Be forewarned as Nordic Skiing is only for hardcores. No amount of experience skiing flawless Utah powder fluff can compare to the balance and agility required for descending a 45-degree slope with your quads a spazzin’ on a pair of edgeless, skinny sticks. Not to mention the amount of mental focus and poise needed for hitting a kicker with your heels flopping about as seen below.

Photo courtesy of Szymon Nitka

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The Colorado and Green Rivers divide Canyonlands National Park into 3 distinct districts, The Needles, Island in the Sky, and the Maze. Although each district of the park is adjacent to the next they are separated by hundreds of miles by road. The rivers and their tributaries have carved out innumerable canyons, dizzyingly vertical cliffs, and incredible panoramas.

The Needles district, named for its red and white needle-like pinnacles, offers sixty miles of interconnecting trails with most trails rated from moderate to difficult. To get to Chesler Park, leave you car at the Elephant Hill trailhead and descend into Elephant Canyon. Continue hiking for 3 miles over slickrock and dry gulches to reach the expansive meadow called Chesler Park.

Drop your pack at the campsite and take a breather while taking in the expansive views of the brightly colored sandstone spires that completely surround Chesler Park. Set up the tent and kick back with a worn copy of Abbey’s Desert Solitaire

Rise early to watch the sun cast all sorts of colors over the brightly colored pinnacles and head out to explore the expansive trail system that surrounds Chesler Park. Definitely check out the Joint Trail – a trail winding through a series of narrow and cavernous fractures in the rock.

Backcountry Permits for Canyonlands National Park

Make sure to secure a backcountry camp spot in advance if visiting the park during peak Spring and Fall seasons. Backcountry permits are required for all overnight camping and are obtained from the National Park Service here. As of fall 2009, backpacking permits cost a flat fee of $15 for a group of up to 7 people.

Best Season to Backpack into Chesler Park

Spring and fall are ideal times for backpacking into Chesler Park. Permits are more difficult to obtain at this time, so make sure to reserve a campsite at least a month ahead of time. Summers tend to be too hot and water sources are unreliable, but winter is an absolute stunning time to visit Chesler Park with the contrasts of the snow, blood red rock, and vivid blue skies. It is highly likely that you will have the meadow entirely to your self and have your choice of campsites. Winter days are usually comfortable and sunny, but you should be prepared for freezing conditions at night.

For an awesome guide to the trails around Canyonlands National Park (and the rest of Utah) – check out David Day’s Utah’s Incredible Backcountry Trails.

With excellent climbing and cheap and cozy camping – Maple is a great place for the weekend or a week long visit.

Rock Climbing Routes in Maple Canyon

Maple Canyon is by far one of the most unique places to sport climb in the US. The rock is made up of hundreds of thousands of cobbles – small rounded rocks from the size of marbles to basketballs that were all layered and smooshed together quite a few moons ago.

Maple has routes for every climber from chill, well-protected 5.8-5.10 routes in the Maple Corridor to crazy overhanging 5.13s in the Pipe Dream. Many of the routes are super long and you tend to have to touch several of the cobbles before finding the right ones making Maple an ideal place for endurance training. Check out a free topo of the area at Dr. Topo’s.

Camping in Maple Canyon

Maple Canyon has a forest service campground with 12 sites that run $8/night. The campsites are equipped with picnic tables, fire rings, and grills and are large and can accommodate several tents. There are pit toilets but there is no drinking water available.

It is sometimes difficult to get a campsite on weekends in the summer so it is advisable to try and make a reservation here. There are some primitive sites along the road before getting to the campground but have noticed that they have recently been numbered and unsure if that means they now require a fee.

Best Times to Visit Maple Canyon

Climbing season in Maple Canyon runs from spring to fall (and ice climbing in the winter). Fall and spring is essentially perfect in Maple Canyon. Summers can be hot but the Maple Corridor and Box Canyon offer some cool shade.

