2011 Wild Goose Chase

We were expecting some bad roads on the way to town for the Wild Goose Chase run, and it was a good thing we left early, because they were bad. Lots of blowing snow, drifts coming on to the highway, only one other vehicle in 90 miles of travel. Ninety miles on pavement, on a U.S. highway, and only one other vehicle. It was coming from the other direction, so at least I knew the roads were passable. Although it was 4WD. And after 20 miles I couldn't see it's tracks on the road anymore.

This is what I saw. The road conditions had deteriorated. No plows had been out yet, so we got to break trail with our 4 inches of clearance. Fun times. It got worse than this, but I didn't try taking a photo. And then Desert Boy had to pee. Trips are always an adventure with little kids!

Fortunately we made it in plenty of time to register and were astounded to see so many other crazy fools braving the snow storm for the opportunity to go run and get sore muscles.

They had a 5k and a 10k, and our group of seven from the valley participated in both. Here's Desert Boy at the finish. He said he wanted to run in the race, so I had him run while I warmed up in the parking lot.

Then we were off. I didn't get any starting photos or photos of the route, but fortunately Ben and Breanna got photos of the finishers.

Here's Jeremy, who came in second in the 5k. Actually, his dog came in second, so he came in third.

Christian was the first finisher for the 12 and under group. He ran in jeans, because that's what he always runs in. I'd really like to beat him, but I'm afraid he's going to get faster than I can get faster.

Here I come next to a poor guy who had pulled a muscle.

Chandra managed a big smile on her turn into the finish.

Here's Breanna skirting the puddles. There was still a cold north wind and snow falling most of the time, but it was warm enough to melt some of the ice on the ground. The biggest obstacle was the mud--part of the run was so muddy that I had to repeatedly kick the mud wads off my shoes.

The snow geese made a grand entrance flying overhead.

The kids had fun pushing Desert Girl's stroller around.

Then came the 10k finishers, with Greg checking his time at the finish.

Hector kept taking off layers as he ran. He won his age group for the 10k.

While the race organizers were busy compiling results, on the other side of the road people were gathering for Dunk, Dunk...Goose, a.k.a the Snow Goose Plunge.

For only $10, a person could heave his/her body into the frigid reservoir and get a t-shirt.

The t-shirt said "I got goose bumps at dunk, dunk...Goose."

Desert Boy tested the waters. He really wanted to swim, but I convinced him to wait until later, when we could go to the heated indoor pool.

But there were plenty ready to take the plunge right then. They all charged in.

Most then hurried out of the water.

But a few stayed and played for awhile. It made me so cold just watching them!

We went back to the Pavilion for the raffle prizes and also to hear the results. Our group gathered for a photo. It was really fun knowing other runners in the race.

I'm not sure of the official count, but there were probably more than last year's 150 runners/walkers.

Christian showing off his certificate.

Emma was a good sport, not minding the cold.

Photo shoot for the newspaper. I love the dog sitting behind them.

And photo shoot of our group again. We were delighted that everyone placed in their age group.
Next year we'll have to do it again, and maybe we can even recruit a few more people.

One of the perks was a nice shirt.

So thanks to everyone who helped sponsor the race! It was worth the long drive, crazy weather, and mud. And we did eventually find the Navajo tacos after the race, but we had to huddle in the van to eat because it had started snowing again and was too cold to stay outside. Maybe next year we'll get some warmer weather!

Your Most Important Gear for a Hike

(This is a post sponsored by The Clymb. Although I am being compensated for this post, all ideas and content are my own.)

What's your most important piece of gear you take with you or wear when you take a hike? Take a minute and think about your priorities. (Are you really taking a minute? How about 15 seconds? Okay, maybe just 5?) What hiking gear or clothing can't you leave behind? What is the deal breaker for you, something that if you don't have, you simply won't go out hiking?

Although I usually grab my backpack, water bottle, chapstick, camera, and sunglasses, I would have to say that I wouldn't even be going for a hike unless I had something for my feet. Long ago, I could go about anywhere barefoot. Summertime included the ritual of stubbing my toe at the public swimming pool, to which I walked barefoot, getting stung by a bee as I ran through a clover patch in the backyard, and not worrying about shoes at all.

Now I'm not so tough. I might tiptoe around the yard occasionally, but I live in the desert, where there are lots of poky, spiny, nasty plants (even around my not-so-well-manicured yard). If I venture further, I definitely need to have some foot protection. And if I want to go for a hike, I want some footwear that's going to be comfortable and keep my feet safe.

I get along well with my hiking boots. In fact, for a very early Fourth of July run, so early that I was clearly not thinking straight, I managed to arrive at the race start without my running shoes. They sat near my front door, forgotten in my early morning daze (some days I wish I drank coffee!). What was I to do? I was wearing flip flops, which clearly wouldn't be appropriate for a trail run. Fortunately I had my hiking boots with me, and they worked just fine for the race. I didn't have any blisters, sore spots, or other problems afterwards. That's when you know you have a really good hiking boot.

