And drowned. I put a 2 gallon pail under my sink drain to capture the used water. Upon occasion I have emptied drowned mammals who crawled up the plastic side then fell into the drink. They can’t climb back out. I suppose they swim until exhaustion overtakes their last breath. Today Three bodies were poured out.
Yesterday I drove back down to town. I scored an appointment with a PA-C as a returning patient to discuss my unresolved gut issue. Decided not a hernia nor irritable bowel, it must be from constipation from eating this SIBO diet which is low in fiber. I’m bound up and so far I haven’t really cleared the tube. Whatever it is I still do not escape the discomfort. Grocery shopped, filled propane and water then drove out and up to Horse Thief area at around 5700′, town is 4200.
Horse Thief area has a BLM campground, lots of dispersed camp spots, and access to a trail net work. I drove past almost deserted camp ground to an exposed view spot up on the flat. Exposed to wind and views. It was empty. Pulled in. I thought I could ride a fast loop on Rodeo and arrive back at van before sunset. Chilly. Pedaled down past other camp spots while seeing just 2 campers back there. Picked up Rodeo loop which is 8.5 miles and 517′ of elevation change. Typical of this area of Moab trails with pieces of slick rock, mostly , and rolled firm sand. Really scooted around the loop to stay ahead of setting sun. Again, the joy of pedaling an almost zero degree engagement freehub. I know I pushed my heart but I had no data gathering tool as the EDGE had taken a holiday and was resisting rebooting. I spent about 45 mins attempting to bring it back to life and waiting for help desk call. EDGE came back to life. Made it back in the light.
Camp spot is exposed in all directions.
Stiff gusts during the night rocked me. Large surface area of van is a wind block, wind lifts the windward side, speed slackens causing van to return to level with a sudden stop. The harder the wind the harder the rock. But, I was sheltered inside, not toasty but my heavy weight wool sweater compensated.
From my spot I could put several loop rides together. Today is Sat, prime day for shuttlers on Bull Canyon so I would expect crowds. Navajo Rock loop is non shuttling but it could be crowded also. Went to sleep with no route.
This AM I woke before 6 then caught Wait Wait don’t tell me at 6 while snug in bed. Forecast for today was for 20 mph winds and chilly. Up here the land doesn’t affect the wind speed, question was will it be a head wind?
Decided to ride Chisholm from camp spot riding 1 mile on recently graded hard sand road. Wind at my back. Once on Chisholm the wind was cross. Again, trail is typical. I did not know if I dressed warmly enough and what my body would say. I wore a helmet cap, 2 layers of wool tops, and knee warmers. 36 degrees at start. Up here patches of last snow are shade sheltered and the ground could have been frozen. darn right chilly. Arrived at Navajo Rocks loop where Chisholm quit. I sat in the sunshine behind a juniper blocking the wind, sort of pleasant. Pulled up TrailForks and evaluated several choices. Last year Steve suggested we put a loop together by riding a piece of Navajo Rocks, Coney Island, down to connect with 7UP and pedal back up thru Mustang loop. I repeated that choice.
I encountered maybe 25 riders on Navajo but just a few once climbing back out. Parking lot where Chisholm crosses highway was crowded. Chisholm dumped me on to the same dirt road and into a cold head wind. 18.7 miles climbing 1506′ pedaling for 2 hrs 27 mins. My nose was cold.
Still chilly wind at van that I chose to shelter from inside the slightly solar warmed van. Fixing black bean pot luck using dried beans that I have been simmering for almost 2 hours creating steam which needs the overhead fan on sucking vapor and furnace heat. 34 degrees at 5:15 PM, sun is working on colors.
Will stay here tonight and ride here again tomorrow. Wind is forecast to be less and temp will be 48 higher than today.