More of Moab! (Behind the Rocks Course Preview)

You know what never sounds good to me when I wake up the day after an ultra? Going for a run. I usually sleep terribly the night after a long run, often waking up at 2am with a ravenous appetite and in need of a second dinner. I always try to sleep in, but it is a miracle if I can stay asleep past six in the morning. Chris and Justin, the race directors, had organized a course preview for the Behind the Rocks Ultra on the day after the Red Hot. Although I was sleepy and feeling lazy, there were a few motivating factors that ultimately got my butt out the door. One, as always, the dogs needed some exercise. Although I would have been perfectly happy to lounge all morning, it was important to me that they get out and run around. Two, I was in MOAB! There was so much to see, and it would have felt like a waste to stay at the hotel. This was a perfect time to take in something new without the worry about getting lost or even having to plan a route myself. So at 9:30, I packed myself into my car and drove along the long, windy, cliff-side road (only slightly terrifying) that led to the Amasa parking lot. We had a bit of a late start heading out to the trail after giving a bit extra time to the stragglers. Probably due to the fabulous post-race festivities and achy muscles, the group was a bit smaller than expected. After a little jaunt up the dirt road, we crossed over onto the trail and made our way down into the rock. 

RD Justin

I somehow didn't think that the views could get much better than what I had seen on Friday and Saturday, but I was quickly proven wrong, as can be seen in the photos. I wanted to see as much as I could, but I was worried about how my three-legged friend would do with the technical trail. I warned the group when we left the parking lot that I was likely to turn back early if things got too treacherous for Jake, and I quickly began to have concerns. (He struggled with keeping his footing on the slick rock when I took him out for our first hike on Friday.) The trail changed from a runnable, albeit a little rocky, trail to a pile of rocks that would require some hands over feet scrambling. We were promised to see some petroglyphs at the top of the climb, but I felt it would be a good spot to turn around with the dogs. 

Petroglyphs

"Hey guys, I think this is going to be the end of the run for us!" As the words were coming out of my mouth, Jake quickly and nimbly launched himself up the rocks to stay with the group of people. The idea of turning around was taken out of the cards, and though he made me a little nervous bouncing around on the ledges, I figured that he was a dog and could handle himself. I was certainly glad that he is such a tough boy, because being able to see the petroglyphs was incredibly cool. Again, I feel that I should have a bit more profound description than that, but words escape me. It's amazing that something that was created so long ago is still so visible, tucked away into this pocket of the world that most people will never venture to see. It has inspired me to brush up on the local Native history so that I can better understand when and how these images were created. 

More petroglyphs- so cool.

My dogs make funny faces.

Maureen enjoying the petroglyphs.

On the way back down.

The trail is just to the left here.

Mountains in the background.

We stayed up by the images for a few moments so that all the people could regroup and we could get some photos. It was starting to warm up again (I never learn!), and I knew that I didn't have much water for the pups, so even though Jake was being a champion rock climber, I decided to turn back. There were a few other runners that decided to turn around before the leaders of the group as well, so I got to enjoy their company as we made our way back to the dirt road and back to the vehicles. One of my favorite things about race travels are meeting other runners from all over- I was able to connect with a group of people that had come in from Colorado and a few people that had flown all the way from New York to come run this race. We all enjoyed each other on the run and decided to get dinner together that evening.

Beauty.

This is one of my favorite shots from the day.

On our way back to the cars.

Jake is pooped, but was happy to make a new little friend.

Amazing.

I spent the rest of the day at the hotel lounging around and catching up on rest. (So did the puppies!) I was able to sit outside in the sun in the hotel yard and read as well as spend a little bit of time loosening up in the hot tub. I met up with the folks from the morning run downtown and enjoyed a delicious house-made veggie burger. We shared our adventures and upcoming plans, and hopefully we will all be able to connect again at a race sometime in the future. It was a great end to an awesome day, and it was just how I would have wanted to spend the last night of my trip. I certainly was not ready to leave when Monday morning came along, but I am already scheming on when my next trip back to Moab will be. I could spend months and months exploring. If anybody has any leads on good jobs down there... just sayin'!