Bikepacking & 24hr Racing

Our flight from SLC touched down around 5pm, almost two hours behind schedule. Not a big deal, but now I knew I'd be scrambling to get all my bikepacking / 24hr race gear packed up before my scheduled departure at 9am the following morning.

First up, swing by ASU to grab Seron's SPOT tracker. He was gracious enough to let me borrow it since he had to forgo the event this year. His knee has been giving him fits and the time has come for the big fix. Heal up my friend, I'll hopefully provide some good ride stoke while you're off the bike. This also left me with an opening for our duo team, in step Caroline. She was looking to get in on the fun and attend her first 24hr event. I knew I'd have to hold my own, she's a 2-time vet of the Tour Divide afterall, most recently completing it on a tandem with her boyfriend, Kurt.

Next order of business, pick up a pizza, not only for dinner, but for some glorious trail leftovers the following day!!

Pizza in hand, finally at home. It's now 7pm. I contacted Phil to see how late I could drop some supplies off, 9pm was the answer. Ok. Mad scramble ensues, pack the cooler & don't forget the jug of chocolate milk!! Extra clothes & a sack of food and I'm out the door at 8:35p. I'd be meeting Phil at 24hr town sometime Friday after he lands a camping spot for the race. I continue to round things up at home until 11p, then call it a night. I have to get some quality zzzz's. I'll pack the bike in the morning.

I'm up at 6:30a, making all my final preparations & loading the bike. 9a rolls around quickly, then I get a text from Tim, my bikepacking partner in crime, that's he's running a little late. That's great news! I tell him to take his time, so I can relax & re-check my bike one more time. Tim doesn't own a car, so he rode his rig, a rigid singlespeed (SS) from Tempe to my house out in Queen Creek. A nice 24 mile warm-up if you will.

Tim arrives and we're ready to go. I say my farewell's to K and we begin our 97 mile trek to 24hr town on 95% dirt. Gotta love that.

Tim and I getting set to push off.

We head south from my neighborhood to the San Tan Regional Park, blowing right past our turn at Hunt Hwy because we were chatting too much, we briefly chat with a new mountain biker at the trailhead who was curious to what we were up to. Even with a 49lb bike & 20lb pack the Dynamite trail climb is nice. We hit the fun flowy section of San Tan Trail soaking it all up as this would be our only singletrack of the day. I was keeping my eyes peeled for the Shaka Cactus and before we knew it we not only missed the cactus, but our turn onto the Rock Peak Trail. This 'trail' is really just a mile Hike-a-bike (HAB) in a sandy wash. At the end Tim dumps out his shoes which have filled with sand through the two massive holes by his toes.

We exit the park and begin a series of jeep road connectors along the parks southern end. A few steep ups/downs are thrown in here to keep it real along with navigating a vague area that is tough to follow even with a GPS track! Tim's tire doesn't want to completely seal and we stop a few times to fill 'er up.

A little trailside maintenance.

Such a beautiful day to ride through the desert.

We pop out near an abandoned luxury home sub-division and I recall an overly aggressive dog chasing me last time through this area so we opt to go around the house in question. We're now cruising on a 4x4 road and I'm mentioning how nice it was to find an opening in the fence ahead connecting this road to the Hunt Hwy. Gah! The fence has been repaired! Of course it's barbed wire, but thankfully not too tall. We scramble over the fence thanks to a well placed wooden support and we're back on our way.

After a very short stint on the shoulder of the Hunt Hwy, we turn south again. This area, while close to Hunt Hwy, has the feel of being hundreds of miles from civilization - except for the trash here and there. It's a vast open area of desert with a few dirt roads cutting across the arroyos.

Somewhere along this stretch we started chatting about our lunch stop in Florence, this soon became our obsession as we dreamed about a smooth vanilla milkshake or McFlurry!! Ride on, lunch is near. We paralleled Hunt Hwy once more on a dirt frontage road then found our way over to the smooth banks of an irrigation canal. Word of advise here: when approaching Florence, stay on the south side of the canal, this will keep the canal between you and a few protective dogs!! A quick traverse of the dry Gila River bottom and McD's was in sight.

