Antelope Island State Park, Utah - Hiking

Roger and I welcomed the new year with a hike around the frozen hills of Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake.  The storms of December blanketed the island in white, but the clear blue skies made this mid-winter day feel uplifting and invigorating.  We savored the sunshine and relatively mild temperatures because winter inversions often brings periods of cold, fog, and pollution to Salt Lake City.

Antelope Island State Park in winter

White Rock Bay

Aside from a herd of buffalo walking peacefully through the valley and a couple of trail runners in shorts and t-shirts, we had the place to ourselves.  We made a loop starting with the Bone Road Trail at the White Rock Bay Campground, then north on the Junction Trail, and then along the southern portion of the White Rock Loop trail back to the campground.

Welcome 2016!

Life always finds a way to surprise you, even when you prepare for the unexpected.  2016 probably won't be a year of epic adventures for Roger and me, but we're going to make the best of it out of every moment we can.  The year certainly started off on the right note!

Antelope Island State Park, Utah - Hiking

Snowshoeing is a great winter activity around Salt Lake City as popular hiking trails become suitable for snowshoeing to destinations that look completely different in winter light and snow.  The popularity of snowshoeing means that the trails get packed down quickly after a winter storm, sometimes making snowshoes unnecessary for little more than the traction that they provide.  Because of this, I recently purchased a pair of microspike traction devices to hook to the bottom of my hiking boots for times when traction is needed but not flotation.

 Microspikes - perfect for ice and packed-snow hiking

Roger and I spent an afternoon on Antelope Island hiking to Split Rock from the White Rock Bay trail head using our microspike traction devices.  There is something dramatic and beautiful about Antelope Island during the winter months.  It feels like walking through a sleeping landscape, with an occasional bison or coyote breaking the icy stillness.

Driving across the causeway to Antelope Island

The Great Salt Lake

Wasatch Mountains from Antelope Island

 Bison

Roger walking through the frozen landscape

Antelope Island, Utah - Biking and Camping

Shawn, Keith, Melissa, and I took part in the annual Antelope Island by Moonlight bike ride on July 19.  We decided to make it an all-night event and reserved a campsite at Bridger Bay so that we could relax before and after the ride.  We headed to the island after work on Friday evening and set up camp while watching a spectacular sunset.  The weather was perfect and the bugs were minimal which was somewhat of a surprise for Antelope Island!

Shawn setting up his tent

My tent

Sunset on Antelope Island

Keith and Melissa at camp

Sunset on Antelope Island

The ride started at White Rock Bay and made a 25 mile out-and-back trip to Fielding Garr Ranch where there was music, food, and water.  The ride was easy and fun, and many families participated in the event.  Some bikers even decorated their bikes with lights and dressed up in costume.  Although it was easy, it was certainly not well supported.  Shawn was unable to get any assistance after getting a flat tire and finally got a ride back to camp after 2am.  We stayed up well into the night enjoying the great weather and moon shining brightly over the island.

Keith heading to White Rock Bay

Pre-ride party at White Rock Bay

Melissa, Keith, and Shawn

Fielding Garr Ranch mid-ride party

Antelope Island, Utah - Solstice Sunset

One of the best places to watch a sunset near Salt Lake City is Buffalo Point on Antelope Island State Park.  An easy hike to the overlook provides an excellent view of the Great Salt Lake and several of the lake's  other islands.  Sunsets are particularly spectacular at this location because the usually calm lake acts like a mirror and reflects the setting sun's light at almost double the intensity of a regular sunset.  The rugged and barren mountains surrounding the lake contrast with the ocean-like appearance of the lake and beaches.

Looking northwest across the Great Salt Lake from Buffalo Point on Antelope Island

Shawn, Roz, David, Katie, and I headed out to Antelope Island after work on Wednesday to celebrate the Summer Solstice and enjoy the sunset from Buffalo Point.  To enhance the experience, we brought a lot of good beer, wine, and snacks to enjoy while watching the sun.

Katie, Roz, David, and Shawn at Buffalo Point

 Looking east toward the Wasatch Mountains

Shawn and the Great Salt Lake

Spectacular lighting at sunset

Summer is by far my favorite season of the year.  I enjoy the constant sunshine, the dry desert heat, and the extra hours of daylight the make it possible to go for long bike rides and runs after work.  While the solstice technically marks the beginning of summer, it also signals the turning point toward shorter daylight hours and eventually colder weather.  I wish summer would hang around as long as winter seems to.

Final moments of the solstice sunset

Antelope Island, Utah - Biking

One of my favorite places in the Salt Lake City area is Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake.  It can be reached by driving north from Salt Lake City and across a causeway connecting the island to the mainland near Layton, UT.  The island is a state park and it's a great place to hike, bike, camp, and observe the Great Salt Lake.

Last month, Brandon, Kristen, and I participated in the full moon bicycle ride along the eastern edge of the island from the Marina to Fielding Garr Ranch and back.  We had a ton of fun riding with hundreds of other cyclists under the full moon, so this month we decided to head back out to the island for the August full moon and camp overnight.  This time, Grant, Emily, and Brad joined us.

Camping on Antelope Island

Flowers at our campsite

The bikes!

One of the best activities to do on Antelope Island is to watch the sunset at Buffalo Point, a short hike up the hill from the parking area below.  The colors are always spectacular and the reflections off the calm waters of the lake make the sunsets even more unique than watching a sunset at the ocean.

White Rock Bay

 Our group enjoying the sunset

 Sunset over the Great Salt Lake

Sunset over the Great Salt Lake

After enjoying the sunset we hopped on our bikes and bike around the island towards Fielding Garr Ranch.  It was much windier than last month, and the clouds obscured the full moon for the most part, but we all had a fun ride.

Our group

 Biking with Grant and Brandon

Emily and Brad

Salt Lake City, Utah Area - Winter Adventures

I finally got some pictures from Rob of all our winter adventures. I haven't totally gone into hibernation, but I spend alot less time outdoors now that it's so cold and snowy. I'll take the 110 degree summer desert heat anyday ... but that's still a few months away. It's fun to see some of my favorite summer spots transformed into white frozen landscapes. It will be more fun when it all melts.

Back in November Rob, Lucy, and I went up to the Uinta mountains to do a late season hike before road closed for winter. There was a little more snow than we expected but the lakes and mountains looked spectacular.






There have been a few snowshoeing trips into the Cottonwood canyons, but all the avalanches this year have kept backcountry trips to a minimum.




On New Year's Day Rob and I went out to Antelope Island (thanks mom for the state park pass!) to wander around. Not enough snow to snowshoe but lots of ice to play on. It was my first time to the island during the winter and it was so peaceful - a great start to the new year.

Antelope Island, Utah - Biking

It looks like this will be the last bike ride of the season. It was the only time this year I made it out to Antelope Island which is unfortunate because it's my favorite spot in the Salt Lake Valley. Rob and I did a 50-mile loop across the causeway and around part of the island. I mostly got my ass kicked because Rob just bought a new one-ounce bike. Well OK, maybe not that light, but close. Maybe it's time to treat myself to a new bike as well...