Peregrine attack

I had a crazy wildlife sighting on the way to work today.  I was driving to the Visitor Center, when I saw a duck in the middle of the road.  Duck?  This guy was waaaaay off course -- there's no standing water for miles around Goblin Valley.  He started to fly down the road, when I saw a pair of peregrine falcons zooming towards him.  Right in front of me, one of the peregrines folded up his wings, turned downward, and DIVEBOMBED the duck.  Peregrines can stoop up to 180 mph, making them one of the fastest animals in the world. The force of the impact knocked the duck to the ground, but didn't kill it.  The duck flew away, and the peregrines stayed in hot pursuit.  Awesome.

Peregrine stoop (Photo credit: http://gerryco23.wordpress.com)

New mountain bike!

I've lived in southeast Utah for almost four years, so it was high time I got a mountain bike!  I ordered a Motobecane 500T and the box came in the mail this week.  We put it together, tuned it up, and hit the trail.  I was pretty excited as we put the bike together -- it looks great.  Sure, it's not one of the $5000 bikes you see all over Moab, but I liked the classic lines and brushed gray color.

The first trails we rode were called (ahem) EZ and Lazy.  The names bruise my ego a little bit, but I'd definitely rather start easy than eat face!  They're part of the MOAB Brand Trail system, located 7.5 miles north of Moab on the east side of US-191.  You get to the trail head by turning right at the Bar-M Chuckwagon.  It's a 3.1-mile lollypop-shaped singletrack loop inserted inside the Bar M loop.  The trail was fairly smooth with a couple rocky outcrops.  The whole area has great views of the La Sal Mountains and Arches National Park.

We did a couple laps, and I felt way more confident the second time around.  My ass felt like hamburger the next day, but I think my bones will get tougher the more I ride.  A pair of shammy shorts won't hurt either.  :) 

MOAB Brand Trail System.  EZ and Lazy are light blue. (Map credit:  http://www.utahmountainbiking.com/)

Pronghorn

Sweet!  On my way home from work yesterday, I saw four pronghorn crossing the road.  The females start dropping their fawns at the end of May, and the babies are always ridiculously cute.  They’re definitely one of my favorite animals out at Goblin Valley – every time I see them I’m amazed how they thrive in such a hot, dry place.

(photo credit:  http://www.ca.uky.edu/forestryextension/ThomasBarnes2.php)

Ready for a naturalist geek-out?  So glad you asked …

Pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) are really amazing, beautiful animals.  They live on open plains, where they graze on shrubs, forbs, and grasses.  When threatened, they can run up to 65 mph, which makes them the second fastest land animal after the cheetah.   Pronghorn need wide open spaces to thrive – although they’re able to leap across 8-foot barriers, they usually crawl under barbed-wire fences.

Male pronghorn.  (Photo credit:  http://www.flickriver.com/photos/phlog/)

Pronghorn are often confused with antelope.  However, true antelope are only distantly related to pronghorn – they aren’t even in the same family.  True antelope are Old World mammals that belong to the Bovidae family.  Antelope have unbranching horns that are made of keratin, grow on a bony core, and never shed.

Blackbuck antelope.  (Photo credit:  http://vijaycavale.blogspot.com)

True old world antelope. (Photo credit:  http://www.indianwildlife.org/India-Antelopes.html)

Pronghorn, on the other hand, belong to the Antilocapridae family and are only found in North America.  All the other species in this family are extinct, so they don’t have any close relatives.  The pronghorn horn consists of an outer sheath of hairlike substance that grows around a bony core.  This sheath is shed every year.

Hairlike sheath. (Photo credit: https://skullsunlimited.com/record_species.php?id=3779)

  

When Lewis and Clark first explored the western United States in 1805, more than 35 million pronghorn wandered the plains.  By 1900, their numbers had plummeted to only 13,000. New protections and stricter hunting regulations allowed their population to bounce back to about 750,000 animals today.

