. I may not agree with Chaffetz's political views but he was a good sport for going on.

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Better Know a District - Utah's 3rd - Jason Chaffetz

Colbert at Christmas
Colbert Christmas DVD

Green Screen
Bill O'Reilly Interview

Perigee

The moon was at perigee tonight (the closets it gets to Earth along it's orbit) so it appeared larger than at any other time in the last 15 years. We climbed our favortite slickrock dome to watch it rise. I made everybody hike up and we were about an hour early, allowing plenty of time for everyone to get very cold, but it was all worth it. As the moon came up it was very large and the kids were thouroughly impressed.

Playing pothole hockey waiting for the moon to rise

Moonrise over the Sierra La Sal


"Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.”
Buddha quotes

Mega moon rise over the Porcupine Rim

North Woods

We went up high to do some snowpack evaluations today and to dig our rescue sled out that we have cached up on Laurel Ridge, never found the sled, snowpack is getting stronger, snowed all day and we skied the North Woods on the way out.

Winter Hot Spring

We made another 5th Water hot springs trip before heading back to Moab. My favorite time to go to the hot springs is in winter. It makes me feel like one of those Japanese monkeys sitting in hot water surrounded by snow.

Hot Spring Monkeys

Murdock Monkeys

Hiking in

Sixth water in the back flowing through the snow


The lower springs

Hap Hap Happy New Year

New Years Eve Party at the Murdock's

Hopefully, Alina will make another video of me rapping,

"Hap, Hap , Happy New Year!" like last year.

Making out with the fireworks, hot

Kids enjoying the illegal fireworks, River is just a little dramatic

and the time honored Murdock tradition of bringing in the New Year with gunpowder