We found an outside table conveniently located next to an outlet. My GPS was running on my short-life battery & was in need of a charge. Tim ran in for some grub & I held down the fort just as two extended vans full of high school kids pulled in. Looks like my milkshake will have to wait a bit longer as I was now behind about 25 orders!

Thankfully McD's put a few employees on the HS kids order & mine was up in no time at all. We chilled for a bit enjoying our cravings, topped off our water with tons of ice and hoped that my GPS got enough juice to get me to a good camping spot.

The next portion of our ride would also serve as more route scouting for my Salty-Gila Tour as I still needed to validate the track from Florence out to the Diversion Dam. Tim and I found out quickly that my drawn in route was a no-go as the canal path was fenced in with plenty of warnings to keep out. Reluctantly we made our way over to the Florence-Kelvin Hwy, but not before a fella in a mini-van from Oregon warned us to watch out for the feds who patrol the area. We weren't too far away from the prison and I'm sure they don't think too kindly of people roaming around. We appreciated the heads-ups and were on the F-K Hwy before too long.

Just keep pedaling.

The highlight of the F-K Hwy, watching a red-tailed hawk take flight from a saguaro.

The golden hour creeps in over the Gila River Canyons.

Blah, on pavement, rough pavement to boot and just uphill enough to keep you cranking away. I felt like we'd been riding for hours, 10 miles, 12 miles, then we finally hit dirt. Another mile or so ticked by and the sun was getting low. We stopped to consult with the GPS to see how much farther our turn off towards the AZT was. Our best guess put it at roughly 7 miles, not close enough to make it by nightfall. Time to find a camping spot. We looked up and there was a 4x4 track across the road, it looked promising.

Promising indeed. Tim was looking for some trees for his hammock, boom! Palo Verdes. I needed a small clearing for my tent, boom! Open flat area. Even the GPS battery made it all the way! Time to re-charge.

'X' marks the spot for our campsite.

Just enough time to set up camp.

The fireball exits, replaced by howling coyotes under a starry sky.

Really diggin' my 1-man tent setup.

Now, how's that for relaxing in the desert!

We cooked up some dinner & settled in for the night, early for a change. We could hear an occasional vehicle dry past on the F-K, but traffic is minimal at best anyway and soon I was asleep.

The next morning Tim mentioned how a couple of coyotes had wandered into camp to 'check out' his bike! I never heard them, but they were spooked off quickly.

We took our time getting moving, not hitting the F-K until sometime shortly after 9:30. We wanted to be in 24hr town well before sunset and we only had about 45 miles to get there. Back on the F-K, we were met by a stiff headwind and I was thankful only a few miles remained until our turnoff to the south.

Very cool area with a giant boulder field, to bad we couldn't access it.

More of the endless slightly uphill F-K Hwy.

We plodded along into the headwind and came upon a cow who meandered onto the wrong side of the fencing. She kept looking at us as we approached, then would take off ahead up the road. Herding cattle via bikepacking!! The game continued for a good 1/2 mile until we crested a short climb, then she had enough shoulder for us to pass by. That's one cow that had a good workout!

Finally off the F-K Hwy, through a gate and onto a powerline road that would eventually lead us onto the AZT. First we would come upon a vague double track that Seron and I had scouted for our Ripsey loop a couple of years ago, I had us going that way, but decided to not make the turn as that route has some bushwacking. Opting instead for the more direct (read: boring) powerline route. The entire time spent under the high tension lines was interesting to say the least, any time I bumped my brake lever I would get shocked! Zap! Some serious juice flowing over our heads.

We connected up with the AZT, followed the powerline a couple more miles, passed by Ripsey Ranch and made the turn onto a super fun flowy section of AZT: The Boulders.

Dwarfed by the landscape.

Great to be back on singletrack!

