La Sal Mountains and the Portal Trail

Saturday, June 8, 2013 

This past Wednesday Tommy and I took Sire and Beaux up to the La Sal Mountains. The mountains are in close proximity to Moab and at certain points reach as high as 13,000 feet in elevation.

We were hopeful of snow still being there.  Sire loves to play in the snow. Beaux has never experienced it and we were curious to see his reaction to it.

Aspens

It was a 45-minute journey up to the La Sal pass. Along the way we drove by the 'Hole N The Rock". The rock is a 5000 square foot domicile that Mr. Albert Christensen built. He along with his wife, Gladys,have since passed away and no one any longer lives in the rock. It is now open for tourism. The average temperature inside is between 68 and 71 degrees year round. It has 14 rooms and most all original furniture remains in the home.

Medicine Lake

Our first stop on the mountain was Medicine Lake. We were informed on several occasions that the Canyonlands are in a severe drought because of an uncommonly warm winter, which produced little snow. Since the snow melt was so minimal the rivers and fields are suffering.

We were fortunate; there was some snow piles left behind. The temperature variation between being in town @ 4100 feet, and on top of the mountain @ 13K feet was somewhere between 30 & 35 degrees. We were appreciative we brought jackets with us.

Sire without delay ran over to the snow piles and starting submerging his face in it. We almost immediately found a stick and he was in his glory. Beaux stepped on the snow – just to check it out – but concluded it wasn’t for him. He went off and explored on his own, but always remained within hearing range of us.

This was the first moment of being in the middle of the woods  that I was not terrified  of bears. I did not even inquire if Tommy brought a gun with him. For some reason I guess I’m okay with now. Although - Mountain Lions still freak me out!

After devoting a good quantity of time at the Medicine Lake we voyaged on. The trail we took to the next lake – Beaver Lake  - was lined with Aspen trees. Just flawless!  They were in full bloom with light green vegetation that twinkled in the wind. Their white barks were extraordinary.

We have, in the past, driven through the Aspens in CO on Kebbler Pass during the fall months when they were in full color. They are inconceivably stunning. At that time of year the leaves are intense yellow and they glimmer in the wind like sparkling Broadway lights.

Tommy and Sire

At the end of the Aspens the land opened into a gorgeous vista. Once at Beaver Lake we hiked around the entire periphery. At one point I was not certain if we were going to make it back to the jeep. The path around the lake ended and we walked through woods for a long time. We let Sire trail blaze as we followed. Sure enough, about an hour later, there was the jeep. Sire led us back, with what seemed no effort on his part.

Elk

When you’re exploring in the woods it’s hard to tell which way is north or south. You cannot really follow the sun because the trees are thick and most of the time the sunlight does not infiltrate. It is very easy to walk in circles for hours and not ever know it. 

Horse

On the way back down the mountain we came across two carcasses. One was – we think – an Elk. About 50 yards away was a horse. It was very sad to see. They were both full skeletons except for their legs that were missing. It looked like they were on their way down to the lake for water and were either killed or perhaps the winter elements got to them and they froze to death. The bones were clean from other animals feasting. We never did find the legs to either animal.  Weird!  

inside the cabin

We got out of the jeep and walked a while with the dogs. We discovered a hunting cabin that was previously occupied but empty that day. Even though we shouldn't have, we entered the cabin and checked it out. Who ever it is that lives up there is definitely a loner.

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The next day – Thursday – we again grabbed Gloria and Ivan and trekked up the Portal Trial. I was a bit leery on doing this trail so early in our visit. I wanted to hike the Corona Arch Trail first. The corona arch trail ascends a little over 400 feet in a two-mile hike. The Portal Trail ascends 980 feet within 1-½ miles. It’s hard. At times its grade is almost 20%. It’s also extremely hot here with little or no breeze in the canyons.The average temperature is 97-104 degrees. We drink copious amounts of water!

Colorado River

When we reached the pinnacle of the Portal Trail we sat and had lunch. We looked out over the entire town of Moab. We could also see the Colorado River from where we were. We rested for almost an hour before heading back down the mountain.

Gloria leading the way

Again, after our hike we stopped at the brewery. This time was different. We had a complete tour of the brewery. We were shown how to ferment, process and bottle beer. We were taken in the back and shown step-by-step instructions on how to brew custom beer and how to control the alcohol content. It was very interesting. We appreciated the time the young man took out of his day to explain everything to us. It is not normal for them to give tours but they were slow and seem to have gotten to know us by now.

Thursday early evenings here in Moab they have a Green market night in the city park. We went last week and bought amazing vegetables and fruits so we wanted to go back again this week. This week we took the boys with us. Since we were gone all day hiking and were worn out from the sun and heat we did not want to take them hiking after dinner so we walked them around the park instead.

Moab

Of course everyone at the park wanted to check out Sire. I don’t think a lot of the people here have ever seen a Rottweiler before because everyone, including kids, wanted to pet him. Sire, of course, loved it, but Beaux is obnoxiously jealous when he is not the center of attention and barks his little head off at everyone if they don’t pet him too. Overall, it was a good day. 

Friday Tommy hiked with Gloria and Ivan to find the ‘mystical’ snake. He left home at 5:30am and they hiked 12miles. They did not find it. This was Gloria and Ivan’s 6^th attempt. The trail is in all direct sun and very challenging.  I am so very glad I didn’t go. I stayed home most of the morning relaxing with the animals and then met up with them later at the brewery. They are trying their luck again next Tuesday. I really hope they find it.

We grilled a delicious salmon dinner last night with fresh spinach and homegrown tomatoes.  We hit the hay early.

 Thanks for reading!