This year has been uncharacteristically mild in terms of snowfall. The promise of snow, to those who wish for snow, is a fading hope. Years ago, I was among those that anxiously looked forward to the first snowfall and the day there would be enough to carve some new turns in fresh powder. Once the kids started to show up and our move to Colorado, where paradoxically, skiing isn't as convenient as it once was growing up in Utah, I put the skis aside. Now that I am here again, I may venture into some backcountry skiing in the coming years. But for now, the snow has not shown up for the winter party which leaves dirt ripe for riding and that's what I have been doing. There are two trail systems close to my house, so close in fact that I don't need to drive to either of them. This is a dream come true for a mountain biker. The first trail system, Corner Canyon is literally just down street and within 5 min of my front door. The trails are fast and flowing and cater to the desires of riders of all abilities. There is plenty of up, down, and spectacular views of the Salt Lake Valley. The only downside to Corner Canyon in the winter is the fact that all trails are on a north-facing slope and tend to hold snowpack during the winter.
The second trail system is Lambert Park on the east bench of Alpine Utah. Lambert is a labyrinth of windy trails that intersect at random tied together by a few dirt roads. While these trails are not as spectacular as those found in Corner Canyon, they do offer some good views of Utah Valley. Lambert has one major advantage over Corner Canyon in the winter: the trails face south-west and tollerate moisture very well. For the first few rides in Lambert, I took the pavement down the hill to Highland and then into Alpine following roughly the same path back up. Fortunately,
Adam was around my first trip to show me around Lambert. We did a few laps around the park then set out to explore a possible route back to Corner Canyon on dirt roads. Oh yea, there are a number of 4wd / 4-wheeler roads carved into the landscape between Alpine and Suncrest, the question is, which road if any connects the two? Below was a pretty good recon mission but we ran out of daylight and legs to keep exploring.
A few days later I attacked the the problem from the top of the hill and found my way back to the loop we explored the day earlier. Although the road is washed out in probably only ridable on the downhill in places it is ridable. This opens up some great riding opportunities come this Spring. Riding Corner Canyon and Lambert will offer 30-50 miles of quality mountain biking all on dirt and all out my front door.