Directions to Maple Canyon

From Salt Lake City, head south on I-15 until you get to Nephi. Take exit #225 to Manti/Ephraim and travel east on Highway 132. Once in the town of Fountain Green take a right on 400 South and you should start to see some brown signs for Maple Canyon. Travel about 6 miles on this road until you see a sign and turn right on Freedom Road. Follow the signs all the way to the canyon.

Other Helpful Info

• Closest Wi-Fi – McDonalds in Ephraim (about 30 minutes away) Anyone have any better ideas?

• Closest Grocery Store – Fountain Green General Store (downtown Fountain Green)

• Showers – Burns Brothers Ranch and RV Resort (located 1 mile south of Fountain Green Utah on highway 132)

Hiking in the Uinta Mountains

The hiking and backpacking opportunities in the Uinta Mountains are nearly endless. Most trails run through high alpine forests and meadows and travel along mountain streams to secluded lakes or high mountain peaks. Backcountry permits are not required in the Uintas so backpacking, camping, and parking is free. For ideas on where to go see Hiking Utah’s High Uintas: 99 Day and Overnight Hikes (Regional Hiking Series).

Rock Climbing in the Uinta Mountains

The most popular and easily accessible rock climbing areas, Ruth Lake and the Secret Garden, lie alongside the Mirror Lake Highway. Ruth Lake is one of the most picturesque climbing spots in all of Utah with incredible views of several alpine lakes, the surrounding high peaks, and an occasional roaming moose. The area sport climbs offer a great variety of easier routes, classic 5.10’s, and more difficult 5.11’s. The nearby Secret Garden tends to be less crowded than Ruth Lake and offers a bit more difficult climbs up to 5.13a. Check out a free topo here.

Camping in the Uinta Mountains

Camping in the Uintas is surely a dirtbagger’s paradise. Camping is permitted outside of designated campgrounds as long as you camp within 300 feet of existing roadways and are at least a quarter mile from any pay campground, visitor center, or boat ramp. Basically, you can take any dirt road off of the main highways and be led to a plethora of free camp spots. The area is frequently overrun with ATVs so be careful about picking a camp spot close to an ATV trail. Some great places to find camp spots are off of the Mirror Lake Highway towards Christmas Meadows and the Whitney Reservoir.

Best Times to Visit the Uinta Mountains

Due to its high elevation, most roads do not open until early June. It is not uncommon to come across snowy spots well into July and August. August is the best time for backpackers, but late July and early September may also be good. Trails and roads are usually snow packed by late October.

Getting to the Uintas

Most popular hiking and rock climbing areas are located off of the Mirror Lake Highway. SR 150 runs from Kamas, UT to Evanston, WY and which is about 45 miles from Salt Lake City. Visitors must purchase a recreation pass to use the area. A $6 pass is good for 3 days and a week pass runs $12. Annual passes are available for $45 and the National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass works in the Uintas as well.

Somewhere in the middle of absolute nowhere Western Utah, in the most remote and desolate landscape the artist could find, is a unique earthwork installation called the Sun Tunnels.Completed in 1976 by American artist Nancy Holt, the Sun Tunnels consist of four gigantic concrete tunnels arranged in an “X” that are positioned in a precise configuration to channel the sun’s rays during the summer and winter solstice. The top of each tunnel is pierced with holes of varying size corresponding to the patterns of constellations with a tunnel for Draco, Perseus, Columba and Capricorn. The tunnels offer from the baking desert sunand once inside the tunnel the holes cast spots of sunlight into the dark tunnel in the form of the constellations and give the illusion of starting into the darkened night sky.

Summer Solstice at the Sun Tunnels 2009

A journey out to the Sun Tunnels for the 2009 summer solstice was definitely more of an adventure than we had anticipated. We had heard that the solstice brings quite a party to the Tunnels and definitely wanted to check it out, but long story short – the roads were all gone.

