Its Been Snowing Outside!!!

Question of the day: are snowshoes getting better because their popularity is booming, or is their popularity booming because snowshoes are getting better?

Snowshoe questions and answers Here.

If you like snow, (crazy people) you may be in luck. Right here in Southern Utah you can find plenty of the white stuff,(hopefully for only a short time) to lure you out and give snowshoeing a try!! Remember all you really need to bring are your best waterproof boots and trekking poles! And have fun!!!

Give Pine Valley a try
or Brian Head Resort
and surprisingly even Red Mountain Trail!!

Chaco Hiking Sandals

Chacos sandals' straps are incredibly adjustable for the perfect fit. Toe straps hold your big toe snugly in place. The polyurethane footbed, with its sculpted heel cup and sturdy arch, provides excellent support. In fact, the American Podiatric Medical Association approves Chaco shoes for your feet's health.

Chaco's anatomical pull-through strap system; the single strap is completely connected through the sole, so you'll have maximum adjustability with a fit that will conform to any foot. The biocentric footbed offers premium support for your adventurous feet, while the durable rubber outsole consistently works hard to provide traction on most any surface.

Product Features

• Material: Polyurethane, nylon, rubber

• Sole: Vibram Unaweep rubber

• Adjustability: Adjustable strap (instructions included on box)

• Recommended Use: Hiking, wading, fly fishing, camping, traveling, casual

• Warranty: Lifetime (manufacturer defect)

(amazon description)

Chacos advantages-

*Aggresive arch support which controls pronation

*Sculpted heel cup centers the foot's natural shock absorbing pad.

*Heel risers increase lateral stabillity

*Multiple widths ensure proper fit.

These Hiking Sandals are Really Keen!!

The web sight for Keen Footwear, www.keenfootwear.com asks people to “follow their dreams.”
In my opinion, Keen hiking sandals ARE a dream!!
And the story of their development is a dream come true as well.
Martin Keen, a footwear designer from Rhode Island, was trying to attract attention with his new sandal at a trade show in Las Vegas in 2003.. Keen, 38, a veteran shoe designer as well as an international sailing champion, loved to wear sandals while sailing, but had grown tired of bashing his toes on the cleats and winches and deck fittings. So he designed a hybrid sandal with a closed toe that offered the protection of a shoe and the comfort of a waterproof sandal. Then along came Angel Martiniz a former executive vice president and chief marketing officer at Reebok Ltd. and the former chief executive officer of Rockport Co. shoes, Martinez was a legend in the footwear industry, a 25-year veteran with a stellar track record for building brands. Angel with the business and marketing experience and Martin with the creativity, turned a novel idea into an international success!


"It's an amazing little company," said Mark Sullivan, group editor and publisher of Sporting Goods Business, a publication that tracks the outdoor market from New York City. "It's incredible how quickly they've become a legitimate footwear company. Teva, everyone's funky sandal company, has tried and tried to break out of the sandal business and become a footwear company without success. But Angel has already done in a year what Teva couldn't do in 15 years."

Keen Footwear is now located in Portland Ore, after having its start in Alamdea Ca. It turns out that Portand is home to more than 20 footwear companies and 20 outdoor apparel companies. Genius abounds in Portland!! Smart move for Keen!!
Oh how I love to hike in Keens!!!

Hiking Red Mountain Trail

When I was young in the mountain,
I never wanted to go to the ocean,
I never wanted to go to the desert.
I never wanted to go anywhere else
in the world, for I was in the
mountains. And that was always enough.
from: When I Was Young In the Mountains
by: Cynthia Rylant

While Utah is a dry climate (ha!!!), the weather can change often. Plus there can be dramatic temperature variations with the elevation changes. The elevation in southern Utah can go from 3,000 feet above sea level (St George/Zion area) to over 10,000 feet (Cedar Breaks area).
The climate in St. George is semi-arid with two separate rainfall seasons in the early spring and late summer which average about 3 inches of annual precipitation. Although average maximum temperatures for the summer months are between 95 and 101 degrees Fahrenheit, the low humidity makes these temperatures agreeable. Oh so agreeable!!!!
The Southern Utah climate features bright sunshine, small annual precipitation, clean air and a wide daily temperature range. Another attractive feature is mild winters with infrequent traces of snowfall which rarely stays on the ground more than a day. (says who!!??)

St. George's climate is an attraction in its own right. It has become a green oasis in the desert, (do you see any green!?) and the combination of the warm, dry winter climate and natural beauty is always to be counted upon! (Ha!!)
Generally speaking, winters in southern Utah enjoy low humidity and clear, blue skies. At lower elevations the weather is milder, with occasional light snowfall.....
The record high temperature in Utah was 118 °F (47 °C), recorded south of St. George on July 4, 2007, and the record low was -69 °F (-56 °C), recorded in the Bear River Mountains of northern Utah on February 1, 1985.
Bring on the Heat!!!!

I have lived my life by faith, choosing to
believe that life has to make sense, choosing
to believe there is Spirit behind matter,
choosing to believe consciousness survives
death, choosing to believe there is a God
and that God is Good.
from: Consider the Butterfly
by: Carol Lynn Pearson

Something unexpected rose from the desert washes in Snow Canyon park 5 years ago this month. Something rare and wondrous and humbling. We were receiving rain- lots and lots and lots of rain. Rain fell from the sunless sky for 5 days straight, without letting up. It was a warm, thawing downpour. Snow in the nearby mountains began to melt in vast quantities, and with alarming speed!! There was hardly time to think or speculate. All this surplus water, all this runoff had nowhere go! The sand and stone were as saturated as a sea sponge and so the deluge began its run to the lakes. Rivers, streams, and gully washes formed in places that hadnt seen water in a hundred years. Trails closed or were washed completely away. Roads and paved paths were swept away in the ferocious currents, as well as 21 beautiful homes!!! And the sound...the unprecedented noise of rushing, tumbling , crashing water, making its way to Vegas, was a din of proportions unheard of in these parts. This desert is normally a thing of serene quite, hardly a bird peeps. But, for a few days we were treated to the disturbing, though at the same time mesmerizing sounds of water madly foaming and raging as it pounded its way over paths unaccustomed to such treatment. It was a tumult not soon forgotten. And a show of mother nature awesome power that we hope wont soon be repeated!!

Johnsons Arch

Right at the west entrance of Snow Canyon State Park there is a parking lot! If you park there and cross over the road you'll find a small wood fence with a swinging gate. If you would like a very mild, easy hike, head south on that well trod path and you will find an impressive arch tucked back in a delightful canyon. The "hike" is only 2 miles round trip, and very easy to do. I The locals call this hike Johnsons Arch. Tucked back in this beautiful canyon are glens of cottonwood trees as well as willows which get their water from a natural spring. Johnsons Arch was named after Maude Johnson who was a Mormon pioneer who settled here eons ago! This trail is closed from March 15th-Oct 31st because there is a nesting pair of Peregrine falcons which nest back in there every year.

If you'd like a very talented artists perspective on this amazing natural arch gohere to see Roland Lees rendition of the arch.

sand angels...me on the right!!

Happiness
A state you dare not enter
with hopes of staying,
quicksand in the marshes, and all

the roads leading to a castle
that doesn’t exist.
But there it is, as promised,

with its perfect bridge above
the crocodiles,
and its doors forever open.

Stephen Dunn