Advice for a New Englander moving to Utah

[forestgnome]

I'd appreciate any advice or tips. Never been out West. Moving to Salt lake City area, somewhere close to Little Cottonwood Canyon, since I'll be working at Snowbird as an instructor on weekends.

Mormons are nice people and I don't need help living amongst them.

I'm looking for advice on hiking in this environment, tips on good hikes, as it relates to a newbie from New England. I'll be moving in October, hopefully after I enjoy as much New England autumn as I can.

Thanks!

 

[audrey]

I'm envious. I've hiked in southern Utah, including most of the national parks. Get yourself a big Camelback and sunhat and have a ball!

When you get a chance to wander beyond the SLC area, I recommend Escalante, my favorite place of all.
Also, Elko Nevada is about 3 hours drive and the Ruby mountains are spectacular and uncrowded. Even closer are the East Humboldts: since you are an off-the-beaten-path type, you would love an off-trail trek to Chimney Rock near Angel Lake. Moose are in short supply, but deer and antelope abound.

Oh, and the skiing isn't half bad.

 

[dentonfabrics]

But there are no moose in Utah!

 

[peakn]

We'll miss your amazing photography. Best of luck!

 

[WhiteMTHike]

Zion. Incredible place, was there about 15 years ago so the details are fuzzy. I do remember it was a beautiful place with plenty of hiking.

 

[MichaelJ]

I've only been to Snowbird once, for a week, but the biggest thing that affected me was the elevation. The base is around 8000' while Salt Lake City is around 4000' downtown. It's not just the ear-popping, potato-chip-bag-inflating, toothpaste-tube-squirting drive, but it's such a quick transition that I found myself lightheaded and dehydrated quickly. Depending on how far away you're living, if you go down every day, it's going to take some time to acclimate.

Speaking of driving Little Cottonwood Canyon, when it snows, the road will close, oh yes. And they'll declare "Interlodge" during which it is illegal to be outside. That entire canyon is one big avalanche zone. I do love waking to the sound of avalanche guns, though. It means sweet, fresh Utah pow. Have I mentioned how jealous I am??? Woot!

Serious snowdrifts!

 

[gram]

New England's loss..........

We all will miss your photography. Your moose have always made us smile! Best of luck.

 

[Nif]

I'll see what I can find for you. One friend moved from MA to SLC. Skis Alta/Bird, liked living in the sugarhill area of SLC. Another friend moved from ME to SLC, and took up residence in Sandy. He's also Alta with a touch of the bird for skiing. Neither post here, but I'll see if they have any better advice.

Get backcountry touring equipment and take an avi course though. There's a lot of backcountry stuff to be had in the winter, but you'll need to know what you're doing. For the summer hiking one preferred going to capital reef for hiking and Moab for Mtn Biking. Don't remember what else.....

 

[TrishandAlex]

I am so sorry you are moving! What a loss to the New England hiking and photography community!!

No advice on Utah, just wanted to write and wish you well. I hear it's beautiful out there.

 

[TEO]

The Red Iguana. Moles are their specialty.

When summer hiking in the desert, start hikes early and finish before the mid-day heat. Bring a ridiculous amount of water.

If you see a moose, you know that something is wrong.

 

[KRobi]

The biggest difference from hiking here to hiking out west is that you don't have to constantly watch your feet to prevent tripping over a rock or a root. The trails seem "groomed" compared to here. It's a good thing as the views are constant and spectacular so this frees your eyes to look at better things than the ground. I thought of it as uphill walking more than hiking (I'm sure there are tricky, technical climbs we just didn't do them). It's a beautiful state and I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

 

[Steve-o]

We'll miss your amazing photography. Best of luck!

somehow, I doubt that.

 

[skiguy]

Buy some Fat Skis!!

 

[Stan]

You'll love the hiking opportunities! Will you be changing your name to desertgnome?

We were there this summer and I'll post some trip reports on Zion, Grand Canyon North Rim (actually in Arizona), Bryce, Escalante and Capitol Reef. We managed nicely despite the desert heat of the summer. We only visited Cedar Breaks to pass through but next time I would spend time there, too.

You're not far from Idaho (notably City of Rocks and Craters of the Moon) and Wyoming.