We hadn’t considered how one of the wettest springs in Utah history would have affected the unpaved roads out to the Sun Tunnels. I mean it is the desert. We had planned to get to the Sun Tunnels from Lucin and just south of town the road was impassible due to a river now raging though the middle of the road. Normally I would have attempted such river crossings but a huge Ford truck bailed and turned around right in front of us. The water was just too deep and of the consistency of quick sand and not worth the risk since the nearest tow truck was a hundred miles away or so. A quick look at the map and I thought I had outwitted the wash and found a way around. Back into Nevada and several miles of rough dirt roads later we ran into the craziest washed out road ever. With the sunset an hour away, we returned to Lucin defeated and in search of a camp spot.

With the sun about to set, I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. Just chilling in the ghost town of Lucin wondering where to go from here when all of a sudden a knight in a shiny high-clearance Tacoma came rising out of the dust. “Want to see the Tunnels?” the knight says. “Hell yeah,” says the weary, mud-caked travelers. We all packed in the Tacoma and headed off across the raging desert mud river and into the sunset to the smallest solstice gathering the Sun Tunnels have ever seen.

Directions to the Sun Tunnels

The Sun Tunnels are located in Utah’s Great Basin Desert west of the Great Salt Lake and not to far from the Nevada border. The best advice is to get a good map of Utah and get to the “town” of Lucin. Lucin appears on the Utah map giving it the illusion that it is a real town although Lucin is nothing more than an old railroad stopping point for steam engines. The last remaining residents of the area vacated in the early ‘90s leaving nothing but some old grain cellars, a phone booth, and some random nails and bolts.

Lucin can be reached from the north on Route 30 from Interstate 84 (near Snowville, UT) or from the south on Route 223 from Oasis, Nevada. From route 30 there is a sign to the Lucin cutoff. Travel south on the dirt road four miles to Lucin. From Lucin, continue south two and a half miles and then bear onto another dirt road traveling east for two more miles. At this point you should be able to see the Sun Tunnels. Take another right and then go one and half more miles to the Sun Tunnels. If you are looking for some serious adventure, you can travel 45 miles or so on unpaved roads from Wendover (just get yourself a good map and a high-clearance vehicle). Just finding the Sun Tunnels is definitely an adventure in itself and don’t forget to find a good BLM map of the area.

Salt Lake City’s BSTM brought in 110 racers on a foggy, blustery spring morning with ultra running superstar Karl Meltzer leading the pack.  The foothills looked a bit more like the green hills of Scotland than their high desert self.

The beauty of the Bonneville is that it is simple and free. You just show up at 7am (or even later if you would prefer) on race morning with a contribution for the aid stations or finish line, sign the clipboard, and simply run.  Racers are invited to run the whole marathon, the first loop (~11 miles or so), the second loop (~16 miles), or any combination of the two.

The trail was scantily marked – so familiarity with the trail system or keeping up with the pack was essential. The heavy fog, mist, and shoe sucking mud definitely added to this route finding adventure.

The aid stations were well stocked and manned by friendly volunteers and the finish held an assortment of GUs, sports drinks, Pabst, and donuts. The finish line was literally in a race volunteer’s driveway – thus contributing to the amazing community feel of this race.

As always, good things always seem to come to an end.  The day before the race, organizers were e-mailed by the Salt Lake City water department to tell them that they had found out about the event and that a permit was required to run a trail race on their land.  The water department allowed this year to proceed but informed them that they will need to apply for a permit for next year.  What a bummer.  Permits cost money and this is not what this race is about – and sadly this race may never happen again.

The trail race left no trace (except for muddy footprints on the pavement), built community among those who just simply like to run, and rebelled against the formal race culture – but will now need to conform or cease to exist.