Our first glimpse of Antelope Peak.

A slick counter-balanced gate.

Tim riding with the boulders.

We found a nice shady spot for lunch, then cruised through the Boulders segment up to the Freeman Rd water cache.  Rule #1 when stopping at a water cache: check all your water levels!! I didn't and would run out on the final mile into 24hr town!! I did top off my bottle with a fresh batch of CR333! There were still plenty of gallons remaining in the cache from the Gila100 a few weeks prior.

Freeman & Willow Springs Rds traveled quickly, we were getting close, all we had left was the infamous Painter Boy connector & trail.

I've now traversed Painter Boy a few times & it's really starting to grow on me. I like the primitive feel of the trail & surrounding area, plus it's always a bit fun when you have to break out your route finding skills!!

We successfully navigated the turn-off from Willow Springs Rd & the subsequent sandy wash. Next was getting through this barbed wire fence. Leave the bike at the metal pole, walk down 100ft & find the one strand of wire that has been cut to allow passage.

This is the next section of 'trail'. Probably the toughest part to navigate as the branches are sharp & thorny, plus the track gets more vague.

My bike waiting for my safe passage.

Not everything survives Painter Boy, including my GPS battery: dead. Time to continue the route on my phone.

We found our way onto the Painter Boy singletrack, but one more obstacle remained. This barbed wire fence has a nice sized gap at the bottom that allows both bike & rider to squeeze under!!

Beautiful raw desert. We're getting close now!

Tim yelled back 'I see riders!!'. People were out pre-riding the 24hr course and we were about to join them for the last 1/4 mile climb up to the saddle before the fun descent into 24hr town. It was our first encounter with other riders since we left my house the day before.

We entered the course and immediately the pre-riders began passing us and looking quizzically at our rigs. We'd get a lot of that. Just as I was cresting the saddle a familiar rider blew by me, Krista Park, our semi-resident mountain biking rockstar. I yelled hello to her and she stopped to ask what I was doing & where did I come from. I laid out our route for her and she simply replied 'You know those aren't base miles, right?' We laughed about it and then she was off.

The saddle of the High Point trail, all downhill into 24hr town from here.

I rolled down into the sponsor area to the registration tent and picked up the race packet for Caroline and myself. Tim and I had made it and we were off to find our camping spots for the race. More odd looks came my way as now the area teemed with riders. A few people asked where I came from with all that gear, most were amazed at our trek and a few were bummed they didn't think to do the same!

The day was growing short and I had to track down Phil since he had all my food/extra clothes. I also needed to get in touch with Caroline as she would be arriving very late that night. Before Sunday's race end I also needed to find Steve, he was my ride home!! All this with a cell phone with very limited 'at best' coverage in remote areas, sheesh. Luckily, I stumbled into Chris, a friend from Prescott who's 14 yr old daughter was racing - how cool! He let me use his phone & I was able to meet up with Phil and setup a meeting time with Caroline. All was good. Time to set up camp & eat!!

This year it was just Phil and I camping out, way up in the bleacher seats if you will. Last row in tent city. It was all good. I was able to get everything set up and kick back in a chair with a cold one as the sun was going down...perfect.

The sun sets over 24hr town.

We turned in early, I think I was asleep by 9p. Sometime around 1:30a a couple of neighboring yahoos decided to get into a shouting match for about 15 minutes. Thanks fellas. I tossed & turned over the next few hours never falling back to sleep. Daybreak came, the camp began to bustle, I did feel rested, let's GO!

Race Day!!

I made my way down to the vendor area and picked up a huge breakfast burrito, complements of Tim - Thanks!!  On my way down to meet Caroline I found Steve, that was a relief, everything had come together. Caroline and I met up and we mapped out our 'strategy', I would start, then we would alternate laps until Noon on Sunday. Ride, have fun, done.

