Day 40: Heber City to Moab, UT

You can't find a decent coffeeshop in Utah.  I wanted an early start at a hike before the heat set in and had my mind set on the Strawberry Narrows on the south side of the reservoir, but it wasn't shaded.  I opted for the shorter Soldier Creek Trail south of the dam, a fee-free area I discovered on my way around the reservoir.  Two fly fishermen were already in the parking lot getting their gear ready.

The Solder Creek trail is only a little over a mile long.  It's a single track that starts at the restroom and goes downhill to parallel the creek. It ends at the edge of the water, near where two picnic tables, one on either side of the creek, remain.  It either continues in the creek, crosses the creek, or was washed out years ago.  I just turned around here, grateful for at least a two-mile walk with the dogs near a water source.  The sky was still overcast and the air cool.  The water is so clear here one can see the fish clearly. Yellow wildflowers dot the water's edge.  This short and scenic walk was a nice way to start the day as it turned out to be a brutally hot day that pushed me to the limits, having to pull over three  times to rest.

US40 continues eastward but I turned south on US191 and  remained on this route all the way into Moab, exchanging a lush forest with an alkaline desert dotted with gas drills.  I'd have explored the higher elevation some more, but I'll leave the Uinta National Forest for another trip.  Once I was in the desert, the heat rose fast, making a 20-minute wait at a Union Pacific train crossing outside of Price very uncomfortable.

I rented a space at the KOA in town for $34.  I needed to shower and rest.  I just couldn't drive anymore in this heat.  It was only 4:30pm but camping spots fill up fast in Moab. I chatted with a grizzled professional guide named Thomas Marshall who calls Moab his home while having a very nice chicken burrito at the Moab Brewery.  I've been here at least three times in 12 years and like this place.  Prices here are very affordable, especially when compared to the Snake River Road House in Idaho two days earlier. I was perhaps the oldest person at the bar, joining a line of young people who must have done a mountain bike run earlier.

Moab has a lot of guides and tour companies that take tourists and athletes on rides.  Thomas joined the older crowd shortly before I left to walk the dogs again at the Negro Bill trail (now renamed the William Granstaff trail, after the biracial rancher who once lived in the area.  Thomas was an interesting person and had I already walked the dogs I'd have stayed and chatted longer.   He knew a lot about hidden trails in the national parks.

I drove 327.9 miles to go.  I have less than 700 to go.