Rock Climbing Routes at Lamoille Canyon

Lamoille Canyon is the largest valley found in the Ruby Mountains and was carved by several stages of glaciation.  The rock in is an odd blend of layered granite. Most of the routes in the canyon are short top rope problems, bolted sport climbs and a few mixed multi-pitch routes. The climbing potential of the area is just beginning to be explored and more difficult climbs are yet to be established. Since routes are currently being developed, please do not remove any equipment that exists on developing routes. Pick up a copy of the only guide to the area – the Lamoille Climbing Guide online or at Cedar Creeks Clothing downtown Elko (453 Idaho St). The guide will be updated as climbs are added to the area.

Climbing is not limited to sport climbing in Lamoille. Lamoille is thought to have the tallest ice climbs west of Colorado and a bit of bouldering too. Visit the ‘Boulder Garden’ across the road from the parking area for Sport Wall (1.1 miles from the canyon entrance).

Best Times to Visit Lamoille Canyon

Rock climbing season in Lamoille Canyon runs from late spring to until the snow falls in mid to late-fall. Mid summer may not be the most ideal time to visit Lamoille as many of the climbing areas are south facing and heat up fairly high during hot summer days. The access road into Lamoille Canyon closes in winter, so before planning a spring trip make sure the road has been open for the year.

Camping in Lamoille Canyon

The Thomas Canyon Campground has 40 sites, pit toilets, and water.  Sites at the Forest Service campground ran $8 a night in the 2008 season.  There are also a few primitive campsites found along the creek just down canyon from the campground.  Find primitive camping off the dirt road heading to Camp Lamoille.  For beers and eats check out O’Carrolls right” downtown” tiny, rural Lamoille, NV.

Getting to Lamoille Canyon

Lamoille Canyon is located in northeast Nevada on the west side of the Ruby Mountains. From I-80 in Elko, head south on the Lamoille Highway past the town of Spring Creek and turn right on the road to the Lamoille Canyon recreational area. The canyon is about 19 miles south of Elko.

(1) Free Camping Nevada

The Nevada tourism board wants you to visit its state so badly that it offers numerous free camp spots. Nevada recreation areas have many free camp spots with facilities. For example, Hickison Petroglyph Area offers toilets, garbage facilities, and fire pits with absolutely no fee. Did you know that Nevada has more BLM land than any other state? This means that more land is available for ‘boondocking’ – rustic, dispersed camping where leave no trace ethics are a must. Also, campsites with facilities at Great Basin National Park currently run $12 a night – one of the cheapest national park sites in the country. Check out www.campingguidenevada.com – for all the sweet camping deals.

(2) Great Basin National Park – another freebie

In an age of increasing recreation fees, Great Basin National Park still manages to have no entry fee. Great Basin is known for its 5000 year-old bristlecone pine trees, towering 13,000+ foot Wheeler Peak, and spectacular limestone Lehman caves. Great Basin in one of the most remote national parks in the country – the area is excellent for stargazing as its high altitude, clear skies, and remoteness make it one of the darkest places in the entire US.

(3) The Basin and the Range

Centered on the state of Nevada, the basin and range geologic province stretches from the Sierra Nevadas to the Colorado Plateau and makes up nearly all of Nevada. Basically there are hundreds of mountain ranges in Nevada – 313 named mountain ranges to be specific. Due to the stretching of the Earth’s crust, Nevada is nothing but alternating mountain ranges and valleys followed by more mountain ranges and valleys. Climbing, mountain biking, and backpacking potentials are just beginning to be explored.

(4) Oddities, Art, and Counterculture

It is no coincidence that the ultimate event in self-expression, Burning man, occurs every August in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada. Whether it be ancient rock art, massive earth work pieces (Michael Heizer’s work) or burning playa works of ultimate counterculture expressions – Nevada is a breeding ground for artistic expression.

(5) Utter Solitude

America’s Loneliest Road, Hwy 50, stretches the state of Nevada from the Utah border to Carson City, NV. From hidden hot springs to ghost town exploring and wild horse viewing to backpacking deserted peaks – this lonely road has much to offer. If solitude is what you are looking for, Nevada has much to give in terms of solace.