Autumn Rising
It is easy to fixate on Timpanogos. But Lone Peak, White Baldy, Bighorn and the Pfeifferhorn – Together, Lightening Ridge – are spectacular and breathtaking. They create a horizon that reminds me every day why I live in the Wasatch. And while it is true that the Salt Lake and Utah valleys are too crowded, there is always, at least visually, an escape from the asphalt and strip malls and traffic. One need only glance up at the peaks towering to the east to remember…
I sneaked over to Lambert Park, an area I have not ridden in years, and thoroughly enjoyed a quite evening of fall mountain biking. The air was clean and crisp, just like the leaves that still hung on the trees. In spots, the trails were littered in them, crunching under my tires as I rolled along. One of the things I like about the trails at Lambert is that they are not designed to really go anywhere. They are just there. Winding around on themselves, through meadows of sage and thick scrub oak. There are rocks that have been built into small jumps, and rocks that have been built into big ones. One such sent me tumbling over the bars when an unseen gap awaited my front wheel, rather than the expected continuation of smooth singletrack. There are narrow bridges and swirling descents. In short, Lambert Park is a playground.
Above me Lightening Ridge was covered in the first snow of the season. The deep colors of autumn accented the white of the coming winter in a stark and radiant contrast. The wide-angled landscape, and the intimate detail of the leaves themselves was a welcome distraction to the concrete of commuting and cubicles and computer screens. I felt content just to be there, to watch and feel the season change. Just as it was inspiring to watch life breakthrough the cold and death of winter during the spring, it is fascinating to watch it retreat under the burden and decay of the seasonal cycle.
It’s easy to forget during the heat and altitude of summer, and the cold and dark of winter, just how much I love autumn in the mountains.
2 Comments
Aaron
October 7, 2009I’ll try and call during your mtb rides more often, if only to be a catalyst for future crashes.
Grizzly Adam
October 7, 2009The timing of that was just pure gold.
Recap: I’m riding along. My phone rings. I look down toward my pocket. Look up and realize I’m heading for a jump. I go OTB, roll through the dirt, pick up the phone and say hello.