The start of this event is pretty nutty. They march you back at least a 1/4 mile to a Le Mans style start, running back to the start tent to find your bike. I opted to lightly jog after the starting gun went off, this gave me ample time to swipe a beer from the rowdy bunch offering them to the starters! Carb loading at its best. I hopped on my bike & was off. The start of lap 1 on the course is a bit different too, they re-route everyone onto a service road, bypassing the first section of singletrack in order to keep the masses safe.

We weren't a 1/2 mile into the race and someone was already changing a flat tire! Must've been from CO!! The course is fun, sort of bow-tie shaped and a nice mix of jeep roads & singletrack. There are two options on the course, the first is to stay on the gasline portion, affectionately known as 'the bitches' for it's repeated fall-line undulations, or take the 'skip the bitches bypass' a nice singletrack line (slightly longer & tougher to pass people). The other option is at the rock drop just before the exchange tent. A crowd usually gathers on the rock waiting for carnage or you can bypass the drop all together.

The rock drop.

I had to take the Bitches on lap 1, the bypass doesn't open until 3p, and passed a bunch of people on the short steep climbs. The wind was really ripping, but you didn't notice it over the first few miles. Then you made a sharp left turn and BAM!! Wind in your face. Whoa, this was going to be interesting. The Corral Trail peels off to the right and the wind wasn't much of a factor, but turning onto the Rattlesnake Trail it was back in full fury. This 2-3 mile stretch would be my hardest part of each lap, it's slightly uphill anyway, through a nasty headwind and I could feel the power getting sucked from my legs. I really needed to pace myself through here.

 Lap 1 is all about being patient, so many people are en route you're bound to get stuck in a conga line at some point. There were a couple slow times, but all in all lap 1 was cruising by. I was on the final climb to the saddle, behind a girl wearing a 'cog snob' racing kit, made me chuckle a bit as I passed by. Lap 1 in the books, Caroline made the hand-off and she was gone.

The routine in between laps would be almost the same, charge the GPS after each lap, chug chocolate milk, make a new bottle of Gu or Carborocket, get something to eat and just chill for a bit. Caroline zipped around quickly and I was back out for lap 2 before I knew it.

Lap 2 was my best lap, the crowds were being spread out and the fast riders had yet to come around to lap me. The wind was still stiff on the backside of the course, but I made good time through it. After making the exchange with Caroline I stopped by the Arizona Trail tent & was offered a shot of tequila with key limes, this is my kind of race!! Next up was a plate of chicken street tacos & lemonade. I went over to Kurt & Caroline's camping spot just below the rock drop to eat & watch the racer's zoom by. Kurt and Aaron were teamed up in a duo shooting for the top spot on the podium.

I made my way back up to the tent to change & found Phil packing up to leave. He said he had enough of all the rude riders out there, practically running him off course, so he was done. Damn. It's too bad people can't just enjoy riding their bikes, I suppose I've been lucky to have a positive experience at these events. I did ask Phil to leave his water for me, since I was a dope & didn't top off back at Freeman Rd. Now it was just me and my tent getting set for a cold hopefully not-so windy night. I better bundle up.

Love my Osprey pack, only needed it for the bikepack though.

Time to prepare. Long John's, recovery socks, ski socks over-top, knee warmers, arm warmers, glove liners, lobster mitts, neck warmer & ski mask!! I wasn't getting cold. In fact I had to drop the glove liners early on due to my fingers going numb, too much pressure on the grips with all that material. In the end I was comfortable all night.

It was almost 6p when I went out for my third lap, lights affixed on the bike & helmet I sped out into the blinding sunset. This time the bypass was open, so I went for it. I made about 3 turns, looked down, an gasped, Gah!! No GPS!! It had fallen off. Noooo! I was getting ready to send the unit back to Garmin for a replacement as soon as I received a bonus at work the following week. I really couldn't afford a brand new one. I jammed on my brakes, made sure the coast was clear, then rode backwards to the course split. I ditched the bike & jogged back up the trail to a couple of rough sections that surely caused the unit to dislodge. I asked racers as the sped by if they saw a Garmin on the ground, but 'no' was the answer each time. I saw a course volunteer up ahead and he asked if I was looking for a GPS? Hell yeah I was. Trail karma indeed.