Finishing the run in my hiking boots. Photo courtesy of Sharon Conrad.

Maybe you already have your perfect hiking boot. If you don't, or you'd like to grab a deal on a new pair because yours are in imminent danger of wearing out, you might try www.TheClymb.com . This is an online retailer that offers deep discounts. I always like sales, and many of their prices are half off or even more. I couldn't resist and just ordered from them a couple weeks ago. I was so happy when the box with my shoes arrived. I smiled when I saw that the box said that it had been delivered carbon neutral. Why should that matter? Because when I go out hiking, I want to enjoy my outdoors, and when a company is environmentally responsible, that's one step towards a better world for all of us. If you need some hiking boots, or other gear on your top priority hiking list (or for that matter climbing or cycling or yoga gear), check out The Clymb.

Then head outdoors and enjoy a hike!

Spring Break in Southern Utah

The week before the kids' spring break, my brother and sister-in-law from Kentucky had their spring break and decided to come out West. We wanted to meet up with them since we don't see them often, so the kids got to take a couple days off school. After a successful dentists' visit, we headed up onto the Colorado Plateau to the Ponderosa Grove campground near Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park. It was a great somewhat primitive site, and although there were plenty of spots in the mid-afternoon, by the evening it had filled up.

The next morning, Desert Boy tried out his new guitar and entertained us during breakfast.

We also made use of the big ponderosa pines and put a rope up in the tree. Giacomo, an exchange student from Rome, got to try out a new technique and loved it.

Then it was off to the sand dunes. There were quite a few people there. I really like the rule of no ATVs before 10 am, as it gives you a chance to go out on the sand and not worry about getting run over.

The kids' favorite part was digging. They dug and dug, but still didn't make it to the bottom of the dune.

From there we went to the nearby Moccasin Mountain dinosaur tracks. We had visited a few years previous, but it's been developed a lot more, with a huge primitive camping area just off the paved road with a confusing network of roads, and then the road leading to the tracks was in better shape than I remembered. We enjoyed looking for dinosaur tracks.

With all the changes, it doesn't seem as remote a spot, and we shared it with a bunch of other people on a weekday morning.

It is just so cool thinking about dinosaurs walking along here millions of years ago!

We climbed up on the rocks and got a most awesome view of the rock layers. This place is gorgeous!

After a picnic lunch in Kanab, we went to Peekaboo (Red) Canyon. It turned out to be a great adventure to get there, on extremely sandy roads. We eventually made it in our 4WD pickup. Barely. We weren't sure if we were going to make it out, as it was slightly uphill. We decided not to sweat it and just enjoyed the slot canyon.

Desert Girl insisted on getting past this obstacle all on her own. She eventually found a technique that worked.

The red rock makes such a nice backdrop for photos! My niece wasn't feeling so great, so she might not remember much, but the photos prove she was there.

The slot narrowed enough in some parts to make it rather dark.

The canyon was rather short, about a third of a mile until we reached a 20-foot drop that we couldn't find an easy way up. So we turned around and headed back.

The drive out was a little eventful, with a patch of really deep sand we almost got stuck in. I don't think I'd go back in a 4WD full size vehicle. We could have deflated our tires to help, but ATVs are better vehicles to get out there.

Our next destination was Zion National Park. Zion's popularity has swelled, and they now receive over 4 million visitors a year. We were hoping that by going very late in the afternoon, we might be able to find some parking spots. We saw some bighorn sheep on our drive in from the east entrance.

And we found some parking at the Overlook Trail, a trail I hadn't done before. It's just one mile long each way, but it's a bit of an adventure hike, with some steep dropoffs.

It provided us with some challenges. And I was surprised how many other people we saw on the trail at the late hour. Apparently they were going to make the most of parking spots too!

We all made it to the overlook!

I knew of a fun off-trail hike on the other side of the road, but it turned out it was flooded, and no one wanted to wade in the cold water.

So we went up to the Zion Canyon entrance and found some parking there and got on the shuttle bus to go up to the Riverwalk. When we got off the shuttle, we found some turkeys and deer.

The Zion River was flowing high enough that no hiking through the Zion Narrows was permitted. That was okay with us, it was getting dark and the air and water were very cold! But we still found a rock to go stand on to be in the river a little!

That night we had camping reservations for Sand Hollow State Park, but we arrived at 10:04 pm and the gate closes at 10 pm and there's no getting in after that. (If we had known, we would have arrived earlier!). So we spent a very windy night at a BLM trailhead that we called our campsite for the night.   (All the hotel rooms within two hours drive were full.) None of us got much sleep, and Giacomo had to take the ACT the next morning. Hopefully he did okay! We played in St. George parks for awhile, my husband and I bought a new used van, and then we had lunch together before we parted ways. It was a fun trip. Southern Utah is very popular in the spring because the temperatures are great and it's so scenic. Although some spots are very crowded, there are places to get away from the crowds, they just take a little work to get to!