Mountain Biking the petrified sand dunes around Moab, Utah.
The body took a beating that first day!
Legs got trashed from biking the steep slickrock,,, up/down/up/down,
(plus a few wipeouts) so...
...went climbing for a couple days. Could belay right from the
car, and had great tunes (Mormon mostly) for inspiration. Did many self-belays
on a solo-device, anchored right to the bumper.... But
by end of second day, fingertips were burnt and blistered.
Time to find the river and go paddling....
Ha. Monument Valley, near Grand Canyon. Lookin' for
the river.
It's down there somewhere!!!
Ya! Found it! Nervous as hell, gettin'
ready to solo the Green River,
hoping to bail *before* it hooks up with the Colorado and dumps me
into
the mighty Grand Canyon!!!
No problem! Beautiful river! Half-mellow, half-wild!
Alternate stretches,,, whitewater,,,,, pool,,,, whitewater,,,, pool...
Could not ask for a better day!
Kickin' back during the mellow stretches,,, listening
for the roar of Whitewater!!!
Long flat stretch; time for a brew!
Remote Anasazi ruins in the cliffs along the river. I
wanted to camp near these
and meditate with candles at night, but the energy was way too
strong!
Hiking the slot canyons, snaking down to Lake Powell!
Getting tighter! This place was a hundred times more
beautiful than these pics can ever show!
Yikes! A hundred feet deep, and four miles into the
slot canyon!
Getting kinda' narrow. Where is the Lake???
Hope them t-storms don't happen!
One of the wildest places in the good 'ol US of A is the four corners
area in the desert southwest. Climbing, road- and mountain-biking,
whitewater, hiking, and incredible backpacking are everywhere. This
area is my all-time favorite spot in the lower 48.
Those three weeks I stayed mostly at the Lazy Lizard Hostel in Moab;
$6 a night in a bunkroom, or $3 to camp. They had a Hottub,
Barbecue, several picnic tables outside,,,, Awesome Hostel!!.
The big dilemma was,,, there is excellent free backcountry on the river
everywhere around Moab!!! It is all BLM land. Very few restrictions.
What a place! Great weather from fall through spring. Paradise!
page created by Tim Driskell in March '98