Back at my bike I made sure the GPS clicked into the mount, I'm guessing my handlebar lights prevented that in the first place. I settled back into the ride, still blinded by the horizon hugging sun. Soon twilight was upon us and the lights came out. Night riding is so much fun, I really need to do more of it. Somewhere about 1/2 way around the course my handlebar lights started to flicker on & off. I had them on 'low', so I knew the battery wasn't overheating. Full darkness settled in and my flickering became worse. I tried different settings and it would be good for a bit then start up again. What a pain. At least my helmet light was working great. I was really concerned that my lights would be flickering at one of the check points and I'd get grief for not having two functioning light sources. This didn't happen and I made the exchange with Caroline some 20 minutes slower than lap 2.

The only thing I recall on Lap 4 was my finicky handlebar lights. They were good for the first 15 minutes of the lap, then fhe flickering commenced. I switched over to medium setting for a while, then that began a random strobe effect!! I was getting really frustrated by this and let it consume me the entire lap. By the time I was on the final climb I talked myself into stopping by the Light & Motion tent to rent a set for the next two laps! My legs were starting to feel the effects of our bikepacking ride as I was now closing in on a 2 hour lap time. I made the exchange with Caroline and started my in between lap routine.

I went to the Light & Motion tent to see if they had any more lights for rent. One of the guys rounded up the last set from the back of the tent! A few signatures and $40 later I was back in business. I left just after midnight for lap 5 with a renewed attitude. I could just ride, knowing that my lights would not play head games with me. Early into the lap on the bypass I was treated to one of the most magnificent moon sets I have ever seen. The moon was a healthy crescent shape sitting just above the horizon immediately in front of me, but it was turning a deep crimson almost blood-red. If I had a tripod & DSLR I would've stopped, it was that cool. Fueled by lunar stoke I pushed it through to the Rattlesnake Trail where, thankfully, the winds began to die down. My legs were still feeling heavy, so I decided to take a few 1-2 minute breaks along the backside of the route. This really helped me, just not my lap times. Somewhere on the bottom of the last climb my GPS died, these short battery lives were really bugging me, I can't wait for a replacement. I made the exchange with Caroline once again and tried to figure out what to eat.

It was 2:15a and although my legs were a bit heavy, I felt good. Each lap I chugged some chocolate milk before eating anything. I then ate a bunch of fruit along with my tuna pouch & gloriously salty potato chips! I couldn't get enough of them. I wasn't the least bit sleepy, so off I went for lap 6. This time I used my Strava app on the phone & left my Garmin at the charging station.

I was a couple minutes late to the exchange tent as Caroline had finished up another nice lap. What a partner! I left just before 4a and after my scheduled stops out on course I rolled back into the exchange tent at 6a, a 2:12 lap! Somewhere out on course the sleep monster found me, I needed a little shut eye. Caroline took off and I made a bee-line to the tent. I could see daybreak approaching so I wanted to lie down before it was too bright. I must have dozed off quickly because the next thing I knew it was light outside!! Crap. What time is it? 7:10a, whew. Ok, I have to eat something, but I'm just not feeling it. I managed a fruit squeeze & some grapes. I changed out of my layers for what I had now declared my last lap. I was done.

In the exchange tent we discussed our strategy once more on how we wanted to finish the race as one member has to be on course at noon. It was now 8a and I figured another 2 hour lap for me, but Caroline could push it a bit to get either one of us another lap after that. I told her this was it for me, she was free to do 1 or 2 laps if she wanted. She said she'd do one more, so I went out for one last spin.