Less than 50 miles from Las Vegas there are the Spring Mountains, part of a mix of wilderness, national forest and wildlife refuge, which have some comparatively temperate campgrounds and trails due to the elevation.

When you visit Temple Square be sure to look like a tourist ... you'll be surrounded by very helpful and lovely missionaries in no time ... or perhaps the draw was my son, Erik.

Like many others, I'll miss your posts. Looking forward to your reports from the West!

 

[roadtripper]

Ahhhh Utah, the state I really, really should be living in . Easily the best state in the Southwest in terms of hiking in my opinion.

Spend a lot of time visiting these links:
http://www.americansouthwest.net/
http://www.summitpost.org/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=15
http://www.canyoneeringusa.com/utah/

You'll need to visit Moab about fifteen times before you see everything that's there. Start with Arches & Canyonlands, then start exploring all the amazing BLM land. Check out the Tom Till gallery in downtown, as well as the Moab Brewery. Rent a bike and do the Slickrock Trail or any of the 100,000 fantastic mtn biking trails in the area. There are also good state parks nearby, including Goosenecks, Goblin Valley & Dead Horse State Park.

You'll absolutely need to become a fan of slot canyons. I love this book, but you have to be careful with it since access to slot canyons is constantly changing:
http://www.amazon.com/Canyon-Hiking-Guide-Colorado-Plateau/dp/0944510221

Get this map if you haven't already:
http://www.amazon.com/Benchmark-Uta...=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1282010908&sr=1-2

You'll find that you are a days drive from some of the most scenic areas in the west:
~ Sawtooth Mtns in Idaho
~ Grand Tetons
~ Durango/Southwestern Colorado
~ Wind River Range, Wyoming
~ Canyonlands
~ Escalante
~ Bryce Canyon
~ Zion
~ Capitol Reef

You should probably pickup a Jeep or other high-clearance SUV. Tons and tons of dirt roads all over the place, especially in central and southern UT.

Don't let people tell you its too hot in Utah in the summer. There's plenty of high altitude hikes you can do to beat the heat. Check out Wasatch and Fishlake National Forests.

Local hikes around Salt Lake City: http://www.amazon.com/60-Hikes-With...=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1282011482&sr=1-2

Last recommendation: read Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey. The best book written on Utah......ever

 

[Forester Jake]

Wow, who would choose to leave the new england mountains? Just kidding... My time exploring SW Utah a few years back was awesome (Including Zion, Bryce, Vermillion Castles, Cedar Breaks... not to mention Nevada desert)!!! It was my first time, and as an avid new england hiker/bushwhacker- i was often speechless by the barren beauty of the rocks and canyons, the desert and open spaces... We rented a 4WD Jeep and explored everywhere, easily racking up a thousand miles. Everywhere we looked, WANDERLUST kicked into high gear- the opportunities to explore ENDLESS!! On a side note, it was Dec, comfy with a little snow. I loved it and dream of returning every time i review my thousands of photos (i was possessed by the beauty, now i re-live thru the pics!). Two things i missed the most? Greenery and the upper new-englander hospitality- people who actually wave back... I'm sure you'll survive just fine out there!

 

[forestgnome]

Wow! Thanks all for the nice well-wishes and all the great info so far. This is great! I already have lots to read. This move is tentatively tentative.

I'm trying to land a teaching job in a mountain community. The market here is worse than bad so I need to be somewhere with more teaching positions and nearby mountains. SLC has world-class snowboarding, hiking and lots of teaching positions.

So I'm going for at least this snowboarding season, and I'll follow whatever path life takes me, maybe back here, maybe there, who knows?

 

[dirtpig67]

One park that does not get much attention is Capital Reef NP. There are some amazing geological features on the hikes there. We did one that had petrified trees right on the trail and I found an unopened geode full of crystals.

 

[mookie]

all i know is you need to drink more beers to get drunk due to the lower alchohol. oh yeah, and you need to become a member at the bars to get in.

i had a blast out there when i went in 05.

snowbird was my favorite when we were there, but we stayed on trails mostly.

if you learn the mountain well maybe you can do BC tours, im looking to take a trip out west this winter! so far tahoe is top of the list.

 

[MichaelJ]

oh yeah, and you need to become a member at the bars to get in.

Not any more. That law was abolished last year.