Gobliny pronghorn

Ode to Maps

I have a terrible sense of direction.  Seriously, I can still get lost driving around my hometown or if I hike too far back into the goblins!  It’s super embarrassing and pretty unfortunate, especially considering my favorite activities are hiking around a remote desert, exploring Asian cities where I can’t read the road signs, and busting out on long road trips.

To compensate for my mediocre skillzzz, I’ve developed a fetish for maps.  All kinds – atlases, 7.5s, Trails Illustrated, the flimsy ones in Lonely Planet books, etc.  I can easily dink around all afternoon on Google Earth.  Playing around with these maps has made my sense of direction a little better, but it's still not effortless or intuitive.  Basically, if I’m discombobulated I can usually whip out a map and compass and crunch my way out of a tight spot.  (Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Jordan has a bombproof sense of direction!)

Goblin Valley from Google Earth.  Sweet, eh?

My latest map obsession is National Geographic TOPO -- a computer program Jordan got me for my birthday.  Basically, the software contains 7.5 maps for the entire state of Utah.  You can zoom in and print off maps for the specific area where you’ll be hiking.  I’ve also been messing around with the “route” feature, which lets you draw out your course to see total mileage and an elevation profile.  My favorite is the 3D flyover, which gives you a sneak preview of your hike as it zooms through the mountains and canyons of your route.

Screenshoot of Little Wild Horse / Bell Canyon hike:  3D flyover, topo, and elevation profile.

A feature I haven’t used yet is synching the route with a GPS.  You can map a route on the software, then load it to your handheld GPS.  It also works in reverse – you can take waypoints during your hike, then upload it into the software.  (“Oh!  That’s where I was!”)  So that brings me to my GPS dilemma.  I’ve been holding off on buying a handheld GPS forever, partly because I was worried it would become a crutch and an excuse not to build up solid map skills.   That was probably true a few years ago, but now I think I’m decent at reading maps.  A GPS could also come in handy in an emergency.  And -- let's not lie -- I want to play around with this software!

So now I’m scoping out GPSs and reading lots of reviews.  Do any of you own a GPS that you really like?  Any good/bad/ugly reviews?

Capitol Reef

Spring in the desert is bipolar.  It seems like the weather is either fantastic or awful, and we had both this weekend.  The forecast looked a little dicey, but what the hell -- we loaded up our gear and drove south to Capitol Reef National Park.  Capitol Reef is one of my favorite parks in Utah.  I'm not sure why it doesn't get the same hype as Arches, Bryce, and Zion.  It has so much going on -- soaring rock cliffs, epic backpacking trips, rock art, historic orchards, and PONIES.  Love it.

Capitol Reef cliffs

Orchards in bloom

Did I mention ponies?

Hitchhiker :)

Today, however, Capitol Reef greeted us with a lovely mix of snow and rain.  Eh.  Instead of braving the elements, we spent a snazzy town day in Torrey.  We hung out with Cody and his dog at Backcountry Outfitters, then grabbed lunch and chocolates next door at the Red Desert Candy Company.  It was cold that night too, so we curled up inside the teardrop trailer.  Jordan built the teardrop a couple years ago, and it makes winter camping soooo much nicer.  I'm an unabashed wimp when it comes to cold, and it's nice to cozy up inside a little fort when the temperature drops.

Little Red and the Teardrop

The next morning was sunny and warmer, so we hit the trail.  We hiked the loop around Chimney Rock, which showcased a cacophony of colors and towering cliffs.  The trail takes you up high enough to see soaring vistas, but it isn't a lung-buster.  Great way to start the season.

Chimney Rock Loop

In the beginning ...

Whoa baby -- it's the first official blog entry!  Jordan and I live in the red-rock deserts of southeast Utah, and we thought it'd be fun to write about our adventures.  Get ready for lots of posts about hiking, backpacking, rafting, cycling, and mountain biking.  (Yup, I'll probably use the word "epic" way too much.)  We might also write trail descriptions, gear reviews, and naturalist blurbs.  Red team, go!

Colorado Daily with the ducky

Cycling near Castle Valley

San Juan Mts.

Farnsworth Canyon

Engineer Pass

another ducky extravaganza!