Maybe it was the sunlight or the shedding of layers, but as I got going around the course I was feeling pretty good. I even skipped a couple of the stops I had been making. I was grinding up the final climb when I noticed I was behind 'cog snob' again, at the exact same spot!! I said 'hello' as I passed her and mentioned that I had seen her here almost 20 hours earlier!! We laughed a bit and I went on to complete the lap in 1:45. I think Caroline was surprised to see me back so soon! She took off and I went to round up my camera for a couple of action shots.

About 1/2 through the course it gets very close to the start/finish area, so I went over to catch Caroline coming through, but I missed her. Instead I caught Kurt flyin' by on his 10th lap!!

Each year this tree is donned with Whiskey, this year also had combs (cacti removers) hanging from it.

Caroline cruising through lap 7.

Heading down towards the exchange tent.

Caroline finished lap 7 around 11:30a and without hesitation said she'd go back out for #8! She took off and I went back to the tent to change. Her last lap would give us a total of 15, how would we stack up? She crossed the finish line at 1:05p, one minute ahead of the next co-ed duo team putting us in 9th place out of 29 teams. Woohoo! See our lap times here. Thanks for being such a great teammate. Hopefully I can get that elusive 8th lap on a duo team soon.

Home stretch, completing lap 8!!

I packed up my gear & re-located over to Steve's camp before heading home from an incredible 4 days of riding. I'd definitely do this again, perhaps taking a slightly more scenic route down to the event and leaving time to ride home as well. I better train a bit more before that happens.

Final stats for the 4 days:
213.3 miles
13,416 ft of elevation
12,496 calories burned

One of the funniest things was having complete strangers come up to me in between laps and ask if I was the guy who rode to the event from Queen Creek. Yep, that's me.

Cheers!

Word.

Skiing Shred: Park City, UT

I finally get to blog about a ski outing, how exciting!! I don't want to dismiss the mountain biking posts, but I did get into mountain biking to stay in shape for skiing many moons ago. However, living in the Sonoran desert makes my ski days a bit more involved than hitting the plethora of local riding trails. I can at last feel a sense of relief over using my screen name: freeskier46, while I don't ski for free, I enjoy a variety of skiing: groomers, terrain parks, moguls, steeps & trees hence freeskier.

A few years ago our friends from Tallahassee suggested we take a ski vacation together, they wanted something different and knew I would know where to go for everyone's enjoyment. The ladies weren't going to ski or board, but Ray and his son, Blaine, were going to give it a crack. Keep in mind both are very fit as they run a TaeKwonDo facility in Tallahassee. This would be their first real experience with snow country, so   we picked a place that had plenty of other winter related options. Park City, UT was the choice.

We found what appeared to be a really nice condo practically within walking distance to the PC lifts. We all hoped it was as nice in person as the description/reviews/photos indicated.

Another nice aspect of flying standby sometimes is being able to pick whatever flights you want based on other's plans. We waited to get our friends' itinerary then listed on flights that would get us to SLC a bit earlier so we could have the rental car all ready to go when they arrived. Both of our flights went smoothly and soon we were cruising up Parley's Canyon on I-80e towards Park City.

Nice to be back in snow country.

Before we checked into the condo, Ray had set up a meeting with an old high school friend he hadn't seen in over 25 years. It was cool seeing two old buds re-connect over the years, Randy also lives in the area now so he was able to share a little local knowledge with us re: restaurants, etc.

After lunch we eventually made our way over to the property managers for check-in. I have to say, the condo exceeded all of our expectations. Very nice layout, outside atrium with ski storage, 3 levels, upscale furnishings & decor and a gas fireplace. We instantly felt at home.

Atrium.

Outdoor ski storage.

Great relaxing spot.

Plenty of flat screen TV's as well.

Cool sink in the powder room.

Spacious kitchen.

Plenty of room to eat in.

A work center in the loft area.

Our bedroom for the stay.

Single bed in a hallway nook.

The master suite.

The unit was only a 100 yards or so from the free Park City shuttle bus, so getting around town was really easy if we didn't feel like driving.

I was anxious to get to sleep as the following day would be my first day back on skis in 2 years!! How would my mountain biking legs/lungs hold up?

I slept well, rose early and headed out to the bus stop. I'd be going solo on this day as Ray & Blaine opted for some snowmobiling & zip lining. I purchased my lift ticket a few weeks earler online & saved $90 over the window price. I stood in line just before 9a & was on the 4th chair of the day. I started off with a nice groomed blue run, felt good. Second run was much longer, still blue, but my legs felt the burn after a good 3 mile run down the mountain. I mixed in a few more blues and I was beginning to get complacent, kind of just going through the motions, then I made the call to head over to Jupiter lift and tackle the FUN stuff! Jupiter services only double-black runs and personally are my favorite. I enjoy the steepness, the challenge of the tree runs, the lack of people and the generally better snow. Jupiter did not disappoint, I did 4 runs before taking a break for lunch. Just what I needed.

Almost GO-time!

Light snow falling all morning.

A short ridgeline hike up to more goodness.

I love the serenity of the trees.

Clouds begin to lift exposing the valley below.

I ate some fantastic leftover cold pizza for lunch then headed back out kind of in tour mode the rest of the day. I hadn't skied Park City since 1995 & I really didn't know the lay of the mountain. Since my last visit they replaced the gondola and I think they added the Town lift. The runs that serve the Town lift take you directly to the heart of old town Park City, skiing right over the road. Slick.

I had been recording the day on my phone via the Strava app, very similar to having a GPS, but my phone was only at 70% charge & I hoped it would last the entire day. It didn't quite make it, konking out around 1pm, but by then I had 17k feet of elevation gain, I estimate that I finished the first day with 25k & 21 or so runs down the mountain. I'd be sure to fully charge my phone for the next 2 days!

Old Town.

One of the many old mining relics, and ore tower paralleling the ski lift.

End of the line.

By the end of the day my legs were toast, feeling really heavy, I was beginning to question my remaining plans for my vacation week!! Those included 2 more days of skiing, then a 2-day bikepack followed by a 24hr mountain bike race. Hmmm.

I opted to walk back to the condo in my ski boots instead of taking the shuttle on the full circuit through town, I only had to go back one stop. The walk ended up not being the wisest of choices. Ski boots aren't the most comfortable thing to begin with & even in 'walk' mode my toes were getting jammed in the front of my boot. I've had a history of losing my right big toenail after skiing, I'd hit a jump and not quite land properly and smash my toe into the boot. No jumping today though, but I could tell my toenail wasn't going to feel good the next day.

That evening the 5 of us went for a sleighride dinner. It was cold out, but the evening was perfect. Great food & great company.

Transportation to dinner.

K and I staying toasty by the fire.

Our entertainment for the evening.

Back out to the cold!!

We got an early start on Monday, sore toe and all. I met up with Ray & Blaine down in rentals to make sure they were all square before their big day on the hill. I would meet up with them for lunch after their 1/2 day lessons. I started my Strava app on the phone & hit the slopes.

It was much sunnier this morning so I immediately went to the top of McConkey's lift to get some pics.

Up top, backside of McConkey's.

Nice clear morning for a ridgeline hike.

Trails were pretty empty all morning.

My kind of corduroy.

I made my way down to the base area to look for Ray & Blaine, I was anxious to hear how their morning went. I found Blaine first and he immediately said his day was done, just plain whooped!! He also suffered a decent leg bruise, so it was best he stay off it. Ray soon found us and he too was going to call it a day, but he was determined to get back out the following day. They both seemed to have a good time even though they were beat up a bit, but the first day out is always tough. It's all about staying positive and having a good time although you're constantly picking yourself up off the snow. Way to go guys!

After lunch I headed back out and met up with Ray's friend, Randy, for a couple of runs. He showed me a few lesser known trails that had really nice flow. He even waited for me as I detoured down a double-black tree run before heading home himself.

More of the rich mining history right on the trail.

I saw that Park City had a Nastar race course and I've been trying to get a medal from any resort that has a course. Essentially, you race 2 runs against the clock and are handicapped into your age group. I've never raced in an organized fashion, but the past couple of years I've found it a fun challenge to see if I could get a racing medal. I've been good enough so far to nab bronze's & one silver. It's also amusing to see me racing a slalom course on twin-tip park skis!! It was getting late this day, but I'd be back on day3 to get my two runs in.

View from Motherlode Meadows.

A view of the golf course that was right out our patio door of the condo.

Our condo is near the center.

I was smarter this day, I drove over to the resort and my sore toe thanked me. My legs were feeling much better than after the first day and that re-newed my hope for the rest of the week. My phone also lasted the entire day, so I was able to record the full day on the Strava app.

Our last day began and I was out on the chair a little after 9am. This day would be a relaxing cruise around the mountain re-visiting a few runs I really enjoyed and hitting a few others I didn't want to miss. I was going to meet the gang for lunch down at the bottom of the town lift around 12:30p. I did a few warmup runs then made my way over to the Nastar course. $7 gets you 2 runs and I like to take one run on each course. My first run down was on the green course & I snagged my bronze medal! Sweet. I went back up and did my yellow course run, but I don't think I lowered my time, so bronze it is. My medal tally is now one bronze from Park City, Telluride & Deer Valley and one silver from Sunrise Park here in AZ.

One of the snowboard adventure zones, best left for boarders.

I checked the time, just enough for a quick lap up on Jupiter before lunch...if I hustle. I pulled it off and made my way all the way down to town just in time for lunch.

Ski right into town.

Town lift complete with lift card scanners, no lift tickets anymore kids.

What is it about a good bowl of chili during your ski day? After lunch I scored a deal for Ray for a 1/2 day ticket from someone who bailed early. We set a meeting time of 3:30 at the top of Crescent lift and I was off to check out another tree run. First up was Black Forest off of McConkey's. What a fun run, steep up top with nice spacing of the trees, a mellow section followed by a super steep run-out with tighter trees. I don't ski these runs fast, rather pick my way through taking it all in. It's a relaxing adrenaline rush of sorts.

The old meets the new.

Top of Black Forest.

Lower Black Forest.

Next up was Blueslip Bowl, a more wide open pitch with some bumps. I'm not much of a bump skier, but I can get through them. They just wear you down so fast. I try and limit my mogul skiing to two runs per day. I like when the blue runs get bumped up, they are usually spaced really nice and not too rutted up. I made a few more runs then worked my way over towards the top of Crescent lift waiting for Ray.

When we met, I found that his rental ski bindings were not adjusted correctly causing his ski to come off at the slightest of resistance. Not cool. I made a quick adjustment and we were on our way.

Showing off his good form!

Looks like an 'ol pro!

Making our way down past the Snowed Inn.

Ray made it down from the top of this lift, nice work!!

Ray stuck with it and made it all the way down, he even got to witness my one fall of the weekend!! I always fall on green runs!! We saw another skier take off her skis and walk a section of trail and although I know Ray wanted to do that at times, to his credit he stuck to his guns and made it down. The first time up a big mountain can be very intimidating when you're unsure of your ability to control your speed & turns. In time your confidence grows and skiing really is just turning left, right & stopping. Hopefully Ray & Blaine will give it another crack someday.

Meanwhile the ladies had been bouncing around town enjoying themselves and found these hats:

BFF's

Our three days had come to an end, time to pack up for the trip back to the desert the following day. It was a great vacation to share with our friends from Tallahassee, I hope they weren't too cold!!

Here's the third day via GPS, kinda cool looking.
My best guess is over the 3 days I did 56 runs & nearly 70k in elevation. My legs felt good after the third day. Time to prepare for bikepacking.

Our only hiccup on the way home was our plane was delayed almost 2 hours, so I knew I had to hurry the pace at home as I still had to pack all my bikepacking gear, drop items off with Phil & pick up a SPOT from Seron. Check the next post for those dirty details....